Julie Green
Statements in Debates
Thank you. We will see further increases in this area as the rest of the mental health support worker program in the schools rolls out. Is that correct? Thank you.
Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. It was my understanding from that same discussion that money for enhancing manufacturing would come from the existing SEED fund, and I note that the value of the fund is not budgeted to increase in the next fiscal year. I guess I am wondering how this strategy will be implemented. Mahsi.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. I thought this was the federal money. I didn't realize it was the JK money. I appreciate the Minister clarifying that this is, in fact, the pot of money for junior kindergarten. From which level of government does it come? I thought it came from the territorial government. Thank you.
Could the Minister give us a preview by telling us how that strategy will assist a small-scale manufacturing plant like the one that I discussed in my statement, the fish-tanning plant in Iceland? How will this strategy help that kind of enterprise?
Thank you, Mr. Chair. I realize that the decision to cut the programs was not made by this Minister, but I find the conversation of autonomy somewhat galling. The college was directed to cut those programs, and they did that. While I appreciate the Minister championing the independence and integrity of Aurora College, the fact is that they have been taking orders from the Department of Education, Culture and Employment for a long time, and we have several studies that show that that is the case. I guess I am still trying to reconcile, "They are a fully autonomous organization," with the...
Thank you to Ms. Gareau for that response, and also for catching the extra number there. Could she please provide more detail about the difference between the projects in the two years? Thank you.
Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. The manufacturing sector is one of the bright lights of the NWT economy. It more than doubled in value from 2014 to 2016 and directly employed 129 people. Let's hope that number has grown as much between 2016 and 2018, despite the fact the sector is still waiting for the government's long-awaited manufacturing strategy. The mandate commitment for manufacturing speaks to expanding the sector, identifying potential areas of growth, promoting and marketing products manufactured in the NWT, and aiding in the professional and technological advancement of the industry. What we...
I am starting to get a little clearer here now. The money is not for the Social Work Program; it is for the development and implementation of the polytechnic university. Do I have that right now? Thank you.
Thank you for that response. Nothing further.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. This isn't making total sense to me. Let's take the Social Work Program. It is my understanding that there is no staff left at the Social Work Program, so I am unclear why those salaries would be budgeted into the next fiscal year. It looks like the effect of this is to create a slush fund that will be sort of unplugged to actual need in the next fiscal year and, in fact, for the foreseeable future, because we don't know when or if the Social Work Program is coming back. Can the Minister provide a rationale for continuing to allocate money to salaries, when there is no...