Alfred Moses

As I mentioned earlier, as a government and as a department, we do support our students, whether they decided to get their education here in the Northwest Territories or outside the Northwest Territories. We want to make sure that all our students who are taking post-secondary education have that opportunity to succeed, and we are going to continue and commit to making sure that our students have that opportunity.

As we were discussing with our contractors, we are going to be working very closely with them. They will be working very closely with the college to ensure that, when the review is...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Obviously, there have been some delays in the correspondence back and forth, but we take all of committee's recommendations and suggestions seriously, and we do want to work with all Members in this Legislative Assembly. It is not us versus them. We should all be working together in the best interests of our residents, in the best interests of our students, and of the people that put us in this House. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Anyone knows that, when you are going through a procurement or a contract, it does take time. This is the same thing. We want to make sure we do it right, and we want to make sure that our students have the best opportunity for the best services and programs in post-secondary education, and we are committed to that. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

As I mentioned, we want to make sure we do this review right and that we get the best possible report moving forward to provide the best education for the residents of the Northwest Territories. We appreciate committee's input into this.

The purpose of the SFA program is to assist with the costs of obtaining a post-secondary education. Students who wish to get funding might want to look into pursuing some of our access programs or look at the ways of getting other avenues of potential funding that I had mentioned earlier. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

There are other avenues of potential funding for students who want to get into upgrading or adult basic learning. Obviously, there are income assistance and labour market programs. There are university and college entrance programs, known as UCEPP, administered by the Department of Indigenous and Northern Affairs. There is also ASETS, which is Aboriginal Skills and Employment Training Strategy, administered by Aboriginal governments.

Students who apply for SFA for an upgrading program are issued a denial letter which advises them of alternative sources of funding, and as I mentioned, any...

Mr. Speaker, our government has a responsibility to make sure that Northwest Territories residents have access to the best education programs possible. We owe it to our students to give them programs that are well designed, up to date, and position them to go into the kinds of jobs that employers are looking to fill. We also owe it to our young people to make sure that the system and institutions through which we deliver education programs are managed efficiently and effectively and that the chains of responsibility among all the decision makers are absolutely clear.

As Members will recall...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I wish to table the following two documents entitled "Assessment of Aurora College, Cleveland Consulting, March 2013" and "Letter from Standing Committee on Social Development to Minister of Education, Culture and Employment regarding Aurora College Foundational Review Terms of Reference dated August 28, 2017."

When decisions were made about the two programs, we mentioned that our social work and TEP program students are still going to continue to get the support from our department and get the support, also, from the Aurora College staff to help them on their path to a career and a future education.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. There was a delay in the contract, but we want to make sure that we do this review the best way we can for the residents of the Northwest Territories so that they have access to the best education possible. It is the responsibility of this government. Our next steps outlining will help us create a long-term solution for post-secondary education in the Northwest Territories.