Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the Chief Sunrise Education Centre on Hay River Reserve has been experiencing a shortage of classroom space for many years now and this year is scheduled to receive some long overdue renovations spread out over the next couple of years. The Department of Education, Culture and Employment has provided $600,000 for the project and the K'atlodeeche First Nation has committed another $200,000 to ensure that the renovations meet the immediate needs of the community.
Mr. Speaker, I have problems with this arrangement on a couple of different levels. Number one, I do not believe a first nation should be required to contribute funds to pay for the construction or renovation of an educational facility. Education is a right guaranteed under the treaty. It logically follows that adequate schools are an obligation that falls out of the treaty as a right. So why is the K'atlodeeche First Nation having to come up with $200,000 of their own money? They're taking money out of businesses in the community and that is critical. They're doing it because they see a need in the community and I applaud the leadership of the Hay River Reserve for taking this step and thinking about the future generations, but must question whether the department has the same commitment to the children and whether they respect or understand treaty obligations.
The other problem I have with this arrangement is the criteria that the Department of Education, Culture and Employment uses to determine whether a school is overcrowded or not and whether it requires expansion. According to this formula, the department classifies Chief Sunrise Education Centre as underutilized. This is despite such obvious signs of overcrowding as classes being taught in non-program spaces such as the library, the kitchen, the industrial arts room, the staff room and the gym foyer. I'm aware that the language instructor moves her supplies from classroom to classroom in a shopping cart, like a sort of door-to-door salesman.
Mr. Speaker, right now we have no room in that school for the three cultural instructors who deliver the on the land program, language program and arts and crafts program to the students. I'm aware that there's 34 students aged four years old who are enrolled in the Aboriginal Head Start program and this program is...Mr. Speaker, I seek unanimous consent to conclude my statement.