Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, yesterday I tabled in the House a letter addressed to the Honourable Michael Miltenberger from a parent focus group in Hay River. This group of concerned citizens mobilized because they were so concerned about the impact of government cutbacks on educational programming. They are just now in the midst of completing their work. They are compiling the results of parents' concerns through the use of questionnaires and a telephone survey. Although the results are not concluded at this time, they note that, and I quote, "it is obvious that the concerns are not isolated to a few parents."
I further quote from their letter:
How long does the government plan to ignore what the taxpayers are telling them? We are not happy with the slash and burn approach to reduce educational spending. Large class size increases the stress for students, teachers and parents, which directly affects student's learning. The implementation of inclusive schooling, which is the integration of special needs students into a regular classroom without sufficient support and resources cannot continue.
The consequences of the careless and short-sighted education cuts affect our whole community. We have high levels of dropouts and too many young people with insufficient skills to help them survive in the workplace. When will the government realize that money spent wisely on education will give our youth the skills that they need to be productive contributors to society and as a result will reduce the government's expenditures on social programs.
Mr. Speaker, I fully understand the frustration and anger of parents who are rightfully concerned about the education of their children. The dire needs in education are not an illusion or a perception, they are real. These parents in Hay River and others are not asking the government to solve the problems by themselves, they are willing to do what they can to help arrive at solutions. I believe them when they say that they will pursue these issues as long as it takes to get results. I applaud and thank them for their efforts and I encourage other communities to form similar focus groups to demand action from this government in the area of education. Later today, I will be questioning the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment further on what direction he will be taking on these serious matters. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
--Applause