Caitlin Cleveland

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. So, Mr. Speaker, the Canada-wide agreement with the GNWT solely dictates that we must have a wage grid, but it doesn't say where that wage grid starts and where it ends. That is solely dictated by our pocketbooks. Thank you.

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, as I spoke to yesterday about the different training opportunities that ECE does have, there are supports for businesses who are -- or employers, rather, and also Indigenous governments and community organizations, that would like to deliver training and on-the-job supports for staff. There's also wage subsidies that are available to staff as well. And certainly through a program like this, those subsidies would still be available as well. Thank you.

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I can't comment on what is going to happen exactly with each one of those spaces right now. But I think it's important that we're creative and flexible in what this looks like going forward. Where there are facilities that are leased by the GNWT, those facilities would go back to the owner, and where the infrastructure is owned by the GNWT, I can say that there has already been outreach by either NGOs within communities or some Indigenous governments who have said, hey, we have a different thing that we would like to see that community learning...

Mr. Speaker, I'm more than happy to discuss this with the Member if the program isn't there. I would like to understand what the Member is looking to understand. If he wants me to table numbers of students who come home after they complete graduation in order to see how those change over time, more than happy to share that information with this House. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I'm happy to say that meeting with Indigenous governments is something that Cabinet does often, and education always shows up on the agendas for those meetings. In addition, I meet with the development corporations that are associated with our Indigenous governments and have met with the Tlicho Investment Corporation just recently as well and are having conversations about this very thing. I'm doing those conversations in my role as Minister of education, not through Aurora College, but certainly would want to invite the Member to work with the college to...

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, as Cabinet, the financial management board, we looked at all programs from -- well, not all, sorry -- most programs from our departments that were not legislated or afforded through federal funding, and we evaluated what we could redirect for -- because we have a lot of spending happening in our health program, and we know from Members on the floor of this House, and even from our own constituencies, that health care is very important to residents of the Northwest Territories, and we desperately wanted to see more funding redirected to that sector...

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, what I'm hearing from operators, and from Members on the floor of this House, is that they're looking to pay their staff more, and they're in a situation where they are provided a certain amount from Education, Culture and Employment in order to do that, and Education, Culture and Employment can only cover a certain amount of that based on our budgets. What I can say is the bulk of increases to the early learning and childcare budgets for the Department of education have been from this program and even right across the department, Mr. Speaker. And...

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, when that legislation does take place, it creates much more separation between the government and Aurora College. I can assure the Member that work to lead us to that point is still happening. We are still going through the process of accreditation. We are still -- Aurora College is still working on its program development, is still working on its policies. They're still very much working towards all of these pieces that will lead to Polytechnic University Act, but there's a lot to be done between now and then, including accreditation, and other...

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I see what's happening in the Yukon and Nunavut as a positive for us because it means that there is heightened awareness and increase looking at education in the Arctic and education in the North and, specifically, in the territories. I see this as plowing the way for us and see this as being a great opportunity for us to continue down the path that we are on and eventually get to that point. Thank you.

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Absolutely to the Member's question, the answer is yes. I also have to say I've been really excited about some of the creative solutions that people are coming forward with for community learning centres. And I think that's part of our success story here, at the end of the day, is really looking creatively and at communities independently because everybody's needs are going to be different at the end of the day here. I also want to reflect, Mr. Speaker, on what the Member said as far as education being a lifelong journey, and I -- I'm certainly committed to...