Thank you, Mr. Chair, and thanks to the Minster and his officials for appearing before us. There are a couple of general comments I'd like to make on his opening remarks. I'll save my questions or any feedback for when we get into detail. I do want to speak to the early childhood development and the Minister probably knows where I'm going with this already. I like the steps that you take and the money that you put in, but I still would like to see us go a step further and, as I've said before, incorporate early childhood learning centres into construction of new schools. I'm a big supporter of the trades and I think with all the activity that might be coming down here within the next few years, the more we can get our students into the skilled trades where they can take advantage of some of these opportunities I think is a big move. It's a proven fact that a lot of the kids up here that go to school, you get them into a sheltered environment or work in a trade or work with their hands and they seem to excel. They can be very good at that. We like working with our hands and I think that's a good move to start putting that back in the schools, because the students will benefit from it.
The inclusive schooling, increasing it from 17 to 19 percent I think is another good move. So I've noticed an increase in some of the funding that we're putting into some of the programs. So you are starting to listen and meet the needs of the people. The aboriginal language, I think it's a huge step. I'm hoping to see a day in this Assembly when all aboriginal Members can speak their aboriginal language. I think that day will come and will place a big importance on the language again. So I'm glad to see that.
The advanced education and careers, I've always believed that the Northwest Territories has some of the best post-secondary education, education and funding in the country. I've seen it firsthand. I would like to see when we get to the student financial assistance part, the money be tailored to where they're going to school. If a student is going to school in, say, Inuvik as opposed to getting the same money maybe going to school in Edmonton, I would like to see that changed to where they are going to school.
The income support programs, having had the opportunity the last couple of weeks to speak with the Minister and the department on a constituent and having them come through the way they did, I think spoke volumes as to one of the reasons I thought the Income Support Program was designed in the first place: to help people that are going through a difficult time and trying to get back on their feet where they won't have to be so dependent on the Income Support Program. I think that was a huge move on the part of the department to come through on that one and it was much appreciated. It does show them that they will be helped if they need it and if they get back on their own two feet and are able to pull their own weight and start contributing, then they will do that. I thought that was a huge move on the department's behalf and it's much appreciated.
Money going into the Home Heating Subsidy Program for seniors, I've had the opportunity in the past to access some of this money for some seniors back home and it's much appreciated because these are the people that have been around for a while and they didn't have the opportunities for the education and the training that's available today. So a lot of them are low income and do need subsidies once in a while. Most people want to be independent, but there's times when they need some help and it appears in the dealings I've had, the department has come through and helped these folks. That too, again, is much appreciated.
Nothing is perfect, but I see progress being made. The income security part, I have seen people trying to become a little more independent and I really encourage people to become independent and not be so dependent on all the income support programs that are out there. I think that's starting to happen.
So I see some good things happening with the department and there's a few things that need to be worked on, but for the most part I'm fairly pleased that $286 million is going into the education budget and I think that's sending a good message out there that education is a priority and the people have to take advantage of it because with the development that may be coming down, they will need more skilled workers and I want to see our people being those skilled workers. I always tell kids that I have a chance to talk to, do you want to be the one doing the shovelling, or telling them where to shovel? I think by putting the emphasis on education, that puts the ball in their court and they will have to take advantage because the opportunities are there, there's funding there and I continue to say we have one of the better post-secondary education funding programs in the country. I've used it; I've gone to school with students from the South that couldn't believe the generosity of our government and the money that they paid us. They pay us to basically go to school. I think everyone out there should take advantage of it because it will pay off in the long run and I think the investment that the Department of Education is putting into the future of the Northwest Territories I think will pay off in the long run.
So, Mr. Chair, those are my general comments. I'm not expecting any feedback from the Minister. I will probably have questions as we get into detail and I'll save it until then. Thank you.