Kieron Testart

Just for the record, Mr. Chair, the business planning is scheduled for November, so I suppose we'll have to wait potentially into the New Year before we see that plan. I eagerly await it and hope that there's some nice good news for Yellowknife, because airport wait times and the quality of facilities have been a live issue in this Assembly, and they remain unresolved for the most part. Thank you very much. Nothing further.

Thank you. I thank the Minister for that. When is the plan coming forward and to be published?

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I note that this area of the department includes airports. Where can I find the Yellowknife Airport infrastructure item? Thank you.

This is why I made the statement. What Aurora Research Institute is doing is good, solid research that is advancing scientific knowledge, but what a knowledge economy is, is using the skills and expertise of these hubs to build economic opportunity, and that is exactly what we are talking about. It cannot just be up to ITI. I think we are hearing about a lot of good work that is going on in the natural resource economy, but we need to focus on building a knowledge economy.

What the Minister is saying is not quite right. I am wondering if he will commit to developing a knowledge economy strategy...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In my Member's statement, I talked about the knowledge economy. In the future, when we look at how technology is changing Canada's economy, we can see that, where new technologies have been introduced, there is a demand for highly skilled workers, particularly highly skilled information and communications technology workers. I would like to ask the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment if the department has a plan to harness potential information and communication technologies, and what they are doing about that field and how it can transform our economy. Thank...

Will there be an opportunity to table this in the next sitting; not the current sitting, but in the third session of the House? Or will we have to wait until next year? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I was aware of that and I'm pleased that we have that clarity from the Minister; however, business planning is a closed-door process and members of the public won't be able to see or hear exactly what is being planned for this, so what is the plan to allow for transparency on this plan? The government was quite keen on selling the changes to the airport based on enhanced infrastructure services, et cetera. When are we going to see detailed plans on infrastructure improvements at the Yellowknife Airport?

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Again, the Minister is looking at what we have currently got in play. Embracing one economic model does not mean abandoning the other. The work they have done is about existing economic opportunities in the Northwest Territories. I am talking about creating new economic opportunities.

Let us go with the Minister has said here. We need to bring in more universities and more post-secondary institutions. When is the Minister going to develop legislation to enable these post-secondary institutions to operate in the Northwest Territories? I am talking about an overarching...

I am glad the Minister brought up Inuvik. A perfect example of how knowledge economy is changing Canada is the City of Calgary. It is one of Canada's fastest-growing cities, and it has some of the highest incomes in the country. What most people don't know is that 40 per cent of its workforce is in the creative industry, and that is the fourth in the country, just ahead of Toronto. The entire City of Toronto, there are more creative people working in this knowledge economy information communications technology. Inuvik has this fibre optic link. Is there a plan to develop a knowledge cluster...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Often in this House we have talked about a knowledge economy, but it occurs to me today that we might need a refresher on what exactly that means, as it is a relatively new concept as a source of economic focus. The knowledge economy today is recognized as a major driver of productivity and economic growth in Canada and all across the world.

It is defined as an economy in which growth is dependent on the quality, quantity, and accessibility of the information available rather than on the means of production. Employment in this economy is characterized by strong demand...