R.J. Simpson

Thank you, Mr. Testart. There is a motion on the floor to report progress. The motion is in order and nondebatable. All those in favour? All those opposed?

Carried

I will rise and report progress. Thank you, committee.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Could the Minister please provide us with some timelines on these possible shortterm solutions and on the longerterm territorywide solution to this issue? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I understand that everywhere else has it worse, really, than Yellowknife and Hay River when it comes to dialysis, because those are the only two places to receive treatment. I appreciate that. I believe there is someone from Fort Providence and Fort Resolution who drives in three times a week to Hay River for treatment.

The last time that I spoke about this, the Minister stated that he heard loud and clear that we need to do more to provide dialysis services closer to home, and he would prefer not to have people going from Hay River to Yellowknife to receive that service. He stated there is a...

First, we must fix the issues at Aurora College so that they can provide the educational services that our residents need and deserve. At the same time, we can begin to lay a solid foundation so that the college can develop and grow, premised on successful program delivery, and based, not on the opinion of a southern consultant, but on the collective vision of our people. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, your committee has been considering Minister's Statement 1918(3), Aurora College Foundational Review, and Tabled Document 21518(3), Capital Estimates, 20192020, and would like to report progress, and Mr. Speaker, I move that the report of the Committee of the Whole be concurred with.

I call Committee of the Whole to order. What is the wish of committee? Mr. Testart.

I appreciate that. It sounds like a lot of work has been done so far.

The Minister mentioned sharing resources between Stanton and Hay River. Could the Minister please elaborate on that, and would that entail, perhaps, bringing resources to Hay River physically so that these residents wouldn't have to fly back and forth?

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank the Department of Health staff for taking steps to address an issue that I brought up in the last sitting. Even though dialysis treatment is offered in Hay River, it is always fully subscribed, and as a result, there were a number of residents who were living at Vital Abel House in Yellowknife so that they could access dialysis treatment.

What the department did was give these residents an option to fly to and from Yellowknife from Hay River three times a week so that they could receive treatment, and by all accounts, this has worked...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, in February 2017, I stood up in this House and asked the Minister of Education to undertake a foundational review of Aurora College. I asked because I believed the college was both underperforming and underutilized. Education is the cornerstone of every prosperous society. With a presence in 24 communities, Aurora College is key to achieving true and lasting prosperity across the NWT.

However, as they say, be careful what you ask for because you just might get it. The foundational review has been completed, and, while the report echoed many of the concerns I...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, your committee has been considering Minister's Statement 19-18(3), Aurora College Foundational Review Process, and would like to report progress, and I move that the report of the Committee of the Whole be concurred about. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.