Kevin O'Reilly

Thanks, Mr. Chair. Can the Minister give us an update on the status of the action plan on disabilities, where we are at with it? Thanks, Mr. Chair.

Thanks, Mr. Chair. I think it is probably the place where I will ask my usual question about midwifery services, the status of the territorial program, and services in Yellowknife. Thanks, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. A couple of questions here. The fees and payments and travel lines seem to be declining over time, and I'm just curious to know what's going on with those two items. Thanks, Mr. Chair.

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. I appreciate the response from the Minister. It sounds like she has started to do some homework around this. That is a good thing, but there is model legislation out there already. I am happy to share it with the Minister to try to move this along. I know that the operator who has brought this to my attention is looking at a chemical process, so emissions are really kept to a minimum.

I guess what I am looking for now from the Minister, though, is: can she commit to taking the lead on this issue with her Cabinet colleagues to ensure that there is a timely resolution, within...

Thanks to the Minister for that response. I have spoken about how Canada is the only circumpolar country without a university and that federal government is looking for transformative change investment opportunities. Has the Minister had any discussions and made any approaches to the federal government regarding investment in postsecondary education in the Northwest Territories?

Merci, monsieur le President. The Minister of Education seems to be very popular today, so I have got some extra questions for him. In my statement earlier today I talked about how we can build a real postsecondary education system here in the Northwest Territories. I know that there is some sort of a strategic plan being developed for Aurora College. Can the Minister tell us whether this plan will contain any ideas on how the college relates to other institutions, such as College nordique and Dechinta? Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Boy, if we could only get the Minister to answer "yes" or "no" to some of the other questions that he has had over the last week, that would be fantastic. I guess I was hoping for a little bit more detail. I am sure he can provide that in response to my next question, as well.

Can the Minister commit that during the lifetime of this Assembly he will work with Regular MLAs and the public to develop a full postsecondary education strategy and action plan for the Northwest Territories that includes a university? Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.

I want to thank the Minister for his honesty there; a bit of a disappointment, though. He just was talking about partnerships and so on, and it is too bad that this strategic plan for Aurora College is not going to consider linkages with other postsecondary institutions.

There must be some sort of terms of reference or a contract scope of work for this strategic plan. Will there be any effort or investigation of a broader postsecondary education framework or strategy? Perhaps the Minister could agree to share the terms of reference for that strategic plan with this side of the House?

Merci, monsieur le President. I want to talk about how we can develop a real post-secondary education system leading to transformative change in the Northwest Territories. I'm talking about beginning the work of building a university of the Northwest Territories.

Canada is the only circumpolar nation without a university in its arctic or sub-arctic region. In 2015, I had the opportunity to visit the second largest city is Iceland, called Akureyri. It's a thriving place with about 19,000 people and a university established in 1987. There are now about 1,900 students and 180 faculty and staff...

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Great to hear that, and I really look forward to the next budget having some investment into renewable energy beyond what we have already. Can the Minister tell me, is part of that energy plan going to be a carbon tax or carbon pricing system for the Northwest Territories? Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.