Alfred Moses

We have a lot of things that we are doing right now in post-secondary initiatives. It is a very ambitious agenda. We have the foundational review that is going to help us decide the direction of how Aurora College will be providing its programs and services, but we also have this overarching legislation that is going to help other post-secondary institutions come up, do research, and also possibly look at providing degree-granting programs. We have Dechinta Centre for Research and Learning and College Nordique that will soon be involved in that.

If it looks like we can look at providing a...

With the current budget and the current steps we've taken, we are looking at phasing this current program that is currently at the college out after this year. That's why there are no intakes. What comes out of the foundational review, the direction of the college, we will use that information to make evidence-based decisions, and whether or not they will have the degree granting program, or whether they are going to change direction and do other types of degree granting bachelor programs, but we'll have to get that foundational review complete first.

We can possibly review that report. Because it is an internal document and an internal review that the Aurora College has taken on, my understanding is that because it is an internal document, that is not planned for release to the public. I can follow up with the Aurora College on that, though. Because it is their own internal review, it is something that will not be released to the public. As I mentioned earlier, that can help position what that program is in terms of looking at a long-term strategic plan for Aurora College, after all of our other work around the foundational review is...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The foundational review was a process that we took on as a government, and we are looking at a whole bunch of different areas, and it's not all focused on programs. There's governance. There's operations and administration. There's recruitment, retention, just give a direction of where the college is going. We are going to use that information to help set the long-term strategic plan for Aurora College. That review, the internal review that Aurora College is doing on their own, that will also possibly help us set the direction moving forward. The main focus right now is...

As Members of the House know, and I'm sure the public knows, we are currently going through a foundational review. I did mention that that review is going to be given to me by the end of this month, and we will be creating a management response to that review. In that review, governance is a topic of priority to take a look at. So once we get that foundational review, we will develop a management response to some of those recommendations. Should the board be one of the recommendations, we will take a look at it, and once the management response and the review is complete, we will be sharing...

Currently, there is no jurisdiction in all of Canada that has legislated living wage as part of minimum wage policy. I feel that, the way we look at our minimum wage and review that minimum wage every two years, we are doing what is best for not only the employees, but as I mentioned earlier, what's best for the employers. I can bring this to Cabinet and have those discussions. At this time, we are going to continue with the process of how we develop and determine what a minimum wage is every two years.

Yes, I know one of our best programs that we do have at Aurora College is the Nursing Degree Program, and we're also working on this foundational review that's going to address some of the accreditation quality assurance concerns that Members have brought up on numerous occasions. That foundational review, we should have that to me by the end of this month, and we'll be taking a look at those recommendations that are going to be in that final report moving forward. I hear what the Member is saying, and moving forward, we want to make sure that anyone who takes any programs with any of our post...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Just a little information for Members and the public: the Minimum Wage Committee was made in 2013, and its sole purpose was to meet and review relevant information, research, and data to determine suitable options for a change to the minimum wage.

Every two years, they review this area of the minimum wage. They bring options to myself, and we make the decisions on what meets the needs of not only the employees, but also the employers. We have to make sure that there is a fine balance and that we don't put extra hardships on our employers when we do look at increases to...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I'd like to also welcome and recognize Catherine Lafferty, Director of Community Development and Indigenous Education for Dechinta Centre for Research and Learning, as well her little entourage of supporters and people that do the work in the organization. Welcome. Mahsi.

As Members know, we did make some changes when the Canada Child Benefit came into place, as well as changes to our own legislation for the NWT Child Benefit, to help more low-to-moderate-income families on that area. We have been working with the campuses in Fort Smith, Inuvik, and Yellowknife to address those, and we have heard that as a concern that childcare is important for students who are going to school. We are also working on how to create affordable and accessible childcare in the 11 communities that don't have childcare currently. That poses a barrier in itself, and we have to find...