Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I guess I do not know what kind of an answer I am expecting from the department. The deputy indicated that we are doing things to try to address the distance learning opportunities for students in smaller communities. Hopefully, these things will build and help us to perform better on the departmentals. I think this is the one thing that people always point to.
It is one of those bellwether indicators. It is just a focal point. When we talk about the cost of living difference in Yellowknife compared to Calgary, that is something people can get a hold of and understand. I think we can all recognize when we talk about standardized testing, there may be things that put us culturally at a disadvantage in taking some of these tests because they may not relate as well, but certainly there should not be such a huge discrepancy.
I know the department will continue to look at this, but the one thing that has been suggested to me is we are now just starting to get a handle on the number of special need students that we have in our school system. FAS and FAE are certainly much higher in the North than anywhere else in the country. I think this is a reality that is starting to hit home. We are having kids go through the school system struggling to learn. Sometimes they are able to slide by, but it really shows up when we have them take these standardized tests.
I know we are committed to student support. We are putting more money into it than we have in the past. It has been a big issue since we have been elected. I think we are going to have to keep pushing and keep raising the bar in this area. Until we can come up to the level and perform as well as Alberta students do on exams, I think it is going to be an issue for Northerners.
I think it is also an issue when you talk to people considering relocating to the North. People working at the mines considering making the move from Edmonton to Yellowknife. Certainly there are cost issues, cost of living differentials, but parents want to be convinced that the education system is equal to the education system in the provinces.
This is one of the things we can point to and say, "Look, our exam marks are every bit as good as Alberta's, Saskatchewan's, whatever." Maybe this is not the best way to evaluate our school system here in the North, but in my view, it is the easiest and it is the one most people will point to when discussing the difference.
We may not like what it shows all of the time, but we do not have a choice. We have to deal with it. I hope the department will continue to push to look into trends that may be disturbing, that may not be good news stories, but I think sometimes a dose of reality is not always the worst thing for us. Maybe that is what it takes for us to rise up and meet the challenge. Thank you.