Kieron Testart

Thank you, Mr. Chair, and thank you to the Minister for his answer. With the $2.1 million, using the Minister’s numbers, that leaves a $36-million gap. Is it possible to readjust some of those funding levels to expedite this process sooner than later? My fear is that this government will never have as much money as it wants to meet all of its funding priorities, services, programs, and capital needs. This will be a gap that remains unfilled for many, many years. Is it possible to readjust community funding levels based on the formula financing review to come closer to meeting this gap, this...

I appreciate the Minister's comments; however, I didn't hear a solid commitment, but I'll move on from there. In their business case, Dechinta's looking for $5 million. I note that we fund Aurora College to the tune of around $32 million. Can the Minister give us some stats on the success rate of people who take Aurora College programing? We know that Dechinta's sitting at 100 per cent success rate. What are the comparable stats for Aurora College and are we getting value for money for that $32 million that we currently invest in Aurora College? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Is that in-house monitoring then? Who's actually doing the research and analysis in this case? Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Thank you, colleagues. Mr. Speaker, an increase in university graduation is directly tied to GDP growth, poverty alleviation, and rise in real income, and we have a responsibility as a maturing jurisdiction to offer the ability to pursue such a degree here, at home. Dechinta has already taken the first steps, the hardest steps, and this government should now assist them with the funding and accreditation to climb even further in their pursuit of achieving a knowledge economy that we can all share and participate in. We need this if we are to attain a truly sustainable...

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I'd like to commend the Department for committing to that clarification. The other item here is energy research and analysis. Is that also going to be undertaken by the Arctic Energy Alliance? Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. So what percentage of this $3,530,000 is allocated to the policy development side of that line item? Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. So did it not cost anything last estimates, or was it just not budgeted for, was it found elsewhere? Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Mr. Chair, and thank you to the Minister for answering a policy question during the budget deliberations. Our sheriffs do a very difficult job and they put their lives on the line to protect the public and it's good to see the department is taking these issues seriously. I look forward to see progress on this issue in the coming years. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I appreciate the department clarifying these questions. Finally, are we funding positions that are specialized in security analysis and how many there are? What are they? Can I just get more detail on those positions if they do exist? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Chair, and thank you to the Minister for a more thorough response, I appreciate that. Needless to say, whatever model we decide to take for providing court security services, there are occasions where Sheriff's officers are asked to do things that the act doesn't enable them to do. Is the department looking at correcting that through amendments to the various pieces of legislation that govern Sheriff's officers and their powers in the courtroom? Thank you, Mr. Chair.