Thank you, Madam Chair. I think Mr. Pokiak is talking about two different issues. One of the issues is whether or not children are all at the same grade level if they're in the same grade. It's not uncommon that you have differences. For instance, in a Grade 4 classroom you will have some children who are reading at a Grade 2 level and you may have some children who are reading at a Grade 6 level. The teachers can typically deal with the different groups they have. Some kids will need extra help and some kids will need extra challenge. So it isn't unusual to have in a classroom a variation in terms of what the kids are doing and at what levels they are achieving. But if a person passes a Math 30 or a Math 31 course in the Northwest Territories, they are passing the same test as given to kids in Alberta. So if they achieve that at graduation, that means that they have achieved the same level.

What is often happening is that in our smaller communities the range of programs that we can offer, the courses, are not as great as in the larger communities. So young people who graduate may not have the courses they need to get into the post-secondary area of study that they want to go into. That is an ongoing challenge for us, and it is one that in the smaller schools is problematic. I have discussed this issue with the chairs of all of the divisional education councils. It was one of the issues that came up for discussion when we had meetings here on February 24th and 25th this year, and it is an area that we have agreed we need to find some way to work at improving the range of courses that we can offer in the smaller schools. So it is something that we're going to try and work on. I don't have an answer for how we're going to do that yet, to give the Member. Thank you, Madam Chair.

Thank you, Mr. Dent. Mr. Pokiak.

Thank you, Madam Chair. I'm going to go to the Aurora College again. Maybe I'll defer that and go into income support programs. This program does help some residents in the Territories...(inaudible)...of my region. I'm just wondering at this point in time, in the Minister's opening remarks he indicated they are examining income support levels for food and personal care. Does the department have any idea when the examination of income support whether to increase in the communities will be available? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Pokiak. Mr. Dent.

Thank you, Madam Chair. As I said in my opening comments, the rates are adjusted every year. Subsequent to the Bureau of Statistics doing studies to find out what the rates should be adjusted to in each community, the rates were adjusted in November of last year. So we would be looking at doing it again as we get into winter this year.

Thank you, Mr. Dent. Mr. Pokiak, general comments.

Thank you, Madam Chair. Just one follow-up question with regard to income support. Will the department, Madam Chair, look at the policy with regard to income support? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Pokiak. Mr. Dent.

Thank you, Madam Chair. I have committed in this House to make a presentation to the Standing Committee on Social Programs to go through the policies underlying the program, outlining what the benefits are now, and discuss with the Members what might be some options for change within the program. So it is my intention to do that with the Standing Committee on Social Programs, hopefully within the next little while.

Thank you, Mr. Dent. Anything further, Mr. Pokiak?

Thank you. Just one last one, Madam Chair. Under the capital acquisition plan, it does name a few programs that are planned right now. I'm just wondering what the department will consider as part of the plan. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Pokiak. Mr. Dent.

Madam Chair, I'm sure that when we get to those pages in the budget I'll have it in front of me. I know that the Mangilaluk School is in the plan for some time in the future; I can't remember exactly which year it is being proposed at this point. But I am advised that we're starting to see planning monies in 2007-08. That is when we should start to see programming being designed for that school. I know that the Member has talked to me about this issue and how important it is to the community. We face so many serious problems with schools on piles that are collapsing, and we've just had a real problem finding enough money

to come up with what we need to adequately address the capital acquisition plan. So we've had no option except to put a number of projects back. I suspect that that's a year later than what we were hoping to see that project, but I haven't been able to find adequate money to deal with all the demands that we face for projects in the department. Thank you, Madam Chair.

Thank you, Mr. Dent. Next on the list I have Ms. Lee, but Mr. Delorey hasn't had an opportunity to speak yet on general comments, so I will go to Mr. Delorey next. Thank you.

Thank you, Madam Chair. I have a few comments on the Minister's opening remarks. I was going to talk about the early childhood development program, but it has been addressed quite extensively already and I am sure the Minister has gotten the message that that's a program that everybody is hesitant to see disappear. I know that the Minister will do whatever he can to find funds to keep that program going. But I was wondering if the Minister could maybe expand a little bit more when we're giving numbers out how they relate to actuals, how we can see where the system is improving. For example, on page 3 of his opening comments where the Minister mentions that in 1999 there were 81 aboriginal grads and in 2003 there were 113. Then he goes on to say that there were 620 students enrolled in community high schools in 1998-99 and in 2003-04 there 872.

What I'm trying to get at, Madam Chair, is this could be strictly from an increase in population, for example. Is there a direct correlation between the 81 and the 113 in 620 and 872? How do those figures show any kind of an improvement in the system?

Thank you, Mr. Delorey. Mr. Dent.

Thank you, Madam Chair. In fact, for instance this year the school population has dropped by just under one percent. So school populations haven't increased very much at all over the last four or five years. What we're finding is a good part of the growth is in the smaller communities when it comes to secondary school graduation. So it's not something that doesn't indicate that we are seeing an improvement. Given the small numbers of people we have in schools, the numbers tend to jump up and down a fair bit, but the trend seems to be going the right way. Thank you, Madam Chair.

Thank you, Mr. Dent. Mr. Delorey.

Thank you, Madam Chair. When you put out a figure of 620 and 872 for enrolments in community high schools, it would probably be easier to ask which ones are not included in this figure. Yellowknife wouldn't be for sure and probably not Hay River. What schools wouldn't be involved in this figure? It would probably be far less than are not involved than what would be involved. Thank you, Madam Chair.

Thank you, Mr. Delorey. Mr. Dent.

Madam Chair, the aboriginal numbers will include children in all communities. So it doesn't exclude any schools. But we can break it down by community, we can provide it by region, we do it by regional centres, we do it by smaller communities. So we have a broad range of statistical numbers that we're quite prepared to provide Members. We have a bi-annual report that we put out that puts a lot of this information in graphs and the numbers available for the members of the public. The next one is due in the next couple of months. The deputy is telling me he's not going to get out until the fall, but I thought it was the spring it was due. We do publish this information, and if any Member has any questions about the detail, we can put that information together very quickly and we would be pleased to provide it in writing to Members if they have any questions about specific schools or specific regions.

Thank you, Mr. Dent. Mr. Delorey.

Thank you, Madam Chair. Then I guess I was reading this a little wrong, because I was thinking this 620/872 as the total enrollment in the schools, but I take it this is just aboriginal students then. Okay. My next question would be what does it look like in the total population of kids? In the enrollment in high schools in general are we seeing more kids entering the high school and going on to graduation? Do you track those figures at all, and how is that looking? Are we constantly improving in that area, as well? Thank you, Madam Chair.

Thank you, Mr. Delorey. Mr. Dent.