Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, far be it from me to outright agree with Mrs. Groenewegen on an issue of homework, but I have a three-year-old and I realize how smart these little sprouts are and I am not really looking forward to the homework day, as Mr. Dent is already talking about Grade 5 math. I am just waiting until I have to deal with Grade 5 math. I am a little nervous.
I just want to pick up on one point only and then I will go on to the issues I have concern with. I think the Minister was actually wrong. I am sorry to be so blunt about it but the reality is, with comfort I say the philosophy comes from the department and not the boards. The department sets the mandate on what education is and about. It's the boards that interpret and then implement. The Minister does play an oversight role because I have, on many occasions, heard the Minister speak in favour of boards and how they are independent and they act at arm's length and implement the act they are given. So although I don't necessary agree with Mrs. Groenewegen's point, I think the Minister is wrong in that it's the philosophy of the department that sets the goal. I agree, yes, there are prescribed times and rules that things have to operate under, but if Mrs. Groenewegen's point needs to go one step further, we need to be talking about the philosophy of education in the Northwest Territories. That needs to be implemented on a territorial level. I suspect the Minister will rebut, but probably now is a better time to allow him to do that before I get into my questions. I will let him do that before I go on, Mr. Chairman.