I think that the guidelines that we developed with the college provide us with the criteria which we use to determine the space requirements. In terms of developing a capital plan for the college, we also, as we do with schools, use demographic information and information on the condition of buildings in our planning and developing a plan that we submit through the government planning process.
Okay. Where is that compendium and how is that compendium organized that is narrowly focused on the development of a campus for an independent campus for Aurora College? Again, speaking about this business plan compendium document full of this information on space utilization, availability, options, things along those lines.
The detailed planning information is, again, part of the department’s and government’s planning process. Those documents are not normally released to the public.
Okay. Now we’re getting to it. So what has been developed thus far? I heard him say it can’t be released to the public, so maybe if you could speak in broader brush strokes where it is, how long it has been worked on, and when that package is going to be ready for MLA consumption.
The information that I’m referring to is the information that is used during the government planning process. This is part of the planning process that all departments work with.
Okay. It almost seems as if we’ve gone backwards on this question. What has the department put to paper on the development of an independent Aurora College campus, and what can they send to my office that demonstrates the work that they’ve done on this planning? It seems like it’s such a complicated answer for such a simple question. What has been done? What has been worked on? I want to see the development.
Thank you, Mr. Hawkins. Mr. Lafferty.
Mahsi, Mr. Chairman. We talk about the process and there has been a lot of discussion on this particular subject over the years. We can provide the detailed documentation. We’ve been working with various partners, as I stated on the option paper that came before us. What’s the status today? We can provide that detailed information to the Members.
Thank you, Mr. Lafferty. Mr. Hawkins, your time is up. I can put you back on if you need to. Next on my list I have Mr. Bromley.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I believe the education system reform or review was mentioned on this page and I’m wondering, if there was a budget for that on this page, what is the amount?
Thank you, Mr. Bromley. Mr. Lafferty.
Mahsi, Mr. Chairman. This whole education renewal was the outcome of the general public and they wanted to see or provide some input. We had to find funds from within. As we move forward we may have to invest in certain areas. At this point it is all internal reallocation.
I assume that would come before committee at some point as we get into this new area of activity. Just in terms of our work with Aurora College, our relationship with them and clarity and so on on roles, what is happening on that front and is there a budget identified in the directorate and administration for that? I’ll leave it at that. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Bromley. For that we’ll go to Ms. Eggenhofer.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. Yes, I think some time ago the decision was taken that a review take place of the respective roles and responsibilities of the college vis-à-vis the department, and the college has worked very well with the department in putting together a terms of reference for that review that both parties agree to the areas that we’ve deemed as important for a review to look at. It went to an RFP and through a tendering process. The work was awarded, and we hope to get it by the end of the month, by the end of March. It is the end of the month. Sorry.
That’s all I had on this page. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Bromley. Moving on with questions I have Mr. Yakeleya.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. I want to ask the Minister in regard to the Sahtu and the development that’s happening. Is there somewhere in the plans that the department is thinking about possibly looking at some infrastructure such as a Sahtu trades centre that would help with the work that is going to possibly be happening in the next couple of years to start preparing our people to take courses, enter into some long career job opportunities at the oil companies or the building up of the Sahtu that’s going to be required.
Thank you, Mr. Yakeleya. Minister Lafferty.
Mahsi, Mr. Chair. Creating a trades centre has been brought up in this House as well. We are fully aware of the activity that is happening in the Sahtu region and also in other regions. That’s why we are working closely with the regional training partners in that area and also including the ITI department as well. The college needs to be involved, the Aboriginal organizations and also industry. We’re compiling all the information from them. We need to find out the community’s needs, the individual needs, what kind of training that’s going to be required, what can the college deliver and what can the community deliver. We need to find who’s available, so that’s where the community organizations will come in. We need to continue to partner up with this to maximize the opportunities for the people of the Sahtu region. That’s our overall mandate, our goal, to push that forward. Eventually, there will be various training programs that will be happening on top of what they have right now. Mahsi.
I’m looking to this department under the leadership of the Minister to provide some direction and directive to the Sahtu educational board, the Aurora College people and the Sahtu training committee to come together with a strategy. The goodness of this government here has agreed to put a new wellness centre and a long-term care facility. That’s a $41 million infrastructure that’s going into the Sahtu. I certainly appreciate it and the people in the Sahtu appreciate it. This year alone, the oil companies have already spent about $100 million or more for the oil exploration, and it’s looking like they may continue on into production or into development of these oilfields.
