Thank you. Supplementary, Mr. Lewis.

I would like to ask the Minister, is he aware that if an individual wants eye glasses and goes to one of the contractors within the city to perform that service, that sometimes they are unable to provide eye glasses within ten weeks? There is another company that can provide same-day service. But the individual who wants to get glasses right away, and is forced to go to another contractor, may have to wait up to ten weeks to get delivery of those eye glasses.

Thank you. Mr. Pollard.

Mr. Speaker, I wear spectacles myself. I know how important it is to have that device on my nose and around my ears. If there are cases where somebody is having to wait ten weeks, I think that's very unreasonable, Mr. Speaker. I will take action this afternoon to ensure that, if contractors are taking that amount of time to provide what would otherwise be readily available, I will make sure that unfair time period is reduced. I will make every effort to do that this afternoon.

Thank you. Item 5, oral questions. Mr. Allooloo.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I have a question for the Minister of Education. I have a student from Pond Inlet who has been sent to Ottawa for high school. This person is an aboriginal person, 100 per cent Inuk. The parents have to pay everything, his lodging, air tickets and tuition fees. He has asked for assistance from our government. He is not receiving anything. He recently got a letter from the department saying that they will not assist this student with his education.

The reason why he is now in Ottawa, Mr. Speaker, is because this student is very bright and the parents would like him to take advanced courses rather than general courses. Only general courses are available in Pond Inlet. The divisional board of education has said that he should go to Iqaluit. Even though he was accepted to go to Iqaluit, the divisional board refused to pay any part of the transportation from Pond Inlet to Ottawa.

I wonder if the Minister could look after this problem. Thank you.

Thank you. Mr. Nerysoo.

Mr. Speaker, I will check into the matter. However, I do want to say that the general policy of our government is that when programs are available in a particular region or within a divisional board area, that the first commitment is for that student to attend school in the Northwest Territories. It makes it very difficult for anyone to provide for special circumstances, if those circumstances are not generally applied throughout the Northwest Territories.

We would create a great deal of confusion about the general policies of government, first of all. And, secondly, it is our intention as a government to try to move matriculation into the communities and provide them in every high school in the Northwest Territories. That is our intention. I will check into the matter, but I do want the honourable Member to recognize that our first commitment and our obligation is to, first, ensure that the programs are available in the Northwest Territories, and then provide the best options in the Northwest Territories, before we provide services to students in southern Canada. Just so that you're aware of that. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you. Supplementary, Mr. Allooloo.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to thank the Minister for his answer and also his commitment to look into the matter. Mr. Speaker, I would like to say that it is creating hardship for the parents because his parents are not working. His tuition fees are in excess of $7,000 a year and his air ticket is over $3,000 a year. He is not getting any assistance. If he were to go down to Iqaluit, the government would pay his ticket to go there and his ticket to come back at Christmas.

Plus, the government would have to house this person. If he were to be in Iqaluit, the government would be paying his accommodation, his meals and, on top of that, the students receive allowances every week or every two weeks. The government is not doing that. If you take everything into account, if you pay his way to go there and back -- in my view and in the parent's view -- it would still cost less to this government if they only pay his transportation, since the parents are paying for the rest of it. Thank you.

I don't hear any question. It sounds more like a Member's statement to me. Could you indicate your question, please.

Mr. Speaker, I'm learning. My question is, would the Minister look at the expense that the government would normally have to pay if the student were to be shipped from Pond Inlet -- which the department offered to do -- to Iqaluit, where the government would pay for his accommodation, meals and allowances? Would they make that assessment and give a portion of such assistance to the parents so they can not be in a financially difficult situation? Thank you.

Thank you. Mr. Nerysoo.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Just a word of caution on that particular matter. We have a policy at the moment where all our students are to be either educated in their community or close to their community, in their region. If the provision of services is not available in that particular region, then it is our intention to consider providing educational programming somewhere in the Northwest Territories, depending on whether the board agrees.

The other issue is that it is not a department decision that has been made about supporting the student, but a board decision. In conclusion, our government funding one student has very significant consequences for any other students and parents being allowed to make a decision about where that student can attend school.

There could be situations where parents and students make the choice of attending high school in Edmonton, or for that matter, in Winnipeg or in Ottawa. That has not been the intention of the direction that we are undertaking in the area of education. We are trying to move programming to the communities to serve our students closer to home. I think if we can continue in that direction, we will recognize tremendous success -- as has been the case so far -- of high school students remaining in school and graduating. Thank you, very much.

Thank you. Supplementary, Mr. Allooloo.

Mr. Speaker, the fact is, that students are able to be educated is being sacrificed right now. Parents are not in the position to pay for their son to be educated where they think is the best. The other option is for him to go back to Pond Inlet and be educated in the hallways or foyers of schools. To them, that is not an option. I would like the Minister to sincerely consider all the facts when he is making a decision whether to assist the parents or sacrifice the kid's education. Mr. Speaker, advanced education is not available in the community. It is general education that is available. Thank you.

I don't hear any question again. The Minister already indicated they are looking into this and will get back to the Member. This will be your final supplementary, Mr. Allooloo.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I think the Minister has heard my questions and he will take them into account in making his assessment. Thank you.

Again, there is no question. Item 5, oral questions. Mr. Whitford.

Mr. Todd.

Mr. Speaker, I have been to Lake Harbour in the good old days when I was a regional development officer of Local Government, in 1975. I covered all of the Baffin regions and enjoyed my two year stay while I was there. We do recognize the importance of this Lake Harbour airstrip as we recognize others, as I said earlier, such as Mr. Zoe's in Rae.

It is our intention to make it part of our strategy to seek the joint initiative of the federal government to assist in funding this down the road. As I said earlier today, there is no money in the current budget to work on that strip. But, I've made a commitment to my colleague in Nunavut Caucus, and I'll make a commitment to my colleague in the Western Caucus, that I will make every effort to try to find and seek the appropriate funding to work out a plan to improve the facilities that currently are used in Lake Harbour. Thank you.

Thank you. Item 5, oral questions. Mr. Ningark.

Thank you, Mr. Deputy Speaker. My question is directed to the honourable Minister responsible for Transportation. About one year ago, I asked the honourable Minister of Transportation whether in fact there is a way in which we can accommodate the community needs to have a road built to hunting areas. These roads would facilitate hunting, tourism and recreation, which would ensure the well-being of the community socially and economically. Every time I rest my feet on the road in Yellowknife, it reminds me of people back home who only dream of having gravel roads.

---Laughter

The honourable Minister stated recently that he was committed to having a plan or policy to allow the community to construct access roads to hunting areas. I wonder if the honourable Minister is still committed, would he tell the House what he has told me, that he is in fact planning to have a road constructed in Pelly Bay and Gjoa Haven, on a yearly basis until the project is completed. Is the honourable Minister still committed to that? Thank you.