Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, today I would like to touch on the issue of special needs, an issue that touches many families in the Northwest Territories. It touches every school and every DEA and DEC.

Mr. Speaker, in my constituency there is concern and evidence that, in fact, services for special needs seem to be diminishing. I have had issues raised with me by constituents of parents and grandparents having to pull together their hard-earned money, trying to help pay for special needs assistants for special needs children.

I know that as a government we have committed millions of dollars to speak to the issue of student support and special needs. However, Mr. Speaker, somewhere between here, the schools and the families, the funds do not seem to be getting through.

Mr. Speaker, every year this issue comes up. I do not think we are making the inroads we should be in terms of providing support. It is not just my constituency that I am aware of that is dealing with this problem and what seems to be the lack of resources for special needs children in the classroom.

This is a very fundamental issue that affects the special needs children, the special needs family, but it also affects the effectiveness and ability of teachers to do their jobs in the classroom when they may have a whole range of special needs children as well as children who are operating at the appropriate grade level.

Mr. Speaker, later today during question period I will be asking the Minister of Finance some questions about how we can better deal with special needs in the communities and why it seems to be, to me at least, that the number of concerns and complaints I am receiving from families about the lack of resources are increasing, or at the very least, not diminishing in spite of the millions of dollars that this Legislature has appropriated specifically to deal with special needs issues. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.