Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Tree of Peace has operated educational programs since 1972. I was approached by Mr. Eagle on March 25 because he and I had, in fact, been involved in many of these contribution agreements in the 1970s. He told me that he was uncertain about the future of the Tree of Peace but he had nothing in writing as to what exactly was happening and what the commitments were. I talked to the Minister of Education who assured me that, in the last week of December, a letter had been sent to the Tree of Peace indicating what the future of the kindergarten programs, and the funding arrangements for adult education programs, would be.
That afternoon I went to the Tree of Peace and found that the last letter that the Tree of Peace had received from the department was from a year and a half ago. So, I returned to the House and asked Mr. Nerysoo if he would fax a copy of the letter to Mr. Eagle, so that Mr. Eagle would know exactly what was intended. No such letter was available, so a new one was written dated March 25 that went to Mr. Eagle indicating that, in fact, as of the end of this year, June, there would be no money for the kindergarten program. This program has existed, as I have said, Mr. Speaker, since 1972 because it is a very unique kind of program in which 32 students are involved and 80 per cent of them are aboriginal young people. The impetus for the program began with Florence Erasmus in the early days, who felt very strongly that young aboriginal people should have some grounding in their language and culture. It was on that basis that this particular program was funded through the Tree of Peace. The department has indicated in its letter to Mr. Eagle that he would like to discuss what options may be available to the Tree of Peace if they wish to continue with this program, and they are prepared to sit down to discuss it. However, it seems clear from the letter that the department no longer wishes to fund the kindergarten program at the Tree of Peace and there should be an explanation as to why, in fact, that program is now being cut. Thank you.