Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Minister spoke of dedicated staff across the Northwest Territories. I'm sure there are not dedicated staff or positions here in Yellowknife that could move across the Northwest Territories. So my final question to the Minister, with this particular constituent that I'm dealing with, the Minister says we can't overrule the decision. So will he look into this constituent's concern and make a good business decision, or is this a final decision? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Will the Minister look at establishing regional offices that have the authority to make decisions for the students, once these regulations are changed? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Minister talks about regulations. I'm sure these regulations aren't written in stone, and I'm sure we do have the authority, or I'd like to know if the Minister has the authority to overrule some of these decisions, based on facts, not on regulations. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I look behind me and I see all these students from the school here in Yellowknife, and some day they'll be applying for SFA when they go to college. I'm sure people here wouldn't want to have their decisions made from an office in Inuvik or Fort Smith. So I would like to ask the Minister of Education, why are there no regional offices in the NWT with the authority to make decisions? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, today I would like to speak on the administration of the Student Financial Assistance program. Although I believe that the SFA in the NWT is one of, if not the best in Canada, there are still some problems with the administration of the program. Inuvik, Hay River, Norman Wells and Fort Smith are some of the larger regional centres in the NWT outside of Yellowknife, yet there are no offices in these communities that have decision-making authority. Everything has to go through an office in Yellowknife that is far removed from the regions.

Mr. Speaker, just to give you an example of what I am speaking about, I have a constituent who went to school in Fort Smith, and he was transferring to Edmonton. He had verbal approval to bring his truck and his belongings down, and they would pay his way home. He gets down to Edmonton, and he gets told that they are not going to pay his way home, because it wasn't where he was going to school. It cost $128 less to go from Edmonton to Inuvik than it would from Fort Smith to Inuvik.

I just think, Mr. Speaker, if we had regional staff who had a chance to know their clients, and they were empowered to make decisions in these kinds of cases, we might get more sensible results. Even the student financial assistance board, Mr. Speaker, has no members from outside of Yellowknife. Is Yellowknife the only community in the NWT with the college? Mr. Speaker, I am not here to knock Yellowknife, but too many decisions made for the rest of the NWT are done here, and they should be at the regions. We should have regional offices that have the authority to make decisions that are affecting these students.

Mr. Speaker, at the appropriate time, I will have questions for the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment. Thank you.

---Applause

Okay, Mr. Sahtu and I. I got to know Norman when we were in Grollier Hall. We played hockey together, so that's about the only positive thing I see that came out of this whole residential school thing.

---Laughter

Other than that, I mean, there's a dark side that not too many people want to talk about, but I do commend Mr. Yakeleya for bringing this motion forward, and I'm proud to support it. Thanks a lot.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I, too, will be in support of this motion. This is something that I think is long overdue, and I commend the Member for Sahtu for bringing it up.

Residential schools are something that have been going on for years. My mother attended residential school in Aklavik, where they weren't allowed to speak their language. As a result, a lot of us have lost our language. My wife's grandfather went to residential school at age six and didn't return to his community until he was 15.

Some of the Members have said that there have been some good things come out of the residential school. I can't think of too many. I was there at nine years old, but one of the good things that came out of the one in Inuvik is we made friends, as Mr. Miltenberger said, that lasted us a lifetime. Mr. Sahtu...

---Laughter

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I agree with the Minister that this is a good program, and I know a few people that access it. My second question is, with the split of RWED and the programs that are offered now, who would make the decisions, and who would administer all the programs? Thanks a lot, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As you heard before, my colleague and I were speaking on the high cost of harvesting for trappers around the NWT. I'd like to ask the Minister of ITI, what's the government doing to assist harvesters with the increased cost of working, and trying to earn a living off the land? Thank you.