Thank you. Minister of Education, Culture and Employment, Mr. Nerysoo.

Thank you, Madam Speaker. So that there's no confusion, Madam Speaker, I think Members should be aware that the development of this document was, in many respects, one of the longest and most detailed consultative processes we have undertaken. It took almost two years, actually, to conclude its development.

It is our intention to continue to work with the divisional boards; they have been apprised of most of the details of the document, since much of the document is a reflection of the work that we have been doing in conjunction with the boards. What I have considered doing is meeting again with the boards to advise them because, in many respects, they are going to be involved with the actual implementation and the development, in conjunction with our department, of the policies that are to follow.

The next important component of the strategy, of course, is the Education Act. That document will hopefully be, as I indicated, brought before this Assembly so that additional consultation can take place, in conjunction with the Standing Committee on Legislation.

Thank you. Supplementary, Mr. Koe.

Mahsi. The method of distributing information through band offices, through divisional boards and other governmental offices is probably, what I would consider, a new traditional way for bureaucrats to get information out. That enjoys some degree of success. Another method is to have town hall meetings and to meet in people's houses, which is the old traditional way. My supplementary is, will the department be using other methods of communication to ensure that information in the strategy gets out to the grassroots people?

Thank you. Minister of Education, Culture and Employment, Mr. Nerysoo.

Thank you, Madam Speaker. We're looking at all alternatives. In fact, one of the things we are trying to do, as a result of consultations of the department in conjunction with IBC on the matter of technological information networking, is have IBC host a town hall type of meeting right across the Northwest Territories on TVNC. This will be one of the first major items of discussion on the technological networking system that will involve schools and communities. We are experimenting with the idea of a town hall meeting in conjunction with TVNC and IBC, which is coordinating that event.

Thank you. Supplementary, Mr. Koe.

Mahsi. There has been a lot of work done. As the Minister mentioned, it has been two years in the making and we now have a printed document called a strategy. There could be a tendency on the part of bureaucrats to say, we have done the work, here's the strategy and that's it. I say that people in the north want to know what is happening. We've come up with a strategy, we've given our input, we've printed a document, so what's going to happen now with our children, in terms of education?

Can the Minister assure me that there will more discussions with parents about the implementation of this strategy?

Thank you, Madam Speaker. Madam Speaker, just so the general public knows, there was even a forum of students who discussed the document. It was our view, and certainly my view, that student contribution to the development of education programming in the north was very, very critical.

And, just so that Members are aware, when we had the national forum on education in Montreal, it was on my encouragement and insistence that we had a representative of the student population of the Northwest Territories. I believe, as the honourable Member believes, that the students are critical to the success of the strategy. I do want to say to the honourable Member that I want to give credit to those people who did a lot of work. Sometimes we have a tendency of saying they are bureaucrats and, as such, they don't pay a lot of attention to the communities. But, in this particular case, I would have to say to the honourable Member that the staff, particularly Helen Balanoff, who was the coordinator of this initiative, paid a great deal of attention to the need of this government to respond to community needs.

I believe that we cannot allow the document to just sit in the government offices, as the honourable Member has pointed out, and we will continue to ensure that communities are a part of the process. However, I want to also say that the time for work has to begin. Some of it has begun, but we cannot sit still and hope that everybody else is going to do the job. We have the instructions and the advice; we're going to get on with doing the job, not at the expense of the communities, but in conjunction with the communities.

Thank you. Final supplementary, Mr. Koe.

Mahsi, Madam Speaker. That's nice, and I hope not at the expense of our children, the students in the system. Let's assume that all the work that has been done now is the basis for something. The Minister made reference to the fact that there is a new Education Act being developed. So, my final supplementary to the Minister is, what is the status of the development of the new act?

Minister of Education, Culture and Employment, Mr. Nerysoo.

Thank you, Madam Speaker. Members are aware that during the past session I tabled a document entitled Voices: The Refinement and Establishment

of a New Education Act. That particular document has been discussed with the boards of education and has been sent to all the communities. We have received some very, very good advice. As a result of that advice, we've developed a draft piece of legislation and a summary of the legislation so the people can understand what is in the document. That document will be before the Cabinet, hopefully, within the next two weeks, after which time, I will bring it forward for tabling and referral to the Standing Committee on Legislation for additional public consultation.

Item 6, oral questions. The honourable Member for Deh Cho, Mr. Gargan.