Thank you, Mr. Roland. Mr. Ootes.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. That is correct. We are expanding the program at the Yellowknife and Inuvik campuses to have an annual intake and to offer access programs at each of the campuses every year. When the Member referred to the need for teachers to obtain their bachelor's program, that is the next item on there for $339,000. That is to give an opportunity for teachers to be able to access and get support to obtain their degrees, Mr. Chairman.

Thank you, Mr. Ootes. Mr. Roland.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I think this is a very important area and I support the initiative. Again, this is an ongoing one that has been in the works for some time to ensure that we have teachers from the North for the North. As well, the ones who have gone through the Teacher Education Program have the ability to go on and get their degree. My question is why has it not been built into budgets? This is not a new item. Why has it not been addressed through the business plan process? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Roland. Mr. Minister.

Mr. Chairman, in the budget, we have a fund that is jointly administered with the Teachers' Association, which enables us to give teachers sabbaticals to go back to university and further their education. This $339,000 is a special fund above that one, in order to have more teachers and teachers we select be able to go and continue with their education. If we just rolled it into the regular one, then we would have to negotiate with the Teachers' Association on who would be eligible, who would be the recipients of the sabbaticals and so on. This is on top of the regular sabbatical program we have with the NWTTA.

Thank you, Mr. Handley. Mr. Roland.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Can I interpret that to mean the department did not want to negotiate with the union?

Thank you, Mr. Roland. Mr. Handley.

Mr. Chairman, you can interpret that as being that we have a target group that we want to see continue with their education, and that this is for a very specific group of northern teachers.

Thank you, Mr. Handley. Mr. Roland.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Again, I think this is an important issue and I am trying to understand the process. The Minister stated for a very specific, targeted group of people. Are they ones who are already in the program? Can you elaborate on what you mean by a specific group? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Roland. Mr. Handley.

Mr. Chairman, this funding is for TEP graduates, to enable them to go and complete their degree or further their education. That is the specific group. The other fund is for all teachers in the Northwest Territories. They might have a masters degree already and get it, but that is not part of the group we want to target. We want to target TEP graduates, northern people who were raised here and will live here all their lives and need to finish a degree. That is the group we are targeting.

Thank you, Mr. Handley. Mr. Roland.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Again, I state that this has been an ongoing one. The act was amended so that students who had gone through the Teacher Education Program, received their certificates and were teaching in classrooms in the North, had to go to the degree program. This is not a new initiative. Why has it not been identified in the main budgeting process? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Roland. Mr. Ootes.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Perhaps I can shed some light on this. There has been a requirement for teachers who are at the diploma level and who are in the workforce already to obtain their degree within a five-year period. As long as they are making progress towards the degree, then that is recognized by us as movement.

There have been some concerns about the ability of people to do that within the time frame because they have families in communities, the cost of going back to school and so forth.

What we decided as part of the Maximizing Northern Employment Program was to specifically identify a budget of this nature to allow approximately 20 teachers per year to obtain their degree with support from us. That can be done by a one-year leave, full-time at the Thebacha Campus to obtain their degree, or it can be done by long distance. We will financially support those teachers who wish to pursue that. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Ootes. Mr. Roland.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Again, not to draw question to what is being done because it is important. It is more of the process. It is an ongoing process that was initiated through past Assemblies. I think all Members would agree to that. We have heard the government talk for ages about the importance of northern-trained individuals who can go on to work in and with the government. It is the question of why it was not addressed through the normal process. Why does it have to come forward as not previously authorized? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Roland. Mr. Ootes.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Previously, we did not identify any funding in this area. There was never a support program. It was done by a policy to state that teachers need to obtain their degree. We have decided to make it part of Maximizing Northern Employment. We want to start immediately with that, Mr. Chairman, hence the reason for putting it into the supplementary appropriation at this particular time.

Thank you, Mr. Ootes. Mr. Krutko.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I would just like more clarification from the Minister. I am aware that this program has been in existence because it has caused a problem, especially with teachers who are going back for their bachelor's degree, who may have taken the Teacher Education Program but do not have their bachelor's. This program has been in place for a couple of years. I do not understand why the Minister is saying this program did not exist. This fund has been available to teachers in the community of Aklavik, where there have been students who have taken a year off and gone to the college program. I would like more clarification on that from the Minister.