Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In follow up to Mr. Henry's Member's statement and subsequent questions regarding special needs students and the delivery of education services to those students, the timing of his statement and questions are interesting, as just today I received another call from a parent in Hay River who has a son who is experiencing difficulty in the school system but is included in the mainstream, as they call it. The frustration that people experience when you get a child who is getting up into the teen years and is delayed in several areas and all the reports are in hand from various institutions from pathologists and everything else, but there is no one in special needs services available in the school due to lack of funding. My question is for the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment. Perhaps he could give me, as an MLA, some advice in how I should respond to such calls from parents. The Minister himself said that children in the north deserve the level of service that is mandated in the Act, and I fully agree with him. But I do not know what to tell parents when they are in this situation. Your mind goes to volunteers. You do not know how to answer. Here is an example of a child who is not receiving an education suited to his special needs and will be growing up and going into society without a proper education. How do I respond to this kind of request?
Jane Groenewegen on Question 573-13(4): Special Needs Students' Services
In the Legislative Assembly on October 2nd, 1997. See this statement in context.
Question 573-13(4): Special Needs Students' Services
Item 6: Oral Questions
October 1st, 1997
Page 1384
See context to find out what was said next.