Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, our Student Financial Assistance Program continues to be the best program of its kind in the country. We provide some of the highest benefit levels to encourage more and more of our aboriginal students and those who were schooled in the Northwest Territories to further their education and to return to the North and to contribute and prosper in the Northwest Territories.
Mr. Speaker, one of the most exciting statistics that I have the pleasure to share with you today about the Student Financial Assistance Program is that more and more people from all age groups and from every remote corner of the Northwest Territories are completing a post-secondary education because of the support that this program provides.
in just this past year alone, the number of people applying from all over the North in places like Tulita, Wha Ti, Aklavik, Holman, Paulatuk, Lutselk'e and Wrigley are up by 3.5 percent over the previous year and we are seeing increases despite a very positive job market. people are increasingly seeing the value of furthering their education, of laying the foundation of a better tomorrow for themselves and their families.
Mr. Speaker, it is for these students who are taking such an important step in their lives that we continue to improve the service that we provide. We must ensure that our programs continue to address the new ways that students are learning all around the world, through correspondence courses and now over that World Wide Web.
To ensure that our students have access to these learning opportunities, we introduced for the first time this fall on of the best distance learning programs of its kind available in Canada. Now students can stay at home with their families if they choose and still complete their education with financial support from the government of the Northwest Territories.
Mr. Speaker, although students with disabilities face many of the same challenges as other students, they often encounter barriers related to their disabilities. in responding to their needs, the department raised the level of support that it provides to students living with disabilities through the Northwest Territories Study Grant by 60 percent. For the fall 2002 semester, the value of the Northwest Territories Study
Grant has been raised from $5,000 to $8,000 per year. This is over and above the grant and loan assistance that we provide to other students.
Through the additional support ht we are making available. I like to think that we, as people of the Northwest Territories, share in a desire to support the success of all students, including those with disabilities.
Mr. Speaker, we have a very positive economic outlook, making it possible for many of our new graduates to live a prosperous life in the Northwest Territories. We have noted, however, there are new graduates who require a little extra time to get started in their careers and also in repaying their loans. To ensure that these students get the bets start in life that they can, we have increased the income thresholds for our Interest Relief Program so that those who are experiencing difficulty have the time they need.
Mr. Speaker, our students are our future. If they are to build a better world for us tomorrow, then we need to give them the tools that they require today. However, a strong, educated workforce requires a considerable investment on our part. That is why we spend $12 million each year on the Student Financial Assistance Program. I can tell you that investing in our students is the best investment that this government makes each year. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
-- Applause