Mahsi cho, Mr. Speaker. I’ve seconded the motion for the Member for Sahtu on this because I, too, am a believer that we have to put money in for the students, as much money as possible. I think the benefits down the road are tremendous. If we have an educated society, then we have improved health and that’s statistically proven that higher education is better health, better housing, better income. The whole thing of even the social problems and everything are eliminated. A lot of social problems are eliminated when you get into a society where you’re talking about people that are well educated.
I think we should do everything that we can during the time that the students are going back to school. We have people who need income. Right now in the Northwest Territories we have a lot of students that are going right from high school into universities and colleges. I recognize that. This is positive for them too, because it’s not a lot of money and any increase to that would benefit them a tremendous amount.
We also have a lot of mature students that go back to school. So students who have been in jobs that are the best jobs they could get under that circumstance, Grade 12 and so on, and now they
want to go to college or university. They have kids, they have child care, they have the cost of food, the cost of rent, the cost of actually operating something back home and then having to go to school and paying for that cost, as well.
I second the motion and am obviously supporting that, to support the students that are going to be going to post-secondary education.