Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I do not believe so. It is not a position paper. It is only a listing of what we provide now and an outline of the financial outlook and an indication that we therefore need to find someway to ensure the program is sustainable.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. The Minister has pointed out there are grants and then there are the supplementary grants and there are the forgivable loans and if a student comes back to the territories and lives in the territories, that loan can be forgiven. I have a concern with that from the perspective, Mr. Chairman, that with the job scarcity here in the territories and then with the affirmative action policy, it really does favour those who fall under the affirmative action eligibility. The northerners who are not of aboriginal parentage or descent are therefore not as eligible for the jobs but they are also not as eligible for the financial assistance. Therefore, chances are if they want to find a job they may have to go south. I find it extremely unfair. I would like to ask the Minister, if it is fair, but I know that is a rhetorical question, so I will not ask it. Perhaps the Minister could answer this question for me, has the department looked at and investigated what the cost difference might be to extend the grant program and the supplementary grant to all students from the Northwest Territories? Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

One purpose of the consultation is to examine whether or not we should become like all other jurisdictions and not forgive any loans, maybe we should make all the loans repayable. I would argue the Member is missing the point. We have the most generous financial assistance package for any student in Canada. I do not know of any jurisdiction that guarantees students jobs to the same extent that this one does. This government hires more students per capita for summer jobs than any other government in Canada. It is unreasonable to say there should be a real expectation that everybody who is a student will get a job. Most of the students who qualify for the loans programs that are remissible will be P2s because they will have lived in the Northwest Territories for more than half their life, so they too will qualify under the affirmative action program. I have indicated that we are looking at revising the student financial assistance program. There are all sorts of options we are going to look at. Looking at extending the program to everybody so that it is provided on the same basis that it is to aboriginal students, can be one of the things that is up for discussion. If this House sees fit to provide millions more dollars, we can certainly do it. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I do not think I was implying the government should provide jobs to every student. What I am saying is that certain students are at a

disadvantage before they start. My question was, has the department looked into, or perhaps this discussion paper could look into, extending the program to other students for the supplementary grants? Let me ask another question here. Are long-time northerners also considered eligible for the supplementary grants? They do fall under the affirmative action policy of this government. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, the supplementary grants are provided for aboriginal people only. It is worth pointing out that in headquarters here in Yellowknife in 1994, we had 9 percent of our positions filled by Metis people, 6 percent filled by Dene people, and 81 percent filled by non-aboriginal people. Given the make-up of the population at large, that does not come close to approaching a representative number in the population. I throw it back to the Member, is that fair?

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I guess we are not here to debate the affirmative action issue. In response to the Minister, I would like to state, how do we know the majority of the remaining number of individuals are not long-time northerners? That was my question. Are long-time northerners eligible for supplementary grants? Because if the long-time northerners who do fall under the affirmative action policy are eligible, why can they not be eligible for this policy for supplementary grants? Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, during the review of the student financial assistance program I would encourage the Member to put forward his suggestions for revision. We will take a look at them. The whole issue of student financial assistance and changes to that program are seen as being controversial, just as the affirmative action program is, that is one of the reasons I am coming forward with a discussion paper and looking forward to hearing the views of as many northerners as possible in trying to design a new program that is fiscally sustainable. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I would like to get the reassurance of the Minister that they will look at the possibility of extending this program, the supplementary loan area, to other students in the territories. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I think everything on the student financial assistance program area is on the table for examination. The examination is being undertaken in light of our fiscal situation. I think we have to remember that. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. This goes back long before my time in this position or even in the Legislature so I cannot answer the Member's question definitively. It certainly appears that way to me. Historically that was probably one of the reasons for it, yes.