Maybe the Minister didn’t hear me. The funding that’s being provided with the 16 to 1 ratio is not adequate.

Will the Minister ensure that that ratio be changed to at least 10 to 1?

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My questions are for the Minister of Education in follow-up to my Member’s statement.

Over the last year there have been a number of cuts to our funding for the Beaufort-Delta Education Authority due to the pupil-teacher ratio, which is changed from 8 to 1 to now 16 to 1. Now the DEA is actually basically being forced to implement the junior kindergarten.

I’d like to ask the Minister, why is he setting up junior kindergarten to fail?

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to address Junior Kindergarten that the Minister has approved for our school in the fall.

The Minister has approved this with no further funding and lack of adequate space for the new program. How does the Minister expect to have our teachers instruct the students and teach them in a learning environment with no money, no space and no plan? Our communities throughout the North have commented in-depth regarding the Junior Kindergarten Program. We need an extra $40,000 to $50,000 to help implement the program, similar to the communities that have taken on the...

I was actually asking about Tsiigehtchic. I wasn’t too concerned about Yellowknife. The prices here are, I believe, $1.38 per litre. The residents of Tsiigehtchic want to know why they feel the communities are always hit with the highest prices. As well, Tsiigehtchic is on the Mackenzie River system.

Can we reduce the cost by bringing fuel in to the community by barge?

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The cost of living in our small communities has been brought up to this government before and here we are again talking about the high cost of food, fuel and community services. My community of Tsiigehtchic recently experienced a huge increase in the price of fuel. One litre of gas costs $2.01, which rose 9 cents. Heating fuel is $1.92. Petrol is 19 cents. Also, diesel fuel is $2.05 per litre.

Our constituents want to know why there is such a huge increase in fuel costs for Tsiigehtchic. They are concerned that this increase will affect many of our residents in terms of...

One of our priorities for this government is to reduce the cost of living in our communities.

How does the Minister plan to address the impacts of increased fuel prices on the quality of life in our smaller communities?

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My questions today are for the Minister of Public Works and Services. As I mentioned in my Member’s statement, the high cost of fuel prices in the community of Tsiigehtchic. It’s not bad enough we’re paying $8 per litre of milk, now the price of heating fuel has gone up.

I’d like to ask the Minister: Can the Minister explain the huge increase in the price of fuel for Tsiigehtchic?

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Can the Minister explain some of the differences between the Northwest Territories petroleum products supply and Nunavut’s bulk fuel purchases that have allowed them to stabilize fuel costs while prices in the Northwest Territories continue to rise?

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I move, seconded by the honourable Member for Kam Lake, that Bill 18, An Act to Amend the Legislative Assembly and Executive Council Act, be read for the third time. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Can the Minister describe what is being done for medical travel situations in the interim, before the final recommendations of the review? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.