Thank you, Mr. Bell. Good morning, everyone. Orders of the day. Item 2, Ministers' statements. The honourable Minister responsible for Education, Culture and Employment, Mr. Jake Ootes.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, later today, I will table a document entitled Towards Excellence: A Report on Education in the NWT.

The document presents statistical data that indicates how well students from kindergarten to grade 12 are progressing through the education system. This is the third time that such a report, often referred to by educators as the "indicators document", has been published in the Northwest Territories.

But the report I am tabling today is the first such report that deals exclusively with data from the new Northwest Territories. The information contained in this report will allow parents and the public to access tools often used by educators and the Department of Education, Culture and Employment to evaluate the success of the current programs.

It provides a basis for comparison from year to year. This information gives a clear indication of the strengths of the educational system and the areas where improvement is needed. Towards Excellence reveals that there is much to be proud of in our education system.

For example, the number of students who graduate from high school in the Northwest Territories is on the rise. School participation rates are up and more than 90 percent of the students currently in the education system now have access to senior secondary schooling in their home community. The overall education level of Northwest Territories' residents has risen.

But there is work to be done in attracting aboriginal students to the teaching profession. We need more aboriginal teachers to serve as role models in their communities and to help in preserving language and culture. And we need to ensure that all students, regardless of where they live, have access to a variety of quality program offerings in their senior secondary years.

Mr. Speaker, our government is accountable to the people it serves for the programs it delivers. By presenting an accurate picture of our education system, Towards Excellence provides a framework for accountability.

The information in the report will form the basis for reflection and discussion about the school system. At the same time, it will guide the work of planning an education system that works for all of us.

Mr. Speaker, Towards Excellence is not only a snapshot of where we are, it helps us set realistic goals for our education system and for our students. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Ootes. Item 2, Ministers' statements. Item 3, Members' statements. The Member for Yellowknife South, Mr. Bell.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I wish to talk today about student financial assistance, as this is something that is near and dear to my heart. I have raised this issue in this House before.

As many of my colleagues know, I attended high school in Yellowknife and went on to university in the south. I have to say that the student financial assistance, from an administrative point of view, has certainly improved. I remember the first time I applied for student financial assistance, I had great difficulty. It was very confusing. I believe things have improved.

But as I mentioned previously in this House, unfortunately, tuitions at southern institutions have doubled, and sometimes tripled, over the last 10 years. The rates for student financial assistance in the Northwest Territories are the same as they were when I was going to school. This is no longer acceptable. We do not have a positive situation when we are expecting kids to make do with less.

We can all agree the current situation is unacceptable. We have in front of us the government rolling out some new legislation which proposes to make changes to student financial assistance. It looks very good on the surface. But I am hoping we can dig more deeply here today and discover exactly what this government is rolling out. I know the former government was presented with a couple of different approaches, and they chose to support a different approach than this government is currently bringing before it. I would like to discuss the two different approaches, see which was the more equitable of the approaches, and see if we cannot talk about that.

I know we sometimes choose to support things we think we can find the political support for. But I think that is just a euphemism for the road of least resistance. I really do not think that is in the best interest of students of the Northwest Territories. I am going to be asking the Minister responsible for Education some questions about this later today. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Bell. Item 3, Members' statements. The Member for Frame Lake, Mr. Dent.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, our most important resource is our people. We have huge potential in our residents, but Northerners can only reach their full potential with good access to education. An important part of that access is student financial assistance.

Mr. Speaker, since becoming a Member of the Legislative Assembly in 1991, I have probably had more calls to my office about student financial assistance than any other single issue. Of course, that may be due to the time I spent as the Minister responsible for Education. But even as an Ordinary Member, I have found student financial assistance to be a large concern amongst my constituents. It was a significant concern expressed during the last election campaign.

Over the last eight years, I have heard progressively fewer complaints about the operation of the program, and more complaints about the amount of money provided by the program. I know the administration has improved. I think the responsiveness has improved. The speed at which cheques are issued is dramatically faster. But the level of funding has not changed in nearly eight years.

Everyone I have talked with understands that we most likely have the most generous program in Canada. But in the past eight years, inflation has eaten away at its value. The federal government has nearly abandoned support for post-secondary education in Canada by slashing CHST funding, which has left universities and colleges scrambling to survive. This has driven the cost of tuition up, to three or four times what it was just five years ago.

