Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, today I would like to speak briefly about the Western Arctic Leadership Program. Last week, the leadership program wrote letters to all of the Members, outlining their situation and asking for assistance. Mr. Speaker, in 1990, the Department of Education, Culture and Employment, under the direction of the government Minister, Mr. Kakfwi, created the Western Arctic Leadership Program, based on his vision and his desire to see a program that would be a residence and an opportunity for children from small communities to learn and develop their leadership skills and to graduate from high school. It was modelled after the very successful environment of the former Grandin College, which was also located in Fort Smith.
Mr. Speaker, the students from this program study at the local high school, while they reside in a residence in Fort Smith. The program has very active house parents, and they focus both on the academic and on developing outdoor skills and leadership skills on the land. Over the past decade, dozens of students have passed through the program, and all but two of them have gone on to post-secondary education. Mr. Speaker, the first ever graduates from communities like Colville Lake, Fort Liard and Trout Lake were Western Arctic Leadership Program students. It is a successful program, Mr. Speaker, and I believe it has proven itself after ten years. It has a very blue chip board, if I may use that term. The former director for Grandin College, Father Pochat, is on the board.
The one problem, Mr. Speaker, is that the leadership program is facing funding problems. For the past half-dozen or so years, the board has had to cobble together sufficient resources every year to meet its budgetary needs, in order to keep the program running. They have money from the Department of Education, Culture and Employment, and Resources, Wildlife and Economic Development has also thrown in some money to help promote the wilderness and leadership training on the land. Our Member of Parliament has also been very supportive.
However, it is a funding process that is very hard to sustain. The board has reached the point where it does not believe it can continue under that particular approach. In their letter to the Minister responsible for Education, they have asked for a more realistic funding commitment based on the proven track record of the leadership program, and the intent of the government, which I still believe is there.
Mr. Speaker, the leadership program has been an important part of the educational scene in the Northwest Territories. I hope the government will recognize the value of this program, and find ways to provide the support it needs. Thank you.
-- Applause