Thank you, Mr. Ootes. Supplementary, Mr. Miltenberger.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As the Minister indicated in one of his earlier replies, this whole system and redesign has been in the works, like a lot of other things in the government, for years, so it is time to funnel this issue down from the abstract and the fuzzy warm feeling to the specifics of how it is going to work. When you come to this House to discuss the issues you have to talk to specifics. What kind of system is the Minister trying to put in place? Will travel benefits, for example, be loosened up to allow students flexibility and the ability to get the best deal in travel arrangements to go south? Will regulations be loosened up so that in fact students can use their travel vouchers at Christmas, but if they do not go home at Christmas because of other obligations they can go home at reading week without having to go all the way to the Minister to get approval?

Those kind of simple, fundamental changes, Mr. Speaker. Can the Minister speak to those and commit to looking at those? Those are not major changes. They are not rocket science. They are process and structure. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Miltenberger. The Minister responsible for Education, Culture and Employment, Mr. Ootes.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Member has a very good point in what he is saying. There are very restrictive areas in this. It may be more expansive than what I know about. I know of one situation where we are very restrictive as to when a student can travel back home, as the Member has referenced.

I think it is an ongoing area for us to work on. I am hopeful the standing committee's review on this can make some recommendations in those areas, and point out some of the difficulties in this. I appreciate the Member's comments. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Ootes. Supplementary, Mr. Miltenberger.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. While I appreciate the Minister's appreciation of my comments, I would also appreciate a commitment from the Minister and the department to look at this and do more than appreciate the fact that the issue has been raised. This is not new information, Mr. Speaker.

Another area I seek commitment from the Minister on is will he commit to look at how we can have student financial assistance better deal with disabled and special needs students? Those are further areas where there are gaps. It takes all types of interventions to deal with people who are entitled to receive a post-secondary education, but the system does not quite fit for them. Will the Minister commit to look at that? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Miltenberger. The Minister responsible for Education, Culture and Employment, Mr. Ootes.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the Member has a very good point. I will commit to looking at the areas he has raised. There is no question those are areas we should always keep in mind to improve our system and administrative processes. We have to look at updating our application forms and information packages for students. Some things are already in the works. For example, we have a website where students can access information.

Existing staff need to be trained in some of these areas, and some of the new areas that can potentially be introduced. Decentralization may be an area to look at down the road. However, we also need to consider what self-government may eventually lead to. I think there is potential in what the Member is stating. There are areas we should continually look at. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Ootes. Final supplementary, Mr. Miltenberger.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I agree with the Minister that what has been proposed is an interim measure, as we negotiate with the aboriginal governments for the takeover of these types of programs.

My final supplementary to the Minister is: will he commit to, in the next school year, have the same kind of comprehensive system we have to track failures to start tracking successes? So we can work on the proactive side, and not just focus on debt collection, where we seem to be putting all of our time and effort into systems development. Can we look at developing a system so we can work closely with industry and other parts of the department, like career development? A system that will allow us to work with the students to realize the benefit of our investment in them? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Miltenberger. The Minister responsible for Education, Culture and Employment, Mr. Ootes.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I am not sure I can commit to putting that into place by the next school year, if the Member means by September. I will certainly undertake to work on this very heavily. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Ootes. Item 6, oral questions. The Member for Inuvik Boot Lake, Mr. Roland.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, as I said in my Member's statement, a lot of work has been done in this area. But there is still a lot of concern from residents and aboriginal groups in the Territories and the differences made through this Student Financial Assistance Program.

One particular area is a program that is available, on a limited basis, to status aboriginals, called the College and University Entrance Program. This program prepares aboriginal status students for success in post-secondary studies, and has been delivered by Aurora College in the past.

Several MLAs made comments in the last Assembly on their disappointment that this excellent program was not extended to people of Inuvialuit and Metis descent. When you consider the average grade level completion of aboriginal people in the Northwest Territories is grade eight, you can see the post-secondary opportunities are limited for some residents.

For example, an aboriginal person of Metis descent is able to upgrade through the adult education program to a grade 12 level. This would not necessarily mean that person is ready to enter a diploma or degree program.

My question for the Minister is whether the proposed redesign of the Student Financial Assistance Program allows funding for students taking university or college preparation courses? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Roland. The Minister responsible for Education, Culture and Employment, Mr. Ootes.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I do not believe we fund access or adult education programs to prepare students for college or university. If that was his question, the answer is no.

Thank you, Mr. Ootes. Supplementary, Mr. Roland.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. This directly relates to my question that this government is unfairly controlling money meant for the post-secondary education for aboriginals. Mr. Speaker, I would like to ask the Minister to explain how allowing students to access college and university preparation courses is in conflict with the intent of the Student Financial Assistance Program? Mr. Speaker, the idea is to provide available money for post-secondary education. Why is it not available to all aboriginal people of the Northwest Territories? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Roland. The Minister responsible for Education, Culture and Employment, Mr. Ootes.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I wonder if I could get the Member to clarify. He spoke a bit too fast in his preamble. I wonder if he could just clarify. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Ootes. Mr. Roland, could you repeat your question for clarification?

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. For the Minister's benefit, there is a concern that this government is unfairly controlling dollars that were meant to be used by aboriginal people for post-secondary education. I would like the Minister to explain how the present system benefits all aboriginal people of the Northwest Territories if this University and College Entrance Program is only available to one sector of the aboriginal people in the Northwest Territories? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Roland. The Minister responsible for Education, Culture and Employment, Mr. Ootes. We have a point of order here. Mr. Miltenberger, your point of order.

Mr. Speaker, given the valuable, limited time we have, I would ask the responses be delivered in a timely way. If they wish to have a team huddle, the clock should stop, so we are not penalized for their strategizing. Thank you.