If we want to foster success among northern students, our Student Financial Assistance Program needs to respond to the changes that have taken place in the rest of Canada.

I was pleased to hear the Minister was planning to put forward changes to student financial assistance that would put more money into the hands of students. I tried, when I was Minister, to make changes to the program that would do just that, but could never achieve consensus on how it should be done.

Mr. Speaker, unless more money is put into the budget for the program, changes only move money around. It may look somewhat different, but if we all use the same amount of money currently budgeted for student financial assistance, that means if some students are getting more money, it is coming from other students.

Mr. Speaker, the problem has always been where to get new money from? What program should it be taken from? Members in this House could never agree to shift money from another program so student financial assistance could be increased.

I sincerely hope that is what the Minister is now proposing. I, for one, am prepared to discuss cuts in another area to get more money into the Student Financial Assistance Program. Mr. Speaker, I seek unanimous consent to conclude my statement.

The Member for Frame Lake is seeking unanimous consent to conclude his statement. Do we have any nays? There are no nays. Mr. Dent, you have unanimous consent.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, honourable colleagues. Mr. Speaker, as I have said, I, for one, am prepared to discuss cuts in another area to get more money into the Student Financial Assistance Program. And to make sure we improve the program without creating winners and losers.

Our students face enough challenges without creating class divisions among them. Mr. Speaker, let us do the right thing and give more money to our students. Let us give them the tools, and challenge them to concentrate on being successful. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

-- Applause

Thank you, Mr. Dent. Item 3, Members' statements. The Member for Inuvik Boot Lakes, Mr. Roland.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I will also be following up on the statement on student financial assistance. Mr. Speaker, there has been a push for changes in this program for quite some time from organizations and aboriginal groups outside of the department to try to make it more flexible.

As we have heard, we have one of the best programs in the country. We also have one of the highest costs, with travelling back and forth. We also have one of the lowest, qualified groups in terms of grade levels of aboriginal people in the Northwest Territories. I believe that is why the program was designed, to try and support them through the system.

Mr. Speaker, part of what this program is doing right now is causing division among aboriginal groups in the Northwest Territories. Mr. Speaker, I speak for the Inuvialuit in this situation. Many of the Inuvialuit students have gone south to school, qualified for the program, received their degrees and diplomas, and are greeted with a nasty tax bill at the end of their course. Mr. Speaker, that kind of bill at the end of one's schooling, when they are looking for a job, can be devastating, especially when there was no preparation for it.

Right now, we know, because of the Indian Act, that Dene people are considered status and are tax-exempt from the grants of this government. But the Inuvialuit and the Metis of the Northwest Territories are not considered in the same light. We have to pay taxes on that. Mr. Speaker, I will have questions for the Minister regarding this matter during question period. In light of the differences and proposed changes, it still continues to differentiate between aboriginal peoples of the Northwest Territories. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Roland. Item 3, Members' statements. The Member for Thebacha, Mr. Miltenberger.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I would also like to address the issue of student financial assistance. Money is very clearly a critical issue, but as in most government programs, money is not the only issue. There are structural and process issues that can also be changed and improved on. I would like to address some of the specific areas that I wish to discuss further with the Minister.

There is the issue of travel benefits. Right now, students have to go to a travel agent designated by the department. As a result of this lack of choice, the service to the students is not what it should be. There is no incentive for the travel agent to provide the best options possible.

Student financial assistance is a program that should be delivered in the communities, but is centralized completely in Yellowknife. There is no ability for the student financial assistance officers to contact or get to know the students. There is minimal linkage with career development people in the regions. I am going to suggest, as I already have to the Minister, that in fact student financial assistance officers should be relocated to the communities, out of the Yellowknife office and into Fort Smith, Inuvik and possibly Hay River. The large centres that have the majority of students, so they can work closely with their career development and really know the students.

We have a double standard when we deal with our students in Aurora College in the North and students going south. Student financial assistance money goes to Aurora College, whereas down south, the students get the money. They are treated as adults. Here, in the North, we for some reason treat students differently because of some bad experiences with non-payments of funds and fees. We treat all students as less than adults. That is not acceptable.

We have to look clearly at how we deal with disabled people and students. Right now, there is no way to deal with them. There is no access for them. Students who are disabled and have special needs have to go to various departments with their hat in their hand, trying to cobble together financial arrangements to go to school.

