Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, it is well known that adults learn differently than youth. Adult education programs involve a hands-on approach, rather than a traditional teacher centred approach.

When teaching adults, the focus is on developing literacy skills in a context that is meaningful to the adult learner. When adults go into a formal classroom setting, they face a delivery system that generally does not suit their learning style.

By not offering ABE and literacy programs in the communities, many adults have no choice but to go back to a traditional school system that has already failed them.

Has the Minister tracked the success rate of adults entering back into the traditional school system?

Thank you, Mr. Bell. The honourable Minister responsible for the Department of Education, Culture and Employment, Mr. Ootes.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I do not have that information here with me. I will have to take the question as notice.

Thank you. The Minister has taken the question as notice. Item 6, oral questions. The honourable Member for Great Slave, Mr. Braden.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Minister responsible for the Department of Education, Culture and Employment. The Minister stated in a previous answer that funding allocations and adult basic education programs come by request, basically at the discretion of communities.

I am concerned about consistency and really being able to drive a literacy agenda forward. Will the Minister be looking at a more aggressive and territory-wide program to make sure training is available? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Braden. The honourable Minister responsible for the Department of Education, Culture and Employment, Mr. Ootes.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, that is an interesting question. We are working on a directive for adult literacy and basic education. It is quite extensive. We hope to have that completed in a very short while. Following that, our intent is to develop a strategy for adult literacy and basic education. As the Premier stated, we intend to incorporate other departments and stakeholders in this. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Ootes. Supplementary, Mr. Braden.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I appreciate that answer. The Minister has referenced other stakeholders. It is something that has come up in other areas in our Assembly's work, that the value of non-government organizations to delivery of community services is valuable.

Is multi-year funding for these kinds of organizations part of that outlook? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Braden. The honourable Minister responsible for the Department of Education, Culture and Employment, Mr. Ootes.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the concern for multi-year funding has been there on the part of the NGOs. I am very familiar with that concern, and very concerned for those organizations. It is an issue that has been brought forward many times before. Certainly, it is the area of concern that hopefully we can address through the strategy that will be developed, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Ootes. Supplementary, Mr. Braden.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I do not believe the Northwest Territories is an island in this. I am wondering to what extent has the department explored this issue and common ground with our neighbours in Nunavut, the Yukon, Alberta, British Columbia and Manitoba? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Braden. The honourable Minister responsible for the Department of Education, Culture and Employment, Mr. Ootes.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I think part of this strategy will have to include some research into what other jurisdictions may be doing in the area of multi-year funding. I certainly am not familiar with the process that has been used to date to do this research. As I said, we have a directive that is nearing completion. Following that, we intend to do a very comprehensive literacy strategy which will encompass the other departments, and there will certainly be consultation with other stakeholders in this area. Thank you.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, in my Member's statement earlier today, I referenced one program in Yellowknife that sought and received funding from some eight different organizations in order to make it feasible. Will the department be looking at streamlining and bringing all of these different sources into one more easily accessible and achievable way of getting these programs off the ground? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Braden. The honourable Minister responsible for the Department of Education, Culture and Employment, Mr. Ootes.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the area of multi-funding by other organizations and funding by different departments of this government naturally has to be considered. We have federal funding going into early childhood development programs in the Northwest Territories. In many ways, we consider that as part of literacy as well.

I believe the strategy does need to address this whole area, to ensure that we have a clear identity of who funds what if it cannot be combined together under one particular source. Naturally, it is best to have it come from one source, but at this point in time, I cannot tell you the whys and wherefores that may be in other organizations. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Ootes. Item 6, oral questions. The honourable Member for North Slave, Mr. Lafferty.

Thank you, Mr. Lafferty. The Minister responsible for the Department of Education, Culture and Employment, Mr. Ootes.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, it is, in a sense, good to know that other third parties are starting to look at assisting our people in funding literacy and adult basic education areas. I think that is essential. It is very necessary. We have to build partnerships as we go, Mr. Speaker.

With regard to the question of funding for, I believe it is North Slave, if that is the question. The amount that I have is $41,000 for the North Slave area, Mr. Speaker. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Ootes. Supplementary, Mr. Lafferty.