Thank you, Madam Speaker. I rise today to speak on the lack of reasonable policy by the Department of Education in dealing with the issue of NWT students attending high school in the south.
In my constituency, there is one student whose parents decided was too advanced to take the general high school courses as offered in Pond Inlet. The only option given to this student to receive the advanced high school courses was for him to attend high school in Iqaluit. Madam Speaker, his parents did not want to send their son there because of all the social problems and the low rate of graduation by the aboriginal students.
Madam Speaker, this family has enrolled their son in a school in Ottawa at considerable expense to themselves. When they asked the Department of Education for help, they were told that there was no policy covering this, and ultimately it was the divisional board's responsibility to deal with this situation. The Baffin divisional board says that it is the Department of Education's responsibility to provide direction in this matter.
Madam Speaker, I'll be pursuing this matter during question period. Thank you, Madam Speaker.