There are restrictions on sharing of information. Student financial assistance does not share lists of students with other departments so they can work with students to find employment. While we have these internal roadblocks, our graduating students are being recruited in southern jurisdictions. Teachers, nurses...Mr. Speaker, I seek unanimous consent to conclude my statement.

Thank you, Mr. Miltenberger. The Member for Thebacha is seeking unanimous consent to conclude his statement. Are there any nays? There are no nays. Mr. Miltenberger, you have unanimous consent.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, colleagues. In effect, by not having the systems in place to support our students, we often lose the benefit of the valuable investment we have made.

We also have in the Student Financial Assistance Program, an elaborate, administrative system that is set up to mainly keep track of and oversee the students. For example, students are given travel money for Christmas, and there is no flexibility. If they do not use it at Christmas, it has to go all the way to the Minister's desk to have a decision made, when in fact the Minister should be looking at other things, like finding $1 million for student summer employment, rather than deciding if a student can make different use of the travel money they have been authorized to spend.

We have no clear way to track success, Mr. Speaker. We have a comprehensive and detailed, relentless system to track failures and debt collection, but we do not have the same system in place to work with the students that are graduating. To work with industries to find them jobs. We have to look at ways to not leave students who fail out in the cold for three years. Is there a way to give them some bridging to get them that one semester they need to get back on their feet.

Finally, Mr. Speaker, we have to work closely with our aboriginal partners to coordinate the funds they have with the funds we have. This is done by the people in the Dogrib region. By doing that, they are able to compound the benefit and effect of the money they spend. Mr. Speaker, we are not here simply asking for money. There are things this government can do to change and improve the system to make it more effective for all students. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Miltenberger. The Member for Range Lake, Ms. Lee.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I would like to talk of something that is a rather urgent matter for my constituents. Earlier this week, I made a statement regarding the accident involving a tractor trailer on Highway No. 3 between Rae-Edzo and Yellowknife.

The results of the accident were two-fold: injuries to a person and damage to the environment. Although the driver was discharged from the hospital with minor injuries, the full impact of the environmental damages as a result of the spillage of approximately 20,000 litres of diesel fuel will not be known until the summer.

On Wednesday, the Minister of Transportation took my question about the cause of the accident as notice, stating that the issue is still under police investigation.

But yesterday, Mr. Speaker, one day after the accident, the Minister announced a change in the speed limit for trucks on the unconstructed portion of Highway No. 3 from 90 kilometres per hour to 70 kilometres per hour.

The timing of these two events is very curious, Mr. Speaker. I am very concerned about what his statement implies about the dangerous condition of the highway. As the Minister admitted himself in his statement, the lowering of the speed limit was necessary for two reasons; one, to reduce the wear and tear on the road and two, to give motorists a greater sense of confidence that they can travel the highway safely.

To put it another way, Mr. Speaker, I believe what the Minister is saying is that the perfect condition of Highway No. 3 cannot handle the current traffic load of the road. At the same time, the motorists do not have a sense of confidence that they can complete the journey safely.

It is clear the huge volume of trucks travelling to the mine sites is taking a toll on the road. The road cannot take the wear and tear, and this is dangerous to the public. He had no choice but to reduce the speed limit for the trucks, Mr. Speaker. But this does not solve the problem. This can only be a short-term emergency measure. The current plan for the reconstruction of the road is more than 10 years. We surely cannot continue this way for 10 years or more.

The resource industry is already hampered by the short winter road season. The increasing fuel prices are adding to the cost of doing business. Decreased speed limit is one more obstacle because this will mean a delay in the transportation of supplies to the mine site. In the end, we all pay.

But there is a more important flaw in the Minister's measure, Mr. Speaker. And it has to do with the safety of the people travelling on the road. I am concerned that having two separate speed limits...

Ms. Lee, your time has expired.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I seek unanimous consent to conclude my statement.

Thank you, Ms. Lee. The Member for Range Lake is seeking unanimous consent to conclude her statement. Are there any nays? There are no nays. You may continue, Ms. Lee.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I am concerned that having two separate speed limits would encourage small-vehicle operators to keep trying to pass the big trucks. You can see how this can be dangerous for everyone travelling on that road.

