Thank you. That is the case. I know that there have been criticisms about the slowness of the strategic plan, but the fact is that no change can be undertaken without those partners who are an integral part of the process and who are part of the consultation process. They include the students, parents and the boards, that in fact manage on our behalf educational program delivery in our regions and generally in our communities.

The interesting part about the strategic plan and the discussions that have led to this is that we, in fact, concluded the mandate established by the Special Committee on Education some 11 years ago. We had undertaken that initiative to lay out new directions to respond to the ever-changing economy, technologies and requirements that have been placed on us by students and even by Members of this Assembly the need for us to change, to respond to the new circumstances that exist today. Not without recognizing us, Mr. Gargan earlier pointed out, the need for us to make certain that all of our students receive the same quality of education in every community. That is absolutely important and essential for us to be successful in our ability to deliver educational programs and services to our children.

All of us here in this House have had some personal experiences mainly because we are parents. Some becoming new parents will recognize the importance of education, no matter where it is provided. I have to commend all those who have been part of the development of the strategy or the discussion document to this date, because the fact is that we have not gotten to the point that we can say there is a strategy document that we can all see and all suggest is going to be the direction. We have asked for discussions and input from our elected leadership, our community leaders, our students, our educational leaders, our educational managers, the school boards, divisional boards, to give us ideas about how they see the educational system developing and improving so that we can respond to the educational requirements.