Charles Dent

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I move, seconded by the honourable Member for Deh Cho, that Bill 18, An Act to Amend the Education Act, be read for the second time.

Mr. Speaker, this bill amends the Education Act to replace the definition "ratepayer."

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Yes, the Ministers of Education for Canada are continuing to work together to see if we can find some way to raise the profile of this issue. Yes, it is my intention to continue to seek a face-to-face meeting with Minister Finley to press the case. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In fact, the Honourable Diane Finley notified the Council of Ministers of Education, Canada that she was unwilling to meet with a group of Ministers and asked if one Minister would be delegated to speak on all of our behalves. I transmitted my approval for that position to the chair of the CMEC. However, the majority of Ministers from across Canada did not support that; therefore, the meeting did not take place.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I move, seconded by the honourable Member for Yellowknife South, that Bill 19, An Act to Amend the Archives Act, be read for the first time. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As I have told this House, I am already doing that. I am already working with other Ministers, and not just with Education Ministers. At the last FPT that I attended, all of the Ministers there took occasion with the Minister who was present to express our concern about the cuts to the literacy file in hopes that it would be passed on to Minister Finley. We are working, not just as Ministers of Education, but generally, federal, provincial and territorial Ministers across Canada are working with our Premiers to make sure that the federal government is aware that we...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As Members of this House are aware, as I said earlier, I have written to Minister Finley to protest the cuts. The Premier has written to the Prime Minister to talk about the cuts, particularly the literacy and Status of Women cuts. I have another trip planned to Ottawa later this fall. I have my office working to see if I can add to that trip a meeting with Minister Finley to discuss this issue. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Good afternoon. Mr. Speaker, in 2005, Alberta announced the creation of the Alberta Centennial Scholarship Program, which created 325 annual scholarships across Canada, valued at $2,005 each starting in the 2006-07 school year.

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to report that 25 scholarships have been made available for distribution in the Northwest Territories for individuals pursuing post-secondary education. The Department of Education, Culture and Employment will award these scholarships to students pursuing training in the area of skilled trades and occupations. We will...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I move, seconded by the honourable Member for Nahendeh, that Bill 18, An Act to Amend the Education Act, be read for the first time. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Like the Member, I would like to express my congratulations to the grads from the recent programs offered in Norman Wells. That campus has been extremely active and very proficient in seeing graduates get through the facility and the facility is somewhat challenging, as the Member has pointed out. ECE continues to work with our partners at Public Works to explore what options there may be for replacing that building in the future. We are prepared to look at different options. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. It has been an interesting discussion this afternoon and I know that there's been a lot of weight on the cost of more Members in this House. I know my constituents have told me that they agree that they're not anxious to see the cost of representation go up. I know somebody today said more Members won't bring in more money. I think that was probably the Minister of Finance…

---Laughter

…but he's absolutely right; they won't. But what we're talking about here is not just about representation. My colleague Mr. McLeod made some very strong arguments about how people...