Thank you, Mr. Speaker, as I said, those may have changed a little, because of the fact that we have amalgamated and soon. Because, in the previous study, it was shown that people with a university degree had a 95 percent opportunity of having a job.
Another study, that was done recently, was by Aurora College. In their corporate plan from 1995 to the year 2000, it showed a clear link between education, employment opportunities and pay levels. Mr. Speaker, that report indicates that if you have grade 8 or less, you only have a 33 percent chance of getting a job. And you would be working for an average pay of less than $14,000.00. If you had grade 9 to grade 11, you had a 50/50 chance of getting a job. And you would work for an average pay of $21,000.00.
If you had a university degree, as I said earlier, you would have a 91 percent chance of getting a job. You would be working for an average pay of close to $50,000.00. There is a huge disparity there, Mr. Speaker.
Now another source, that I looked at, is the Canadian Fact Book on Poverty. You would have to remember that your job, and your education, are directly related to the amount of money you make. So if you make more money, you have a good education. If you have a poor education, you make less money. Less money, of course, is related to poverty. This report showed that children who came from poor families, were more than twice as likely to drop out of high school, Mr. Speaker. It also showed that close to three-quarters of the children that were in care at foster homes came from low income families, Mr. Speaker.
It also showed that child mortality, deaths at child birth, and shortly thereafter, are related to income. If a child came from a low income family, then that child was twice as likely to die, than if that child had come from a higher income family. That same report showed that boys coming from low income families were more than three times as likely to die from drowning, than if they came from a higher income family. It also showed that children from low income families are almost twice as likely, than a child from a higher income family, to have a psychiatric disorder, to do poorly in school, and to develop conduct disorder - in other words, to behave destructively.
Mr. Speaker, we like to speak about improving economic conditions and improving social conditions. These reports, which I have cited, and intend to table a document on later, these documents all show that without improving the education levels of the adults in the Northwest Territories, we have a very poor chance of improving social conditions. If we do improve economic conditions, it certainly won't be for those people with poor educations.
Mr. Speaker, I would like to conclude by wishing a Merry Christmas to my family, to my constituents, to all the people of the NWT, and also to my fellow members here at the Legislative Assembly. And a very hardy thank you and Merry Christmas to the staff at the Legislative Assembly, and all of the GNWT staff. Thank you.