The Sahtu needs to operate from a directive from the Minister to bring us together in the region to talk about, and discuss, and plan, and start implementing the various types of training programs in our region for these types of large infrastructure opportunities that are coming into our region. I think we need to now put our feet on the ground and move towards that direction, and I’m hoping that the Minister would give some strong signal, through a directive or through a plan, that would give our people in the Sahtu the green light to say, come back next year and let’s see what we have. I know we’re doing some of that small work but everybody’s sort of at different places. Communication is not quite there yet. I’ve been asking for things to help us get ready for the training. If you have oil and gas, they’re going to want certified workers and unions if they’re going to hire them in any type of direction to build a pipeline or to build a production plant.
We’re looking at things like that, even road construction. The companies want them to be certified. Even the oil companies when they’re having workers now coming up from the Sahtu, even those for short period of a winter season, they’re also very happy to see if the workers can go elsewhere to continue their work on the rigs as rig employees. That’s what I’m looking for, if something like that could be in a plan that Mr. Minister has with the Minister of ITI at an exploration readiness session. We need a career readiness session.
I have with me a list of the 2012 high school grads. There were 26 last year in the Sahtu and seven post-secondary grads. In total there were 33 grads. I even have each of the grads here and what they’re doing. Some are in auto mechanics, some in recreation, some in the early childhood. One is with Esso, mine training here in Yellowknife. One’s in Aurora College in Fort Smith in the Trades Access Program. We have that information. They’re ready to go. A lot of them want to work in the Sahtu and train in the Sahtu. They have families in the Sahtu. That’s what I’m asking, is that you can have this type of list and to say, yes, we have people who are ready to go but we just don’t have the ability to bring them into the Sahtu to have them training at the communities.
That’s what I’m asking the Minister. Can the Minister comment on if this is something that he can do as the Minister within the two years that we have in this Assembly here? Thank you.
I have to agree with the Member that we need to prepare our people, career readiness he is referring to. There needs to be a strategy in place that he has referred to, and there is a committee that has been struck from 2009. It’s a five-year plan, a training plan for the Sahtu region. It’s called the Sahtu Region Training Partnership Committee.
The Members highlighted some of the individuals that are nearly ready to enter the workforce. With all of those, Deline and different organizations that I just referred to, they are the ones who will be providing those human resources. Our job is to train them through the college and through Imperial Oil, Akita Drilling and so forth. I believe we have strong representatives and they meet every six months. We can gather the latest information on that and we can share that with the Member. Mahsi, Mr. Chair.
Mr. Chair, we’re not talking to each other in the Sahtu region. The Minister has indicated that there is strong regional training, but we are still working in isolation. That’s why I’m asking for this.
I’ve gone back into the Sahtu. We are taking Aurora College programs, but the entry level is nothing, otherwise these students would have gone to Aurora College. There are a lot of students in Fort Smith. There are students here in business management and other programs in Yellowknife. Some of them may have gone to Inuvik. We need to bump up our level of training in the Sahtu. We are still upgrading, WHMIS training, safety training. People want more.
Again, I’m asking the Minister to look at a Sahtu career strategy session where we all get together and say this is our strategy, this is what we want to do.
Oil companies aren’t moving. They’re spending close to $50 million on the road just outside of Norman Wells, halfway between Norman Wells and Tulita. They’re building a 500-foot airstrip out there. They’re going to put camps up there, 275-man camps there. We need certified cooks. We need camp attendants. We need a lot of things. This is what I’m advocating for, that we need tradespeople in the Sahtu.
We have a $41 million facility going into Norman Wells, hoping that, all things are going well, construction will start this summer. We need to have people who could take these jobs in that new wellness centre and long-term care facility. I’m asking the Minister to put in some concentrated effort. I would like to see that sometime this fall. This is our plan for the Sahtu. Table it here in the House. This is what we agreed to. All the communities say yes, 16 partners. That is what we are willing to do. Have a Sahtu trade centre. Start working on that process here, and a directive by this Minister, too, Aurora College, Education boards or to the staff in the Sahtu to pull together the information.
