Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I think we all agree that teachers are important, but I feel the quality of education is more important, ensuring the students have the resources and courses available to them in their communities, by having chemistry, math, science projects. The courses you need to basically move on into post-secondary and university, so you have the marks to succeed. I think that is the problem.

I would like to ask the Minister, what is he doing to ensure that all schools in the Northwest Territories have accredited courses, so those courses are available to all students so they can succeed into post-secondary and university education? Thank you.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the challenge is always there, of course, for small communities to provide as much support as possible, but there are limitations to what can be provided and the number of teachers that can be provided. However, considering that, we have done a lot of work, Mr. Speaker, to provide some alternatives in this whole area. One has been through the area of distance education.

Mr. Speaker, distance education was introduced two years ago. We are finding that in the small communities, all courses are available on...

Mr. Ootes, may I just ask you to stop for a moment and ask the House to come to order. There is quite a bit of noise in the background and many conversations going on. The Minister has an important reply and the Chair would like to hear that reply, as would the honourable Member who asked the question. Thank you. Mr. Ootes, you may continue.

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I was speaking about the process of extending to the small schools distance education, which is available in large schools as well. What we are finding is there is a tremendous uptake in the smaller schools of courses on-line. There is a tremendous enthusiasm there. We now have 75 teachers, many of them in the smaller schools, who have taken courses to act as supervisors for students to take on-line courses. As I say, there has been a tremendous uptake by the students in smaller schools in this whole area. That is one of the ways we are addressing the issue of needs in small communities. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Minister. Supplementary, Mr. Krutko.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, it is great that we have the technology, but I think at the end of the day, you need someone in a classroom setting to develop courses such as chemistry. You need a chemistry lab and you need to have the classroom setting, so you can work on the different chemicals you need to do these different tests.

Again, I stress to the Minister the importance of the quality of education. Could the Minister assure us that there will be courses that are delivered here in Yellowknife delivered in communities such as Fort McPherson or Aklavik, so you can have the expertise and the professionals in the classroom, delivering those courses so you do not have to take those through the Internet or whatever. Is that a possibility? When will we see that day come?

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The courses are available, as I mentioned, on-line, but I know what the Member is saying. What he would like to see is a live body in the classroom, performing science tests, et cetera. That is dependent, Mr. Speaker, upon the available resources for us to be able to devote to the extension of that kind of resource to communities.

Am I interested in that? Yes, I am. Is it possible? That really depends on the availability of our financial resources to achieve, Mr. Speaker.

In some cases, this will be a hurdle because we are dealing with many small communities in the Northwest Territories. We cannot be all things to all people. However, I recognize what the Member is saying and the importance of that.

Thank you, Mr. Minister. Final supplementary, Mr. Krutko.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Minister says that he hears what I am saying, but I do not think he really has a grasp of exactly what it means to have a rich school and a poor school practically sitting side by side. That is what it comes down to.

The resources in the larger centres and the resources in those schools are based on a formula that is based on numbers, and the dollars go to those schools. I would like to ask the Minister if he will consider revamping the allocation for funding for programs and services in all schools, so these courses are fully funded for the curriculum that is needed for education in the Northwest Territories?

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, that would be a requirement for all of the MLAs to discuss, to see whether there needs to be a realignment of funding. That is not for me to solely answer and take in hand.

There is a system in place. We feel the funding process is working efficiently. We recognize that perhaps we need to look at small communities in the Territories and see how we address their particular problems. There is no question about that. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Minister. Item 6, oral questions. The honourable Member for Deh Cho, Mr. McLeod.

Thank you, Mr. McLeod. The honourable Minister responsible for the Department of Health and Social Services, Mr. Miltenberger.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, as I committed to during the review of the main estimates and in discussion in this House, the RFP has been put on hold. We will enter into a month-by-month arrangement with Blue Cross until such time as we have had an opportunity to sit down with the Metis organizations and governments to review the Metis health benefits. Thank you.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Just one more question. I would like to get a commitment from the Minister that he will consult the aboriginal groups prior to putting ads out in the paper or making commitments, so we will not have to go through this same type of issue again. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. McLeod. The honourable Minister responsible for the Department of Health and Social Services, Mr. Miltenberger.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the issue of consultation is a very critical one and there was never any intent to do anything other than provide good management and make sound administrative decisions when it came to making sure there was no lapse in the payment authority arrangement we had with Blue Cross.

Yes, before anything further is done, as I have committed in writing to the Metis governments, there will be a meeting. We will get together and look at the Metis health benefits and no decision will be made prior to that. Thank you.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my question would be directed to the Minister responsible for Education, Culture and Employment. It is in the area of extended grades, following on my earlier line of questioning.

With extended grades being put in place, I would like to know from the Minister if there is any special requirements for teachers going into the smaller communities, because they have to teach more than one grade. Thank you.

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