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December 10, 1997
(Education)

 

The following statement was issued today by Roger Grimes, Minister of Education. It was also read in the House of Assembly:

Last night the House of Commons approved the resolution to amend Term 17 by a majority vote of 212 to 53.

I am pleased to report to the House today that there was substantive support from all political parties in Ottawa. This result, along with the 73 per cent approval of Newfoundlanders and Labradorians in the September 5 referendum and the unanimous endorsement of this legislature, clearly shows the way has been paved for a new single school system for the children of this province.

There is just one hurdle to overcome to achieve that goal; Senate approval. Today, I call upon the Senate of Canada to deal with this issue expeditiously, so that we can proceed with a new Schools Act in order to facilitate changes necessary to have the new school system in place for the September 1998 school year. The objective of this government is to finalize the provincial legislation before the Christmas break, elect new school boards early in 1998, and proceed with the organization of our new single school system.

Today I call upon our colleagues in the official opposition to encourage their federal counterparts in the Senate to complete the process without any further delay.

It has been a long and difficult process over the last several years, but I am now confident we can finally proceed with a new single school system that will greatly benefit the children of Newfoundland and Labrador. I call upon all of our people to put their differences aside and work together for the benefit of our children for they are truly the future of Newfoundland and Labrador.

Together, let's develop a system of education, one that we can all be proud of and one that can be a model for the rest of Canada.

1997 12 10 3:00 p.m.

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