Mr. Speaker, I am concerned the government seems to take the real and potential value of the Science Institute of the Northwest Territories too lightly. A new proposal by the Minister of Education is that it should be part of his very large department of Education, Culture and Employment Programs, under the college system. On the surface it seems like a modification of the previous government's position that proposed the institute be split into two parts. What it does though, Mr. Speaker, is to even further reduce the ability of the institute to fulfil its mandate under the act which created that institute.
I know everyone is not convinced we need a science institute. I feel very strongly about it though, Mr. Speaker, and believe it should play a major role in the years that lie ahead. If you look at the development of each of our provinces you would be convinced that economic progress depended on the research and development that was undertaken in those jurisdictions. I am thinking of the development of wheat in Saskatchewan, the forestry in British Columbia, the fishery in Atlantic Canada and technology in Ontario and other parts of the country.
Our modern world in large measure depends on scientific advancement. The manner in which the science institute is being pulled and pushed suggests to me that our government does not share that view. It makes me very pessimistic in the face of the challenges we will face in the decades ahead. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.