As I stated earlier, Mr. Speaker, this road is a fatality site waiting to happen. How many lives do we have to injure or lose on this road? How much fuel and contaminants do we have to dump into the lakes surrounding this highway before the road is paved and widened? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

-- Applause

Thank you, Ms. Lee. Item 3, Members' statements. The Member for North Slave, Mr. Lafferty.

Mr. Lafferty, just a reminder that you can only speak on one issue in your statement.

-- Interjection

-- Laughter

-- Applause

You may continue, Mr. Lafferty.

Thank you, Mr. Lafferty. Just to remind the Members, Members' statements are to be on one topic. I am assuming the athletes are going to be using Highway No. 3, so I will allow the comments.

-- Applause

Item 3, Members' statements. The Member for Mackenzie Delta, Mr. Krutko.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to take this time to congratulate the many people in my riding who were successful in their efforts to represent the Northwest Territories at the Arctic Winter Games in Whitehorse. Individuals such as Archie Ari, who will be coaching the dog-mushing team; Desmond Annete and Jim Kay of Aklavik, who will be participating in Arctic sports; Janice McLeod from Aklavik, who will be participating in badminton; Joyce Stor, who has made the ladies' hockey team along with Jackie Pascal of Fort McPherson. I look forward to seeing these two young ladies making the Canadian Olympic Hockey Team someday. I believe they have the potential. I would also like to acknowledge Lorna Stor of Aklavik, who will be going along as staff. In snowshoeing, we have several individuals: Aleca Francis; Shaun Niandoh; Kevin and Corinne Roberts, along with the coach, Dennis Wright of Fort McPherson.

Mr. Speaker, I would like to add that I have a lot of concerns. I do not see too many team sports the communities of the Mackenzie Delta are participating in, except for the two ladies participating in hockey.

I think it is important this government invests in the well-being and health of the young people in our communities. In order to do that, Mr. Speaker, I feel this government has to identify healthy lives as one of our priorities.

In order to do that, I believe we have to work with groups such as the Aboriginal Sport Circle, who work closely with Sport North to ensure we have the resources and the ability for students in the communities to participate in territorial and national events. But it does take money. As other Members have stated, there is a lack of resources in a lot of our communities. We have a large unemployment problem.

Mr. Speaker, I think this government can take some efforts to improve the lives of the people in our communities by doing simple things. It is important we put money into improving the existing facilities in our communities...Mr. Speaker, I seek unanimous consent to conclude my statement.

Thank you, Mr. Krutko. The Member for Mackenzie Delta is seeking unanimous consent to conclude his statement. Are there any nays? There are no nays. You may conclude your statement, Mr. Krutko.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Thank you, colleagues. As I stated, I think it is important this government makes an investment in our communities by putting money into improving existing facilities. We have hockey rinks we are not able to make use of during the summer season.

But I think a simple gesture by this government, but finding a program that can be carried out right across the Western Territory by simply putting concrete in those facilities so that we can use those facilities year-round, in the winter for hockey and Arctic sports, and also in the summer for rollerblading, indoor soccer and other events. These facilities would then get the maximum potential, allowing the athletes in our communities to achieve their goals and be competitive nationally and territorially.

I would like to suggest that the government seriously consider that. With that, I would like to wish all of the athletes that are going to the Arctic Winter Games from across the Northwest Territories all the best, and I look forward to seeing them in Whitehorse between March 5th to the 10th. With that, all the best. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Krutko. Item 3, Members' statements. The honourable Member for Tu Nedhe, Mr. Nitah.

Mahsi, Mr. Nitah. Item 3, Members' statements. Item 4, returns to oral questions. Item 5, recognition of visitors in the gallery. The honourable Member for Thebacha, Mr. Miltenberger.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to recognize today in this House a constituent, friend and fellow hockey player, Mr. Bob Rose, a businessman from Fort Smith. Thank you.

-- Applause

Welcome, Mr. Rose. Item 5, recognition of visitors in the gallery. Mr. Krutko.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I did not want this person to think I had forgotten about her, so I would like to recognize Ms. Pat Thomas of the NWTTA.

