Kevin O'Reilly

Thanks, Mr. Chair. I don't want the witnesses to get the impression that I don't believe in land use planning. That is actually what brought me to the Northwest Territories in 1985. I became the land use planning coordinator for the Dene nation and actually spent some time working with Violet Camsell-Blondin and a whole bunch of other people, Michael Nadli, and so on, so this is what actually got me up here, and I want this to be done. I just am trying to understand why we are getting out in it ahead of the federal government. It is their responsibility to fund this. I understand there is a...

Merci, Monsieur le President. I want to thank the Minister for that. Certainly it is exciting times here in the North for post-secondary education. I know that the Minister is also setting up a series of seven talks in various communities, and I want to commend her for that, because there are some really interesting topics. Unfortunately, we are stuck here for some of them, but I know that I have been working with her office to get some public broadcasting of that done, as well.

I want to get back this issue of how the Minister sees herself and the department working more formally with...

Thanks, Mr. Chair. Is there any prospect that this money can be recovered from the federal government? Thank you, Mr. Chair.

I want to thank the Minister for those remarks. I participated in one of the events that she held here in Yellowknife, so I will vouch for what she says. The Minister has probably by now had a chance to review the City of Yellowknife's University Feasibility and Benefits Study. Can the Minister say how this report will be taken into account in future work toward the establishment of a polytechnic university for the Northwest Territories?

Thanks, Mr. Chair. I would like to start with questions about the allocation in here for land use planning in the Wekweeti management area. There is $647,000 in the Department of Lands and another $79,000 in Department of Infrastructure. Can the Minister tell us what this money is actually for? Thanks, Mr. Chair.

Merci, Monsieur le President. A lot has taken place on the renewal of post-secondary education since last year. Following the May 2018 release of the Aurora College Foundational Review, the Minister released her response to the report in October. That response endorsed the review's recommendation to transform Aurora College into a polytechnic university.

The City of Yellowknife was also quick to pursue the opportunities from the creation of a polytechnic university. A University/Post-Secondary Advisory Committee was created. Many prominent Yellowknifers volunteered to serve on this committee...

Thanks, Mr. Chair. Yes, I don't have anything further, but I think the Minister has made my case for me, so I appreciate his efforts. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Please, Mr. Chair. That didn't really answer my question: has that exercise been completed, and, if so or if it's going to be happening in the future, can the Minister agree to share the report with the standing committee? Thanks, Mr. Chair.

Thanks, Mr. Chair. I appreciate the explanation from the Minister. I am still trying to figure out why is this position not in the ISSS unit that is in Finance? Thanks, Mr. Chair.

Thanks, Mr. Chair. I realize I am the only thing standing between folks and dinner. I want to ask about the fabled project assessment policy, because it does not seem to be working out very well. The Tlicho All-Season Road, I guess it was used there, and the Mackenzie Valley Environmental Impact Review Board was highly critical of our government's involvement in that environmental assessment. Can the Minister confirm for me that the project assessment policy was applied to TerraX in their recent application for exploration in the Yellowknife area? Thanks, Mr. Chair.