Kieron Testart

I would argue that the line of the mandate for implementing the mineral would be expanding it. A million dollars to this program would increase the return on investment to somewhere around the level of $8 million. Does the Minister agree that an additional $5 or $6 million injected directly into our economy through boosting this important subsidy would be a benefit to our economy and to our mining industry?

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Finally, under community delivery -- and this is a little bit different; this is the adult learning centres or community learning centres and the adult education portion. There is a decrease as well in that line from 2016-17 to 2017-18. Can we have the substantiation for that decrease, please, Mr. Chair? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, since raising the issue of the Mineral Incentive Program, I have been flooded with correspondence from the public in support of increasing this program. I am going to ask the Minister of Industry, Tourism and Investment today if he will commit to increasing the Mineral Investment Program to $1 million, support our industry, and grow our exploration sector? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Campus delivery has also seen a decrease, much more substantially. Could we have a substantiation for that decrease? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, there can be no denial that Northerners are resolute when it comes to surviving the cold winter months. We are tough, and we can take whatever February throws at us. Whether it is digging out vehicles buried beneath thick layers of snow or trudging through icy cold wind with a coffee in one hand and a frozen cell phone in the other, Northerners know the winter and it does not break us. We also know that it does not give us any breaks, but our government can, Mr. Speaker.

Yes, Mr. Speaker, I think it is about time Northerners deserve a holiday in February!

Mr...

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I think it is only fair to give the Minister the final word, so I will do that and yield the balance of my time. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Chair, and I expect the debate will continue both here and in the House. This reduction around, I guess, around $3 million give or take, did the college decide to do this again because it looked internally and wanted to find efficiencies within and did this in an effort to streamlines its own operations so it provides better service to its students, or was this a decision that came through a mandate letter to identify reductions? Thank you.

So by my math, there is almost $32 million going to the college and then around $1 million going to College nordique and Dechinta. Does that account for the total amount of funding for post-secondary education, or is there some left over that is going somewhere else? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Perhaps, I will clarify. Unless I misheard, the Minister said that previous fiscal, this government provided $354,000 in funding to College nordique. I am wondering what we are providing in this budget for the coming fiscal year? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I'm a bit confused. I've asked this question before, and previous to this it was not the responsibility of departments but the responsibility of the college itself. Perhaps the Minister can clarify: is this budget sufficient to solve this problem once and for all, or are students going to go through another academic year or fiscal year struggling with glycol leaks and general unpleasantness in their learning environment here in Yellowknife? Thank you.