R.J. Simpson

Thank you. So that's a program that a school can run if it wishes to. They have that flexibility. One of the biggest barriers to programs like that are having teachers who also happen to be, say, journey persons. So they are in short demand; you know, skilled labour and skilled labour who are also teachers. It's a rare combination so that really is the biggest barrier. But if a school board has you know, they want to do that, they can do it if they can get the teaching resources. Thank you.

Thank you. And the Member has raised the position in Lutselk'e with me, and I've committed to convey that either through the department to the college, because we do still have a relationship at the officials level as we work through the transformation. But it's also I can it's also something that I can raise with the new chair once they are instated. So I can't staff those positions. I'm legally barred from interfering with the operations of the college but when an MLA brings concerns, I bring those concerns to the college. Thank you.

Thank you. I'll hand it to Mr. Saturnino.

Thank you. And so we have a few pieces of legislation that are fundamental to the education system in the Northwest Territories. We have the Education Act, which is primarily focused on JK to 12, but there is some it does reach out to postsecondary and other areas. We now have the PostSecondary Education Act, which is something we have not had before, and it is the a ct that really regulates postsecondary education in the Northwest Territories. And other jurisdictions have it as well. We are the regulators of that sector. And then we have the Aurora College Act, which we recently amended to...

Thank you. So the Office of the Auditor General, they look at, you know, our financials and they recommended that we make that adjustment. So we are moving that contribution from work performed on behalf of others to operations to more accurately reflect how it is used. So it's an accounting thing to make sure that we're more transparent and more clear. Thank you.

Thank you. And, yes, we do receive significant funds from the federal government, and they provide those funds to all the provinces and territories and I am currently working with the other ministers of the provinces and territories to begin the negotiations of the future agreements. And I can say that we are putting a lot of effort into that. There are meetings coming up this spring or summer, and we are everyone is united in the call for more funding because everyone recognizes the labour shortage, the need for skilled labour, and especially the type of skilled labour we support through...

I'll hand it to Mr. Saturnino. Thank you.

Thank you. And so we do have the $70,000 in here. On the line item, there's another $85,000 the department contributes out of the Labour Market Development Agreement. Perhaps I can hand it to the deputy minister for some more succinct comments on the Member's question. Thank you.

Thank you. We are supporting about 300 apprentices right now. Thank you.

Thank you. So this House did pass the amendments to the Aurora College Act, so that decision has been made. So we're past the before part. But as the Member's aware, we have a facilities master plan that sets out, you know, potential infrastructure investments and the college and the government are well aware of the space limitations, and along with the residents in Fort Smith, addressing those limitations are the top priorities for new infrastructure for the college. Thank you.