Thank you, Madam Speaker. Last week my colleague from Amittuq spoke about assistance for parents who send their children to southern schools. I also want to speak on that topic.

Madam Speaker, as people are aware, people residing in the western Arctic signed treaties with the Canadian government many years ago. One of the guarantees in these treaties was the right to receive free education, particularly for the status aboriginal people. When the Minister of Education responded to my colleague, he emphasized that the department was working to develop quality programs in the north. I appreciate those efforts.

However, some parents still feel that their children have different needs that cannot be met in the Northwest Territories. They may feel that their children would be better educated, for example, in one of the good native residential schools in southern Canada. According to our treaty rights, their children should be able to get that kind of education with the cost being borne by the government.

Madam Speaker, I believe that part of the problem results from the confusion between the roles of the territorial Department of Education and the federal Department of Indian and Northern Affairs. Elsewhere in Canada, Indian Affairs is responsible for implementing treaty rights, such as the right to an education, but in the territories, the department makes those rules and policies. Madam Speaker, the problem is when parents go to Indian Affairs, they are referred back to the Department of Education and the Department of Education refers them back to Indian Affairs. The ball is always bouncing between those two departments. That is where the problem lies. Madam Speaker, I would like to encourage the Minister of Education to work with Indian Affairs to clarify their relationship concerning the education of the treaty people in the north. Parents have the right to get the best possible education for their children and the Department of Education should be helping parents with their decisions. Thank you.

---Applause