Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, as I travel in the Northwest Territories, I am continually impressed by the commitment northerners have to education. This past weekend, I travelled to the Sahtu, with the Honourable Stephen Kakfwi, and learned a good deal about education in that region.
Today I would like to congratulate the people of Fort Good Hope for the way they have supported the grade 10 program, which began in that community this year. The school anticipated 18 students would enrol, but 47 are now in the program. They vary widely in age, but all of the students want to successfully complete their senior high school education. I am sure other communities in the Sahtu will soon follow this direction, and will want to offer senior high programs in their own communities.
The Sahtu Divisional Board of Education is currently developing a strategic plan, to guide the direction of education in the coming years. I would also like to congratulate the board for its work in this area, particularly in consulting closely with band councils, hamlet councils, and members of the public. This type of consultation is very important, if the educational system is to continue to meet the educational needs of the people in the region.
Mr. Speaker, while Mr. Kakfwi and I were in the region, we visited Fort Franklin, Fort Norman, Norman Wells and Fort Good Hope. In each community we held meetings with the community education council, the band council, and the hamlet representatives. We were extremely pleased with the good turn out for each of those meetings, and the discussions we had on education issues.
Mr. Speaker, during the coming weeks and months, I look forward to more opportunities to visit other constituencies, in the Northwest Territories, to discuss educational issues. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
---Applause