Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The last time I checked I think there was approximately 15 or 16 boards, agencies and committees in one of my communities, for example, Fort Resolution, with a population of approximately 550 people. In that community there is an education society, housing authorities, band councils, Metis locals, band and community council, drug and alcohol, sport committees, all different types of board and agencies that all draw on the peoples' ability to donate their time to work on these committees in the community. But also it takes up the time and effort of many different people in the community. I know that there is legislation on the books and people have to do things in the community to access government dollars. They have to create these committees or organizations to access government dollars. Is the Minister willing to work along with his colleague, the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment in Fort Resolution, for example, and Lutselk'e to look at the community government structures as to where they could possibly save money in order to put it back into the education system or what their priority is? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I will not worry or quibble about what the Minister said last Friday in the press, but what I am interested in are some solutions to the education budget. My question will be for the Minister of Finance. Mr. Minister, I know that you have been a Member of the Legislative Assembly for some time now. Also, in the past there were reports commissioned on behalf of the Legislative Assembly on behalf of the government. One of those reports was written by a gentleman named Beatty. I think it was called Strength at Two Levels. In that report, Mr. Minister, there was mention at that time of approximately 450 boards and agencies throughout the Northwest Territories. I do not know if that number has dropped considerably over the past few years, but this would have been approximately two terms ago when this report was done and recommendations were made to decrease the number of boards and agencies in the Northwest Territories, thus freeing up some dollars for important priorities such as education, health care and economic development. Is the Minister, instead of commissioning a new report willing to have his staff take a look at old reports that were done by previous governments that may still hold some credibility and possibly some solutions for our financial crisis? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. With the greatest of respect, a point of order. The Member from Hay River continually mentions the Ordinary Members of this House. I am one of those Ordinary Members and let me assure you the Member from Hay River does not speak for me as an Ordinary Member. Thank you.

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Final supplementary. As the Minister is aware the community of Fort Resolution is situated in my riding of Tu Nedhe. I have Lutselk'e in the riding as well. I know that local education societies are very, very involved as well as the parents in the educational needs of their children. I also know that sometimes, Mr. Speaker, when we seem to look too broad or talk a problem at too high of an issue, that sometimes you do not come up with the proper solutions and sometimes it is better, Mr. Speaker, that you tackle those issues at the grassroots levels right at the communities and right at the schools where our communities are willing to look at innovative new ways and look at everything in their community in order to move ahead on their education. Is the Minister willing to look at pilot projects or is he willing to also look, Mr. Speaker, at working with the communities of Fort Resolution and Lutselk'e on new innovative ways to meet the education need in their community with all the other departments in that community as well? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Sometimes the answers may lay just across the street in some of the issues that need to be addressed in our education system as well as in our schools. Mr. Speaker, I know that in some cases the government has worked in a cohesive manner with other departments to enable programs to be carried out in the school. Like the Minister has just mentioned, Mr. Speaker, I believe he said it was a $168 or $170 million budget, the Department of Education has. But also, Mr. Speaker, I must bring to his attention there was approximately another $500 to $600 million that the government has out there and there are other departments that can assist with our educational need in our school systems. It does not necessarily mean the money has to be transferred to the education budget. What it means is that the government has to work as a whole on the education issue in the Northwest Territories whether it means creating economic development opportunities so our children can go there or creating opportunities through the Housing Corporation so that they can make use of the big shops that we have in our schools that sit idle. Those are the ways. Is the Minister willing to work with his colleagues to find other ways to work within the schools to develop programs, ultimately educational programs that we need in the school so that we can make better use overall of our government dollars? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It is good to hear that the Minister of Education is working with his colleague, our Minister of Health and Social Services on the special needs in our classrooms. Mr. Hartman had tried to, he has never firmed up, but he made a statement at that time that he may be willing to come to the Northwest Territories to work with our teachers and our educators, our parents and our local education societies to help them with the special needs in our communities. Now, I know that there are many different special needs and he may not have benefit to them all, but I think that we do have to look and see how we can address the issues in our classrooms. It may not necessarily only mean just throwing dollars at the problem, but it may mean being innovative and trying things differently. Is the Minister, Mr. Speaker, willing to take a look at innovative ways and different approaches on how to meet the special needs in our communities and in our schools? Thank

you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My question will be for the Minister of Education. Mr. Speaker, I had an opportunity last fall because of the initiative of our local education society in Fort Resolution. Fort Resolution Local Education Society had the vision to bring in a Mr. Tom Hartman, a leading expert in attention deficit disorder into the community. They also had an opportunity to bring over to join in the workshop, a local education society from Lutselk'e, as well as many teachers and people from the South Slave district. To date, Mr. Speaker, I have never heard any negative response to that workshop that we held in Fort Resolution. I have only heard positive things about that workshop that was held in Fort Resolution. Also, at that same time, Mr. Speaker, we had an opportunity to have Mr. Hartman put on a small type workshop here at the Legislative Assembly and at that time there were also many teachers from Yellowknife that were able to attend as well as many of the Members. Mr. Hartman's theories are quite different than other peoples' theories. He is known as one of the leading experts in attention deficit disorder. He is renowned around the world. I do not know if Mr. Miltenberger had the opportunity at that time to attend the workshop. I cannot remember. But is Mr. Miltenberger, as Minister of Education, aware of Mr. Tom Hartman and his theories on attention deficit disorder? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As my Member's statement today I will be reading a letter I received from one of my constituents.

As a parent, I would like to say to you, the Minister of Education, the former Minister of Education and the Assembly, the following:

Do any of you know what it is like to teach a child with special needs, along with 20 or more other children in the classroom? I am a parent with a special needs child that is ADHD and I have volunteered my time in the classrooms to help out. As a parent this is not an easy job, to raise a child with special needs. Could you imagine a teacher with just one child with ADHD, ADD, FAS or FAE with no help in the classroom? It would be like trying to teach 40 children all at the same time. In our school a lot of the classrooms are split classrooms. Not only are the teachers frustrated, but the children are as well, not to mention the special needs children. We fail to help them for no other reason than for money. Our children want to learn and are not getting the help they need from their own government. Please do not pass the buck to the next set of MLAs. We need the help now. We are pleading to you for help. Find the money that is needed to help our children, do not tell us there is no money when we hear that $1 million is going to adult education. Put some of it into our young students, and if you do it now, then it will not cost you more in the future. Make sure you know what is important to our future. As a parent and a Northerner, I believe our children's education is our future. I keep hearing that education is very important to our elected officials and yet it is the last to get help.

Our former Minister of Education spent approximately $350,000 on a forum, yet everything that the forum found out was put on the table with Mr. Dent last May by all District Education Council Chairpersons. Do you not think that the money spent should have gone into the classrooms? Do not forget it is taxpayers' money, so do not put us aside. In closing, I would like to thank everyone for listening and I would like you to reconsider your decision and put more money in the classrooms for the benefit of our children.

A parent in need.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

--Applause

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I will not be in the House tomorrow or the next day, in the Legislative Assembly. I do have a seriously ill patient in Edmonton that is in critical condition, one of my constituents. I will be leaving in the morning for down there, so I would just like to thank all the Ministers for their fine answers and see you guys when I get back. Thank you.