Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Good afternoon. Mr. Speaker, I would like to bring the Members of this Assembly up to date on the activities of the Council of Ministers of Education, Canada -- also known as CMEC. Education, Culture and Employment's participation in CMEC allows us to discuss K-12 and post-secondary education matters with the provinces and the Yukon, so we can all learn from each other. The Council recently held a meeting in Saskatoon which dealt with a number of issues of interest for us here in the Northwest Territories.

Public concern about how to improve accountability in the education system is growing. Later this year, CMEC will publish a national report on education, which will discuss the state of education across the country. Improving student achievement in key subjects is another area of interest. For example, CMEC is developing a framework for science outcomes which will establish a common understanding of key standards for science. It will be used by provinces and territories to guide curriculum design. This framework will be unveiled on the 15th of this month. Activities in the area of post-secondary education include a country-wide initiative to discuss post-secondary expectations with respect to program quality, relevance, responsiveness and research. CMEC is also calling on the federal government to pay its share of the provinces' and territories' cost of reducing, avoiding or making manageable the debt load of people who received student financial assistance.

CMEC is extensively involved in projects which will help us build a better understanding of the status of education across Canada. All Ministers are focused on matters of standards, transitions for youth from education to work, compatibility of educational achievement at the national and international levels, as well as continuing to improve schools, colleges and universities. In many ways, the issues in other jurisdictions match those in the Northwest Territories. I plan to ensure that departmental activities benefit directly from the knowledge and experiences of other provinces and territories - and that we contribute the benefit of our own experience. Over the next few months, I will continue to advise this Assembly of CMEC activities as we work with other Members to improve education and training across this country. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.