Thank you, Mr. Minister. Supplementary, Mr. McLeod.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to ask the Minister if he can tell me, I understand that there are funding programs through BDF and BCC and a number of others that the Minister has indicated that can fund community development corporations, but in this case it is more of a government body or a community council. Is there money available to them to do feasibility studies and that kind of leg work that needs to be done to identify the potential of a project? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. McLeod. The honourable Minister responsible for the Department of Resources, Wildlife and Economic Development, Mr. Antoine.

Thank you, Mr. Minister. Supplementary, Mr. McLeod.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to ask a final question to the Minister of Resources, Wildlife and Economic Development, if he will instruct his department to do some follow up regarding this issue with Enterprise and the ammonium nitrate and the potential economic opportunity.?Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. McLeod. The honourable Minister responsible for the Department of Resources, Wildlife and Economic Development, Mr. Antoine.

Thank you. Item 6, oral questions. The honourable Member for Inuvik Boot Lake, Mr. Roland.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my question will be directed to the Premier. My question would be, is the Premier going to resign as a result of the findings of Tabled Document 64-14(5)? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Roland. I am going to rule that question out of order. It is a matter that is before a standing committee. Item 6, oral questions. The honourable Member for Range Lake, Ms. Lee.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment and it is in regard to the petition that I tabled in the House on June 18th. Mr. Speaker, I was happy to receive a very quick response from the Minister to the petitions. It was less than a month later. The only thing is that the answer given to a very serious petition signed by a lot of parents and teachers and concerned people in my riding about the class size was responded in a manner that really disappointed those who petitioned and the parents and teachers who held a forum on class size where they wanted to explain the situation of crowded classes in our local school systems.

The answer basically says that the law is the way it is and we cannot change the law and you just kind of have to accept that. I just thought it was a very inconsiderate answer. I would like to ask the Minister, why did he not give any more consideration to this very serious petition? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Ms. Lee. The honourable Minister responsible for the Department of Education, Culture and Employment, Mr. Ootes.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The question and the petition by the residents is a very serious issue, there is no question about that and we do take the residents concerns with a great deal of seriousness and thought. The issue that is before us is the question of going to schools, class size, rather than the PTR being administered on the Territory as a whole, Mr. Speaker.

It is the Territory as a whole that has been put forward through policy and legislation. As we know, we have signed a memorandum of understanding with the Teachers Federation and that memorandum indicated that we would reduce the pupil-teacher ratio in the territory from 18:1 to 16:1 over a four year period. That memorandum of understanding indicated that it would be on a territory-wide basis, Mr. Speaker. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Minister. Supplementary, Ms. Lee.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I understand what the PT ratio is. What I am saying and what this petition is saying is that the PT ratio as it is stated is not working. In reality this PT ratio keeps having crowded schools. I also understand what the law says and I do not need the Minister to repeat the law for me. In fact, the response to the petition says that. It says that regulation is the way it is because the law...

Ms. Lee. I was distracted by several Members carrying on conversations immediately behind you. Would you be able to repeat your question, and I ask Members to please respect the persons trying to get questions, important questions, across to the Minister. Ms. Lee.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my point is that I understand the PT ratio and I want the Minister to understand that the PT ratio is not working, that it is still creating crowded classrooms in Yellowknife. I understand what the law says. That is the whole point of this petition. The petition is, we want you to change the law. Does the Minister not agree that if enough people, a lot of people, sign a petition saying please Minister look at it, should he not look at it?

Thank you, Ms. Lee. The honourable Minister responsible for the Department of Education, Culture and Employment, Mr. Ootes.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I beg to differ with the Member that it is not working. Across the territory we have increased the number of teachers in the classrooms and that has had an effect, Mr. Speaker. As I said, we have increased the number of teachers and we have gone in a pupil-teacher ratio from 18:1 across the territory to 16:1. Is it an issue that can be addressed? That is a policy issue. The original intent of the whole policy is being followed, Mr. Speaker. We are reducing the number of students in a classroom. There may be certain classes that are larger than 18:1. I understand that, but the school boards have a lot of opportunity here to address those particular issues. It is not just at a territorial level, it is also school boards where we fund the school boards to address issues and to be able to look at the size of classrooms and to change the make-up of classrooms. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Minister. Supplementary, Ms. Lee.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I have another Minister telling me that the facts that he has says something different than what the people on the street are saying. I would put to the Minister that it would be hard to find any class that is at 18:1. Most classes are at 30:1. Would the Minister not look at this issue and revisit his policy. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Ms. Lee. The honourable Minister responsible for the Department of Education, Culture and Employment, Mr. Ootes.