Maybe, Mr. Chairman, if I could give an example for the honourable Member. For instance, let's say in Fort McPherson they decide the language of instruction is English; at least 21 per cent of the time, they should be taught in that language. Now, in another language, where we have given direction that an aboriginal language is also the second language --like Gwich'in --at the very least, nine per cent of that other language --approximately 90 hours - -has to be taught. So those are the kinds of general instructions that we give for this area.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. If I could say this again, "in accordance with directions of the Minister" is the policy directions that are established for language education. That is the basis on which this is to be read. You can't read every one as though I am interfering every time on a decision. It is generally a policy that guides this particular matter.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I move that clause 69 of Bill 25 be amended by striking out "and" at the end of proposed paragraph (2)(f).

Well, Mr. Chairman, all I can say is that what we were trying to do was articulate clearly the responsibilities and the duties of the principal or acting principal. Also, there's a responsibility on the part of the principal to lay out the rules by which teachers operate. Part of that responsibility could include the safety of the student, and other considerations for the safety of the staff, as well.

In that sense that is all part of the rules and these are things that are laid out for the district education authority, for the parents and for the students, so it is clear as to how things operate in the school. We certainly agree with the comments made by the honourable Member.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. To advise the honourable Member, this particular section was not in the previous act. It's being put in for the very reason the honourable Member has pointed out; that there have been incidents where the safety of students and school staff have been in jeopardy, to a point where there has been physical abuse of both staff and students. The idea here is to make certain that it's clear that part of the responsibility of a principal or acting principal is to ensure that there are considerations and there is a recognition procedure for dealing with the safety of students and school staff.

That, Mr. Chairman, is also why we did have some concern earlier about the whole matter of parents having direct right into classrooms because in some cases ...Another incident I know of, Mr. Chairman, is a parent actually went into a classroom and actually attacked a staff member. There has to be some considerations for those matters.

Thank you. I don't want to debate with the honourable Member. If one understood this issue, it would be clear. This is a matter where the Minister gives overall guidelines; in other words, overall direction. From there, it goes to the superintendent and then to the schools. Each school has a different situation and as a result of that, they have to make their choices about representation. Some schools may determine that their representation...Inuvik, for instance, may determine that their representation should come from grade 10 to 12, not grade 9, but grade 10 to 12. We may determine, as has been the case here, that grade 9, 10, 11 and 12 should be the considered range.

In that, it could be that the policy in the school, then, is that someone would be selected in grade 9 in Fort McPherson rather than grade 10. That's a matter of choice that the school would make. There's a general parameter that we're now offering and that's part of the guidelines.

Thank you. Very simply, the students are guided by the principal and the principal is guided by the Minister. We have to lay some general rules by which this process is used. Then there is also the school basis on which this process is laid out. That's how it works.

I don't know if the honourable Members know but in management, there's a hierarchy responsibility of giving overall direction. How that is done is it is applied by each school depending on that situation.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. This is the matter of the principals and the acting principal and teacher in accordance with policy direction, so there's a consistent approach generally across the Northwest Territories. Where it says "in accordance with directions," generally means in accordance with policies that have been set. That is the basis on which this should be interpreted.

Thank you, that's fine, Mr. Chairman. I'll just respond to the honourable Member and I'll deal with the amendment later.

The matter that is before you is that we wanted to ensure that the home schooling programs were managed in the communities in which they were delivered. The superintendents are not in every community, and we wanted to, through regulations, determine the responsibility they had in monitoring home school situations and programming. That was the intent. It's in conjunction with the board, but the board has to be involved in the home school programs as well as terms in determining the program.