-- Applause

Thank you, Mr. Krutko. I think Ms. Thomas has received 100 percent recognition since she has been here. Item 5, recognition of visitors in the gallery. Item 6, oral questions. The Member for Yellowknife South, Mr. Bell.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I would like to ask the Minister responsible for Education, Culture and Employment questions on the Student Financial Assistance Program. I am not sure that the average Northerner or student understands that the details of what the student will actually receive are contained in regulation instead of legislation.

The bill which the government will propose today will make amendments to the Student Financial Assistance Act and will deal with raising the amount of money available in the loan fund and increasing the lifetime limit on the amount each individual can borrow. Mr. Speaker, I am sure that you can appreciate that students are more concerned with how much they will receive for student financial assistance rather than how we tweak our legislation.

My question for the Minister, Mr. Speaker, is whether the Minister will commit to tabling the proposed regulations now that the amendments to the Student Financial Assistance Act have been introduced. Thank you.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Perhaps I can get some clarification. Does the Member wish to have me table the redesign of the Student Financial Assistance Program? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Ootes. Item 6, oral questions, Mr. Bell.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, that is correct.

Thank you, Mr. Bell. Mr. Ootes.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, this has been a program that has been a long time in the making. It has been two and a half years since it started and during questions, I will get into some of the background for the Members, audience, and public.

The redesign is available, and this afternoon I will be holding a press conference and we will be starting to redistribute the redesign to the various interested parties. I will table the redesign, Mr. Speaker, at the appropriate moment. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Ootes. Item 6, oral questions, Mr. Bell.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. That is reassuring, but I am wondering if the Minister can tell us; will these regulations be in place soon or, more specifically, when will these regulations be in place? I am concerned about students going away to school in the fall, so I would like to see this done as quickly as possible.

The question is when will the regulations be in place? Thank you.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I want to thank the Member for bringing this up. I think this is a good information item for people to know about. I intend to table the redesign in this Session. Additionally, as I had mentioned, I am going to hold a press conference this afternoon and we will have a communications strategy to distribute with the material.

We have already advised the chiefs in the Territory that the redesign and the bill is coming before the Legislature. The process that we will follow is that the bill will be given, hopefully, second reading this afternoon. At that point the bill, presumably, would go to the standing committee. The standing committee would have to review the bill and the redesign. That is the process it will go through.

Once the standing committee can report back to the House, to the committee of the whole, the process will be that presumably it will be debated here. Then it is up to the House as to how soon we can pass that bill. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Ootes. Final supplementary, Mr. Bell. Item 6, oral questions. The Member for Frame Lake, Mr. Dent.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my question is also for the Minister responsible for Education, Culture and Employment. As I noted in my Member's statement this morning, I believe we need to expand this program by adding money to it. I know that we are in a very tight fiscal situation. All of us in this House are aware of that.

We have heard from the Minister of Finance that whenever we provide money for one program it inevitably means taking money from another. Can the Minister responsible for Education, Culture and Employment tell us if the proposed changes to the Student Financial Assistance Program will involve taking money from somewhere else in order to increase the monies going to students?

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The proposed changes are that the revolving loan fund will be increased from the present, I think it is $23 million, to $33 million, adding $11 million, as part of a revolving loan fund. Through the system being designed there would be remissible loans which will replenish the loan fund. So I do not see that there would be additional funds from other areas. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Ootes. Supplementary, Mr. Dent.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I am trying to get a thorough understanding of what this means. The Minister has said that there is going to be an increase in the revolving fund, but that there does not appear to be any new money. Are we really talking about moving money around in the existing pot so that it is basically the same budget line that we are going to be looking at, and it is just a difference in the way that the program is administered and the monies are parceled out? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The changes in the design will change some of the grants that are now provided to remissible loans. Those remissible loans will come into the system when students finish school. Historically it has been shown that a certain amount comes back to the territorial government. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Ootes. Supplementary, Mr. Dent.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. If I am to understand then, Mr. Speaker, there is no new money going into the program, but we can increase the amount of money going to some students because we will be recovering money from students who have failed. Would that be accurate in the way of characterizing the way we are getting more money for some students? Thank you.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Some money will come from students who have failed, but additionally some students may not stay in the Northwest Territories and go to the south, and those will be repayable loans. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Ootes. Supplementary, Mr. Dent.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. If in fact we are going to be recovering monies now that we are not perhaps recovering because we are changing grants into remissible loans there would have to be conditions for those loans. Have we made the standards for qualifying for remission even more difficult than they currently are? Does the redesign make the standards even more difficult to have loans remised? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The changes that have taken place are that Northwest Territories indigenous Dene will continue to receive a basic grant for tuition, books and travel, and a supplementary grant for living allowance and high accommodation costs. Northwest Territories indigenous Metis and Inuit will be receiving a basic grant for tuition, books and travel, but a remissible loan for living allowance.

