Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, as I have indicated in this House previously, the turn over rate has dropped from 18 percent in the previous year to 12 percent. It is still a concern for us that we have teachers, preferably northern teachers, in all of our schools. At the end of this month I am heading out to the council of Ministers of Education of Canada meeting in Victoria and one of the issues that we hope to address is that very issue that my honourable colleague has raised in his question. Thank you.

Thank you. I preface my remarks with regard to the contract and mediation talks. Could the Minister update us as to what the status is and just tell us where we are at? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my colleague laid out very clearly the status. There have been settlements in Yellowknife in the same ballpark that was settled in the UNW, but in the communities outside of Yellowknife, it is going to mediation as my colleague indicated and we are hopeful at that point that we will be able to get beyond of this current impasse. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We all know what the issues are on the table. I am wondering what we are doing in terms of the working conditions for our teachers, like class size, administrative support, resources and that sort of thing. What I want to know, is are we looking at that and are we comparing it to what teachers in other jurisdictions are getting? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Given the fact that we are in the process of negotiation in good faith with the teachers and this whole process is on its way to mediation and that the question that my colleague has asked was framed within the context of those negotiations, I am not able to reply specifically to that issue. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Part of our program is the Teacher Education Program that we run here in the Territories that I believe is having some success. Naturally we want to build on that. I am wondering if the Minister can tell me what we are doing to promote that particular program because that has been touted as the principle means of us solving some of our problems here in the North and I think that is correct. Could the Minister tell me if they are initiating a program to promote that particular program in a more concerted effort?

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Teacher Education Program is a very important program. There was a strategic plan done under the wise direction of the former Minister of Education now, the Minister of Finance, Mr. Dent, that laid out some of the issues that we are trying to deal with as well. It is the intent of the government, the Department of Education, along with the support of the Members, for example, to move towards degree granting, so that we can, in fact, get degreed teachers in the North, which is the goal. The diploma is the first step, but in actual fact the long range desired goal would be to have all our teachers be degreed teachers in the Northwest Territories. There are things being done to try and address that particular issue. Thank you.