Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, education of our children is right up there with the health of our citizens in terms of its importance in determining quality of life, and I believe that the constituents of Range Lake have every right to expect the very best out of this government. This is the best gift that life in the North has given to me, and I take my job of improving on this tradition very seriously, and I have to tell you that this Minister and this government is not doing a very good job in this regard.
Mr. Speaker, reducing the PTR and reducing special needs funding is not translating into real, tangible benefits in our classrooms. I agree with the Minister that we can't spend millions to do a formal assessment, but I would suggest that walking through our schools and talking to the parents, teachers and students should give him all the information he needs. I encourage the Minister and his officials to do more of that across the North.
Mr. Speaker, PTR, pupil/teacher ratio, of 14 students to one means absolutely nothing to students of a French immersion class of 31 in a local school. Mr. Speaker, a special needs funding increase from eight percent to 15 percent says nothing to a Grade 5 class of 28 students in Yellowknife where there are four special needs students with no assistance whatsoever.
Mr. Speaker, section 7 of the Education Act, the inclusionary schooling provision, as the Minister read yesterday, "that every student is entitled to have access to the education program in a regular instructional setting in the community in which the student resides and that an education body shall provide a student with the support services necessary to give effect in accordance with the direction of the Minister," is not worth the paper it's written on for those parents with children with autism or any other serious special need who have to line up every year through the school board to convince them that they need special needs funding, and to pray that they're going to get somebody, and to be told that they can't because there's just not enough money to go around.
Mr. Speaker, it's not just the students with special needs who are suffering. This affects the ability of all children in every classroom to learn and the ability of the teachers to teach. Mr. Speaker, I'm looking for real improvement in this area, and I suggest to you that the Minister saying he's doing a survey every five years or talking to the chairs of the boards...Mr. Speaker, may I seek unanimous consent to conclude my statement?