Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My statement today is on education issues in Nunakput. I would like to start off by thanking the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment for meeting with the Tuktoyaktuk District Education Authority and the public in Paulatuk during his Nunakput tour last summer with myself.
Mr. Speaker, today my statement will focus on education issues in my riding; namely, the high school in Tuktoyaktuk and also grade extensions in Paulatuk. I have spoken about the Mangilaluk School in previous sessions, and I will just put the government on notice that I will continue to raise these issues until they are resolved.
I want to take the opportunity to make Members aware of the reasons and logic behind Tuktoyaktuk's request for a new high school. The Mangilaluk School was only ever intended for K to 9. Several years ago, Mr. Speaker, the school was forced to take in the high school grades on very short notice. Separate portables being used for the high school were condemned. This created problems with overcrowding and having younger and older students together. I believe the current Minister should be very familiar with the situation, Mr. Speaker, as he was also the Minister of Education at the time that this was going on. There were some renovations done in the late 1990s but this was just really a band-aid solution.
Mr. Speaker, there have been some communications recently between the Minister; the chair of IRC, Ms. Nellie Cournoyea; the Hamlet of Tuktoyaktuk; the Tuktoyaktuk District Education Council; and myself about the possibility of looking at options to address the problem of a high school. I would like to thank the Minister for listening to us and want to encourage him to follow up as quickly as possible.
This has been a major concern in the community of Tuktoyaktuk for many years and I don't want this to end up on a back burner. As the Minister heard in Paulatuk last summer, people are very interested in seeing grade extensions so that their high school students can stay in the community rather than going to Inuvik. I would also encourage the Minister to follow up on this request as quickly as possible.
Mr. Speaker, I am looking forward to seeing some progress on these educational issues in the near future and then the government can look forward to hearing me pursue other matters on behalf of my constituents. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.