We have increased our presence in the Sahtu region. We are looking at hiring more staff in the area of doing monitoring on the ice road. It would be a seasonal position. We're looking at ways we can accommodate having staff located in one of the communities of the Sahtu. Right now, the work is being done in Fort Simpson, so it's going to be a matter of having enough people to do the job, and office space, and a number of other issues around that. We are looking at it. We're not at a point where we're going to make the decision shortly, but it's something that we're considering, and we'll keep the Member informed.

Thank you, Mr. McLeod. Item 6, oral questions. The honourable Member for Inuvik Twin Lakes, Mr. McLeod.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, during the problems with Samuel Hearne Secondary School, I attended a lot of public meetings in Inuvik. One of the comments I heard in one of the meetings that I attended was that the contract would be tendered or an invitation put out to a lot of the local contractors. But in my conversations with some of the contractors, I was told that this did not happen. I would like to ask the Minister of Public Works and Services why this procedure wasn't followed and who made the decision. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. McLeod. The honourable Minister of Public Works and Services, Mr. Roland.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the Member is correct. The discussions we had leading up to or following on the decision not to reopen

the high school, there were a number of meetings held and I had made a number of comments and responses to questions and concerns that we would be going out to get the work done as soon as we could, to ensure we shorten the time line for the repairs. What we did do is, on the lateral issues that the high school faces, we sought out two proposals and reviewed them. One of them was a design build, and that was the proposal that was chosen. I had spoken with the acting deputy minister of the day and referenced the fact that there was a requirement that we would be going out to repair the piles next summer, and that would be through a tender process. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Roland. supplementary, Mr. McLeod.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In discussions I had with the contractors that called me, they informed me that the same contractor that's doing the engineering work is also doing the repair to the piles. So I'd like to ask the Minister if he would send in an independent engineer to verify that all the materials and labour was done according to the specs. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. McLeod. Mr. Roland.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the contract, as it is awarded, was a design build, again for the lateral issues. Some of those lateral issues that we were talking about also took into consideration, as I was informed later on, of the piles that were in the most extreme cases of rot. Some of those were being done this year, as well. What I will do is inform my department and have them look into the concerns being raised by the contractors around the work that's being done. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Roland. Supplementary, Mr. McLeod.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Residents in Inuvik are quite angry with the fact that this has been going on for three or four years now. It seems like every year there seems to be a problem with this school. Even during the repair of the piles, we had a small fire under the school. I want to ask the Minister, and I've asked him before, if he'll conduct an internal review, and hold those responsible accountable, and ask them to take the high road. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. McLeod. Mr. Roland.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, as I have informed many of those in the community, as well as when I made a presentation to the town council, the aspects of where we ended up as a department, and the school itself and the repairs that have been undertaken, the history that is around that school was that, as Minister, I would look into this and ensure that the credibility of the department is one of the things we have to look at restoring, in the sense of making sure that all procedures are followed, and that what we're doing is aboveboard, so to speak, so we can show to our clients, this government, the people of the Territories, that, in fact, we are doing the job that is before us, and following our own rules. So I've begun to have a look at the department itself and how we work and implement our changes, and that is still ongoing at this time. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Roland. Item 6, oral questions. The honourable Member for Great Slave, Mr. Braden.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to address some questions to Mr. Dent, Minister of Education, Culture and Employment, and it follows up on a situation that those adult students attending the Native Women's Association programming for adult basic education apparently find themselves ineligible for student financial assistance. The contrast here is that Aurora College students in similar straits apparently are eligible. So I'd like to ask the Minister to explain what the difference is here. Why are the students at the Native Women's Association ineligible for SFA? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Braden. The honourable Minister of Education, Culture and Employment, Mr. Dent.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. This is an area that is one of the concerns that we've already identified in our supports to learners in the Northwest Territories. Student financial assistance is designed for people who are taking post-secondary studies; in other words, after high school. So it doesn't matter whether they're attending ALBE courses that are the same as what are offered by the Native Women's, they wouldn't qualify for student financial assistance in the Northwest Territories.

We have some programs where we offer, if there's a one-year window that it would take to upgrade, we do cover upgrading under SFA, but it has to be a limited amount, to get somebody ready for college or a diploma program. However, the Member makes a good point, and that is that there is an awful lot of adult learners out there who aren't being supported. If they're not in income support and they don't qualify for student financial assistance, there is a lack of support. I intend to work with my colleagues, over the next year, to hopefully find some way to address this issue. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Dent. Supplementary, Mr. Braden.

Mr. Speaker, I don't have all the details available, but for adults who are really disadvantaged economically, there are some extra supports in the student financial assistance basket that can help them through, more than they are entitled to under income support. As the Minister has indicated, we do have a

major review underway of all the social programs. Could the Minister take the idea that furthering your education is a productive choice under income support? Could we use that stream to, maybe, help these people out a little bit more while they're doing their best to upgrade their adult basic education? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Braden. Mr. Dent.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I don't think the intention is to try and mix the response so that it comes from SFA. The Member is right; there is an issue with the level of support that's provided to adult learners who are not yet ready to move into post-secondary studies. So we need to work on our programs to strengthen the supports to learners who are working on finishing their high school programs, and that's what we need to do.

We are offering a considerable amount through income support. I'm not sure that the income support is actually less than SFA; it might be better than SFA already. But we have already started the discussion that we need to recognize that older students tend to have families, they tend to have more obligations and tend to need, probably, more support than young, single people. So we are looking at this, and I hope to work with my colleagues, across the House and on this side, to see if we can't address that for next year.

Thank you, Mr. Dent. Item 6, oral questions. The honourable Member for Range Lake, Ms. Lee.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my questions today are to the Minister of ECE. Mr. Speaker, the day care centre in Smith has not seen any changes, as far as I am aware. I have been receiving e-mails, literally, all night long. There are people, parents, who are going to Aurora College, who have not found a replacement. For the life of me, and for anybody who is listening, we have no idea why the government is so emboldened with its position that there just cannot be any movement whatsoever -- I just don't understand this -- and why they have to insist on closing the doors. I would like to know from the Minister if he would consider, at least, reviewing the centre, reviewing the file, and keep it open until those parents find a replacement? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.