Mr. Fawcett: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Earlier today the Minister of Education announced a number of ways in which citizens of this province can participate in Inspiring Education: A Dialogue with Albertans. In addition to daylong sessions around the province, Albertans can also join the conversation online or use conversation kits to host a discussion in their own community. My question is to the Minister of Education. What is he doing to ensure that disadvantaged Albertans are being reached out to, those such as the homeless, to ensure that their voices are heard as well?

The Speaker: The hon. minister.

Mr. Hancock: Well, thank you, Mr. Speaker. In light of your comments yesterday in the House I would advise members that they can also Twitter me or send me a message on Facebook.

I don't want to diminish the importance of this question because it is absolutely, vitally important that we get all Albertans involved in the conversation. We know that some people will not necessarily either be aware of or be able to find ways to participate, so we're having what we're calling personal conversations, working with social justice agencies to identify groups that might otherwise be left out and going out to seek out those groups and have those conversations. I've seen the results of the group from Calgary, some street youth that were involved in the discussion, and the comments that they made were, quite frankly, powerful.

The Speaker: The hon. member.

Mr. Fawcett: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The minister has outlined a very ambitious agenda for Inspiring Education, and I can't help but think that at the end of this process we're going to have a very comprehensive report with an extensive list of recommendations attached. Can Albertans really expect substantial change from this process?

The Speaker: The hon. minister.

Mr. Hancock: Well, thank you, Mr. Speaker. We're in a very blessed time, actually, when it comes to education. The Premier had the foresight to work with the previous Minister of Education and the ATA to resolve a five-year agreement with teachers in the province to deal with labour issues, leaving us an opportunity to focus on the policy issues and focus on professionalism in education. So it's a great time to have this discussion. We've asked the steering committee not to come back with an extensive list of recommendations but, rather, to come back with a profile of what an educated Albertan looks like in 20 years and what policy framework and policies and government structures we need to get there from here.

The Speaker: The hon. member.

Mr. Fawcett: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My final question to the same minister. Looking into the future is very important, and as the minister says, this is a good time to do that. However, I'm hearing a number of issues about our current education system from my constituents. How does this Inspiring Education dialogue help fix those issues?

Mr. Hancock: Well, we need to be perfectly clear, Mr. Speaker, that Inspiring Education is about the education system of the future. We need to be planning now and implementing now so that we can be sure that not only do we have a great education for our children today but that that great education and all the aspects that are needed will be there for our children tomorrow. There are issues, and we're not overlooking the issues. We're not stopping the work on the dayto-day work. We have the Member for Edmonton-Ellerslie, for example, chairing Setting the Direction for Special Education. That's very important. My parliamentary assistant, the Member for Edmonton-Decore, is looking at transportation issues in the province. There's a lot happening, but Inspiring Education is a very, very important dialogue about the future not just of education but the future of this province.