Thank you, Mr. Devitt. We’re on page 10-9, information item, revenue summary.

Moving along to page 10-10, which is also an information item, active position summary.

Moving along to page 10-13, activity summary, directorate and administration, operations expenditure summary, $7.769 million.

Moving along to page 10-14, information item, directorate and administration, active positions.

Moving along to page 10-17, education and culture, activity summary, operations expenditure summary, $179.023 million. Mr. Bromley.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Perhaps I could get the Minister to use this opportunity to explain where the efficiencies, the $200,000 of efficiencies in early childhood development are or, if not that, how they’ve reduced costs or what we’re giving up in child care, early childhood development.

Thank you, Mr. Bromley. Mr. Lafferty.

Mahsi, Mr. Chairman. Through that process we’re going to, through Aurora College, we’re going to do a review of the early childhood program delivery. That’s the area we’ll be focusing on as an efficiency.

So we’re taking $200,000 out of here without knowing where we’re going to take it, but we’re anticipating that our review will reveal that opportunity. Is that what I’m hearing?

Certainly there won’t be any impact on the front-line workers. It’s just that we’re conducting a review of the program, so there’s no impact on our services that we provide currently.

I guess it’s a good faith situation. I’ll have to take the Minister’s word on good faith here, because I don’t hear anything that’s going to tell me how that’s going to happen. Maybe I’ll just leave it with the comment that I’ll stress again that this perhaps is the most important thing we could be doing and the most important and largest significant opportunity we have for really contributing to people’s well-being by working with their potential in the early years. That goes for language and health and many of the broader goals that our government has and this 16th Assembly

has. I’ll leave it at that.

Thank you, Mr. Bromley. I didn’t hear a question, so I’ll go to the next person on my list. Ms. Bisaro.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I have a couple of questions. The first one is related to, I think it’s the Aboriginal Student Initiative that was mentioned by the Minister recently. I wonder if I could get a bit of an explanation as to what that strategy is, what the intention of the department is to try to increase aboriginal students’ grad rates, I think. If I could get clarification, that would be helpful.

Thank you, Ms. Bisaro. Mr. Lafferty.

Mahsi, Mr. Chairman. The strategy I was referring to is at the preliminary stages where we need to eliminate the student achievement gap. That is one area that we need to identify non-aboriginal and aboriginal students for the Northwest Territories. We will be working within the regions and communities, identifying those key areas.

Another strategy that we will be looking at is the Aboriginal Languages Strategy. Those are at the preliminary stages at this point and we will be briefing...We’ve already briefed the standing committee on identifying and eliminating

achievement gaps. Aboriginal language will certainly come into play as well.

Can I hear from the Minister where the funding for the Aboriginal Student Achievement Initiative is located?

That specific strategy that we are pursuing is from internal funding.

Thanks for that answer. I have another question in regards to some of the funding. I can’t remember the title now. The intention is to try and provide, there is somewhere to provide funding for students to get access, particularly in high school, to courses that they need in order to graduate. I wondered if the Minister could comment on...With high schools having grown out of the larger centres and into the smaller communities, there has been a concern in some quarters that some of the competencies of some of the Grade 12 grads in some of the high school programs are not what they should be. I wonder if the Minister would care to comment on whether or not that’s something the department thinks is a problem and, if it is, are they working on it.

The Member’s talking about certain students. This year we do have approximately 15 students, with a budget of $225,000. The work is underway with the DECs on a plan to look at this key area. They will continue to work with them.