Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I have some questions in the area of education and culture. I am including pages nine through 18 in the information contained. The area that I take some interest in is the area of the arts and culture and the priority and the investment that the government makes in this area, which is very minimal.

Looking at the numbers that are presented here, Mr. Chairman, they have been very minimal and very consistent for the past three years. There are four areas I am looking at specifically. I look at cultural projects, northern performers on page 9-17, then on 9-18 is the Northwest Territories Arts Council and cultural organizations. Those activities probably fairly closely would delve into what I would call the arts.

Mr. Chairman, we are putting about half a million dollars a year into these areas. That is what we have been putting in for the last two years as well. I am not going to argue here tonight, Mr. Chairman, that we should be injecting a whole bunch of new money into this area in the coming budget.

What I do want to search out is the department's policy stand on developing the arts and just where can we go to give this a foundation, Mr. Chairman. We are really missing the boat on supporting a lot of people and a lot of areas with creativity, with aspects of quality of life and quality of living and things we can do to develop up here that really help tell a story and make this place a home. The arts are important. What are we doing in the area of policy? Thank you.