Caitlin Cleveland

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I think I could well, a lot of my colleagues could probably attest to the fact that I'm slightly hard of hearing, but I'm pretty sure I heard a sigh from a lot of artists of the Northwest Territories on that one.

Before I was even elected, before any of us were elected into the 19th Assembly, ITI and ECE did engage with artists across the Northwest Territories. They invested a lot of time and a lot of effort, and it was very well received from the artists of the Northwest Territories. And so I think people would be frustrated in order to go back and say the same things...

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, there's another way that we can do this. We could drive it from the GNWT outwards. It doesn't have to be, you know, continuing on with the whole notion and the age-old anecdote of the "starving artist." We can actually prop our artists up, give them an opportunity to bring in huge amounts of dollars into the territory, and go at it from a GNWT perspective, which I think is what a lot of people are asking for given the GNWT already does have a program that supports artists, and we want to be able to see that organization grow.

And so I'm wondering...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, as a child I have vivid memories, as my mother's sidekick, as artists discussed the needs of the NWT arts community. Many of the faces that advocated then are the same in today's fabric of arts activists, but they're tired of asking for the same things: core funding, independence, and infrastructure.

Mr. Speaker, the GNWT released the next tenyear art strategy. Despite several suggestions to improve the strategy from standing committees on both economic development and environment and social development, not one suggestion was considered or incorporated in...

Thank you, Madam Chair. Madam Chair, I move that this committee recommends that the Department of Education, Culture and Employment and Aurora College take note of this request that engagement timelines are respectful and sufficient for stakeholders to support meaningful consultation and ensure that the timeframes for engagement and consultation concerning the polytechnic university are adequate. Thank you, Madam Chair.

Thank you very much, Madam Speaker. Madam Speaker, I appreciate the work that is being done by ECE but as it stands right now, many businesses in Yellowknife, particularly, are spending tens of thousands of dollars to help bring newcomers up to the territory and to help them through the immigration process. And so one of the things that has worked for other jurisdictions are certain exemptions that are particular or community specific. And so by working with industry leaders, we can find out what those exemptions are and go and communicate those to the federal government. So that's what I'm...

Thank you, Madam Speaker, and my apologies for calling you Madam Chair. Madam Speaker, my second question for the Minister, and I'm happy that the Minister spoke to working with the other territories and taking from lessons learned from the other territories.

Given the success that Yukon has had with their nominee program and the potential for the territories to further work together, will the Minister commit to discussing the potential for an Arctic immigration strategy with Ministers responsible from all three territories? Thank you.

Thank you, Madam Speaker. We are nearing the end of the GNWT's fiveyear immigration strategy with a vision of building a skilled and culturally diverse workforce that meets local employer's needs and leads to a vibrant diverse economy. The existing strategy lacked measurable targets so I can't say if the GNWT met its goals, but we have never filled our immigration quota so before this government sets a course for the next five years, I would like to make some suggestion.

First, a made in the NWT immigration program. Last year the Yukon launched a threeyear locationrestricted open work permit...

Thank you very much, Madam Speaker. I'm wondering if the Minister can clarify what the role of that person would be as far as working with industry stakeholders in the Northwest Territories.

One of the things that I'd asked for in my Member's statement today was more of an active role on the part of the GNWT to actually find out what is the biggest challenge for our industry leaders in the Northwest Territories and help them fill those positions. So I'm wondering if this position will fill some of that role, or if that is something that I would still need to pursue ECE to do. Thank you.

Thank you, Madam Speaker. Madam Speaker, my questions today are for the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment. Madam Speaker, it's my understanding that the NWT immigration strategy from 2017 to 2022 is a carbon copy of the Yukon's immigration strategy. So I'm wondering if the Minister can speak to why the Yukon is doing so well at filling their nominee program quota compared to the Northwest Territories. Thank you.

Thank you very much, Madam Chair. Does the Minister have a number of how many units are currently needing repair that are occupied?