R.J. Simpson

Thank you, Madam Speaker. We have a couple of pages from Hay River North here today with us, and so I want to welcome them Madeline Fabien and Francis Cook. And I have a feeling we'll be seeing them back in this Assembly in our seats one day. Thank you.

Madam Speaker, every year we honour the efforts of individuals, groups and organizations who strengthen the arts, cultures, heritage, and Indigenous languages of the Northwest Territories. Today, I am proud to announce the 2022 Minister’s Culture and Heritage Circle Award recipients.

The Individual Award recipient is Karen Wasicuna of Yellowknife. As the cofounder of Crazy Legs Contemporary Dance, her passion and support for dance and performing arts has had a lasting impact on many of her students who are now sharing their culture through dance in various professional capacities.

The Elders...

Thank you, Speaker. I'm always advocating to increase our housing stock. It doesn't just have to be the Government of the Northwest Territories building houses. When I meet with other groups and with Indigenous governments, I often speak to them about the need for housing and the roles that they can play as well, so I do do that work on a regular basis. It doesn't just impact immigration. It impacts our ability to staff teachers in communities and nurses, and all of those other things. So this is something that is at the forefront of my mind and the department's as well, and I will continue to...

Thank you, Madam Speaker. So the strategy was from 2017 to 2022. Part of that strategy or included with that strategy was a performance measurements plan. So the department is now reviewing the data, reviewing the administrative records and reaching out to stakeholders to complete that work and conclude that report. There have been discussions between ECE and ITI about the overall future of the program. And so those discussions, while they're ongoing, I expect that near the end of this Assembly/the beginning of the next Assembly, they will ramp up again when we have that capacity to do so...

Thank you, Madam Speaker. Madam Speaker, I'd like to recognize Georgina Lloyd. She is the assistant deputy minister with Northern Affairs for Crown Indigenous and Northern Affairs Canada. She is in Yellowknife this week and has meetings with the Aurora College transformation staff to discuss federal engagement opportunities relating to the transformation of Aurora College into a polytechnic university, and we're happy to have her here. Thank you.

Thank you, Madam Speaker. So we did reach out. The level of engagement wasn't what we would have hoped. Nonetheless, we did identify some areas for improvement. And so the Member can see the result of that engagement in the changes that were made to our nominee program stream, so changes to job advertising requirements and some other streamlining efforts. So that is where she can find those results. The proof is in the pudding. Thank you.

Thank you, Madam Speaker. The quota, as dictated by the Government of Canada, was established years ago. I would have to assume it's based on our population. I would imagine that as soon as we hit that quota, that quota would be increased. We're never going to be continuously hitting the quota. We always want to strive for better. I will say that during the life of this government, we have done a lot in terms of immigration and increasing the population, you know, and I'm happy to announce that since I took office we've doubled the number of people coming in through our nominee program. Back...

Mr. Speaker, I wish to table the following document: Followup letter for Oral Question 127419(2): Aurora College University Campus Accessibility. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Yes, that work is underway. As I stated, the Department of Infrastructure is actually looking at a couple students in different regions to take them on as SNAP students. So that work is happening. And, again, I'll say that when I came into this role I really did start pushing apprenticeships. Not that the department wasn't pushing them before but it really was one of my focuses. And, you know, we've seen more efforts gone into this area and we're continuing to see that. You can see it through the collaboration between ECE, the Department of Infrastructure, and other...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And just to correct the record, there are 24 SNAP students in the territory and 14 SNAP apprentices. After a student graduates from being a SNAP student, they can become an actual apprentice in the SNAP program. So some of the barriers are the fact that we only have so many employers and so many students in the territory. It is not always easy for employers and especially small employers to take on apprentices, although the government does provide funding for that. There are issues around and I'll say that we've had trouble attracting people in the trades for a while...