Item 5, oral questions. Mr. Dent.

Mr. Nerysoo.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. First, most Members know that the time limit for Ministers' statements is 20 minutes, and I asked for unanimous consent to conclude my remarks but the time had run out. I was going to seek unanimous consent to return to Ministers' statements with the House's consent, but I was going to do that after question period was over.

Supplementary, Mr. Dent.

Mr. Nerysoo.

Yes, Mr. Speaker, I was and I am going to move the document into committee of the whole for discussion.

Item 5, oral questions. Mr. Arngna'naaq.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I have been raising my hand now for about 15 minutes. I ask that you look a little bit further than the polar bear.

---Laughter

Mr. Speaker, I have a question for the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment Programs. I was very glad to see the statement which the Minister made today with regard to the community teacher education program. I am also very happy to see that there will be 100 new aboriginal employees hired. I am always afraid that in our school system our standards will either diminish or not improve in some way due to some changes that are taking place in our education system. I would like to ask the Minister what is being done to ensure that our standard of education is being maintained or not being diminished. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Nerysoo.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Before I get into the substance of the question, I have great confidence in aboriginal people to be teachers. In fact, Mr. Speaker, I think we will find the future holds great promise for aboriginal students in the communities, particularly in terms of language and the cultural relevancy of our educational programming. To date, that has not been necessarily a strong point in our educational system. I think it is improving, and that we have great promise. Our students, generally, in the future will be better students. There is no question, Mr. Speaker, that I share the same concern of the honourable Member. As a result of our commitment to training aboriginal people as educators, having them involved, we will improve the quality of education for our students. The standards are set because we have core programming. More than that, we are now going to see improvement in the way we deliver those core programs in the language relevant to the students in those communities. We will find much better students. An

example of a successful community education program is Arviat, where students have stayed in their communities. We have more graduates now than when they were attending school in Yellowknife.

Supplementary, Mr. Arngna'naaq.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In the Minister's statement of today he indicated that some courses may also be delivered through distance education. I would like to know where these students would be taking this program from.

Mr. Nerysoo.

Mr. Speaker, just so there is no confusion about the existing programs, we are continuing with the existing programs, the one in the Keewatin, the one in Thebacha and the one which is in Iqaluit. Those programs continue to exist. What we are now doing is expanding the program to include the four most in need of aboriginal teachers, particularly participants. It is our intention to utilize the telephone system, in terms of delivering some of the programs, and use TVNC if that is available to us. We will use whatever medium we have available to us.

Supplementary, Mr. Arngna'naaq.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My first supplementary had more to do with how and where the program was created. Was there a base from which the program was created, a university down south, for example? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Nerysoo.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The programs which are being delivered in our communities are the teacher education programs, based in Fort Smith and Iqaluit. The one in the Nunavut area is tied to McGill University. The one in the western Arctic is tied to the University of Saskatchewan.

Item 5, oral questions. Mr. Whitford. Do you want another supplementary, Mr. Arngna'naaq. Supplementary, Mr. Arngna'naaq.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My last supplementary will be to do with the statement the Minister made today. The Minister indicated that the studies and work will go toward a bachelor of education degree at McGill University in the east, and at the University of Saskatchewan in the west. What incentive is there for these students to take these programs. Are there any incentives for the aboriginal students to take these programs?

Mr. Nerysoo.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would hope so. The greatest numbers of employable individuals in the Northwest Territories are teachers, those who are in the educational field. There are two areas that we have very significant numbers that work in the communities. We have over 1,100 teachers in the Northwest Territories. This is a very significant number. The other issue is in the nursing profession, we have large numbers of individuals in our communities. Those are two areas which we are trying to focus on at this particular juncture, along with others, of course, such as business administration, and hopefully science.