Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, first off, I want to say thank you to the Member of Monfwi for sharing her concerns, being honest about her concerns in the sense of -- I respect that. And I don't have a problem that she has questions, by any means. And I think this is the debate I'm talking about when, you know, sometimes you find those arguments and challenges in debates, but I think the important thing here to focus in on is this: That could become some of the discussion during the review after second reading if it goes to committee and get some public feedback and maybe find out -- the issues raised might be some incidental ones that need to be taken care of. I want to stress the importance of the bill and the reason it's done in this way is it's treated as, in lay terms, we're changing the credit limit of those who can borrow it. So in other words, that's what it is. The money comes from the pool within SFA, frankly because education is more expensive today and the cost for students pursuing further education. The expectation in the Northwest Territories -- I shouldn't say the expectation, but the hope and dreams of many Northerners is that our young people will pursue further education but, you know, it doesn't -- the cost of education isn't stagnant. It's increased, it's grown, it's ballooned, it's only -- you know, the future only says it's going to cost more no matter where they go. And then we ask them to become lawyers and, you know, take your PhD and master's and we keep on adding layers to things, and that's all more money. That's what this is targeted at, is giving access to all Northerners.
The UNDRIP statement pointed out that there's no restrictions on this that impede on Indigenous rights by any means. That was very important and certainly is very important to me, and I know it's important to the Member and I recognize that, but it has no reflection of this. This is strictly raising the borrowing amount an individual northern student can borrow if they wish to pursue their education.
The other thing such as return of service, etcetera, I mean, those are outside currently the scope of the bill and it's just, like I said, a money bill based on saying a student wants to continue their education, they've taken a different path, they've changed their mind, and they need more access to funds, the cap is all that's changing here.
As to the other issues, I would certainly be behind every one of those initiatives if we want to talk separately and find different avenues to meet them because I true -- as I'm going to finish this, Mr. Speaker, and try to stay focused of course on the bill, I truly support growing education opportunities for community members. I mean, I'm from a small community. I understand the challenges there and hence I'm deeply connected to the struggles that many of them have.
So, Mr. Speaker, to the nature of the bill or to the intent of the bill, it's just to raise the credit limits so more young people can get more education. And my goal is they come back here. And my apologies, one more last thing. I think we're only talking about this affecting in the range of 20 students that would change the world of what we're trying to bring back to the Northwest Territories of skills and abilities. Thank you.