Northwest Territories schooled students will receive tuition, books and travel as a basic grant, and a remissible loan for living allowance. Others, Northwest Territories residents not schooled in the North, will be put on an income-assessed repayable loan basis. Thank you.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Minister has not talked about what the success rate is. Do we see some of this money coming back because we are expecting to see 20 or 30 percent of the students who currently are receiving grants perhaps fail the course, and that is how we are getting a lot of the money into this program? Thank you.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I do not have the exact technical information and details on that here, but I have been informed that, historically tracked, there has been an ongoing return to the Northwest Territories. The projections are that there will be a certain amount, as I say, through some changes that are being made. People who were not schooled in the Northwest Territories may apply for income assessed repayable loans. That will come back into the system, and that has changed from the previous system.

The Northwest Territories schooled, we are changing to remissible loans, and if those individuals do not stay in the North, they become repayable. Additionally, Northwest Territories indigenous Metis and Inuit are offered remissible loans. The objective here, Mr. Speaker, is to set up a system. And through the consultation process we were informed that the emphasis must be on providing more money for the students, but additionally to stress the success factor and the return to the Northwest Territories. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Ootes. Item 6, oral questions. The honourable Member for Tu Nedhe, Mr. Nitah.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I do not have that answer at hand. I will have to take the question as notice.

Thank you, Mr. Ootes. The question has been taken as notice. Item 6, oral questions. The honourable Member for Thebacha, Mr. Miltenberger.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, as I indicated in my Member's statement, while money is an issue, there are a significant number of process changes that could be made to this student financial assistance system to improve the delivery of student financial assistance. These issues have been raised not only by MLAs, but we have had those issues brought to our attention by students who have lived or who are trying to live through the system as they get their education at university and college.

One of the issues, Mr. Speaker, is how we work with students, work with industry, work with career development to see how and where we are succeeding. How many teachers are we educating? How many nurses? How many engineers? What type of relationship do we have with industry to help students get placed so they are not recruited by southern jurisdictions? As I indicated, we have a very comprehensive system to track down students that owe us money.

But we have a very weak system in terms of working with students and industry in career development in the schools. Can the Minister indicate how he intends to address this system on some of the issues so we are not just putting more money into it but to make some substantial changes that will benefit students? Thank you.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I think the Member is certainly pointing out a good area for us all to be working on to ensure that those students who we put through the system come back to the North, that the North benefits from it. So that we encourage them and set up our systems so that there are possibilities for employment and so forth.

I will just state that the emphasis of this program is to provide an emphasis on more money for students, as I said earlier, but also to ensure that there is a system to bring students back North. I think the redesign has been done on that basis. And what we have heard through the public consultation process was the need to provide more money for students, to work on success for students and the need to have them come back North.

I appreciate what the Member is saying, that we need to work on that area. Providing opportunities for them. We need a system of tracking. I am not sure what is in place now. I can find out for the Member. It is an important area for us to look at. Thank you.

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.

Thank you, Mr. Miltenberger. I am not sure if that is a point of order, but I will ask the Ministers that when they are asked to respond to the question, if they could avoid any unnecessary delays, or defer to another Minister that may be able to answer the question. The Minister responsible for Education, Culture and Employment, Mr. Ootes.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I understand the program the honourable Member is referring to is a federally funded program, the University and College Preparation Entrance Program. Thank you.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It is a federally funded program, but it is administered by this government. Will the Minister commit to examining the issue of readdressing the way it is done now, and taking appropriate steps to involve all aboriginal people in preparing them for post-secondary education? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I will certainly undertake to look at the program, Mr. Speaker. Thank you.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Minister spoke earlier of looking down the road at something like this. The fact is we need to build this road. Can the Minister give us an idea as to how long this will take to start preparing this and put this into place? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. At this point, I have no idea how long this might take, but I will get back to the Member on that. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Ootes. Item 6, oral questions. The Member for Mackenzie Delta, Mr. Krutko.