We are going to graduate students again this spring. That’s another issue, but we need to have some incentive to say yes, when I finished Grade 12, I could go into a Sahtu trade centre or to school in the Sahtu to begin one of these lifelong career skills training learning. That’s what I’m looking for, even a pamphlet to see if you want to be a personal care worker this is what’s required. Start preparing them.
I look forward to working with the Minister on that and see, within the life of this government, what we can do. In two years can we measure ourselves and say, this is where we want to be.
Devolution is coming to the Northwest Territories. What positions or what opportunities do we have with devolution in the Sahtu? We need to tell our kids that we’re going to have these positions with devolution. What do they have to look for? That is the kind of thinking I’m going with. So I need some solid, concrete assurance that, yes, we are going to get ready for development in the Sahtu. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Mr. Chair, I’m glad the Member is raising this profile because what we have on paper states that there is a committee struck and established but it is a different version from Member’s, so we definitely need to follow through with that.
For the 16 different parties that are involved, I’d like to see a training plan, as the Member does. I would like to see a pamphlet as the Member is referring to. Once we leave here, that will be my instruction to the department, to coordinate that, get the latest status, what they’ve been working on, training needs and so forth. I think that’s what the Member is asking for. By all means, I am committing to that. I need to find out what exactly has been happening since they were established. Their term is up in 2015. I will follow up with the established committee through my department. Mahsi.
Thank you, Mr. Lafferty. Mr. Yakeleya, your time is up. If you need more time, just let me know. I have two sets of questions left here. I have Ms. Bisaro, followed by Mr. Hawkins. Ms. Bisaro.
Thanks, Mr. Chair. I have just a couple of questions. I wanted to follow up on Mr. Bromley’s question about the investigation or the report that is being formulated on the reorg of the college. The answer that I heard was that there’s going to be a report at the end of March. I wondered whether or not there is any intention to involve the Standing Committee on Social Programs or other Regular Members in the consultation for the development of this report. Thank you.
Thank you, Ms. Bisaro. Minister Lafferty.
Mahsi, Mr. Chair. Most definitely that’s been our approach. Since we got the contractor on board he’s compiling all of the information. He has been interviewing and doing the research within the college and outside the college, former workers and so forth. We are committed to the standing committee. I believe there is a planned date for our upcoming session with the standing committee on March 11th. We are looking forward to presenting to the standing committee. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thanks to the Minister, but that isn’t what I was intending. I think the Minister probably knows that particularly the Members of the Standing Committee on Social Programs but all Members have an opinion on how the college should work, whether it is working or isn’t working. My question to the Minister was whether or not the contractor would be consulting with Regular Members. Thank you.
Mr. Chair, the consultant, again, has been engaged with the college. Our view is to present to standing committee and we can get their input, as well. Into if there are challenges or issues or concerns that may be brought to our attention, and reintegrated that into our findings. We want to present that on the 11th and have a report, documentation, obviously, tabled in this House, if that is the wish of the committee. We want to present and then share feedback from standing committee on the actual draft report that the contractor would have heard. Mahsi.
Thanks. I’ll take that as a no, that we’re not going to be consulted prior to the development of the report.
Mahsi. Within our department, we’ve been working very closely with both schools, the francophone school board. We are setting up a meeting as a follow-up on the next step, and I believe that meeting is coming up very quickly during this session and we can bring Members up to speed on that after we meet with them on what we’re going to be planning as the next steps. So that’s where it’s at right now.
Again, my department has been actively involved during the discussion, since the decision came down. Mahsi.
Thanks. So can I get some kind of a timeline? I know you’re talking with the French school board, but does the department have a sense of whether or not there’s going to be an expansion in the next five years, the next 10 years, in the next one year? Thank you.
CHAIRMAN (Mr. Dolynny): Thank you, Ms. Bisaro. For that response we’ll go to Ms.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. I can advise that the Department of Education, Culture and Employment has been in conversations with the Department of Public Works and Services and the tender documents are being prepared for starting the process of the expansions of the two schools. I expect them to be in the paper very soon.
As well, we have worked very hard with Ecole Boreale in Hay River to negotiate a shared facilities agreement and I’m going down, I think a week from now, to finalize those negotiations. Thank you.
Thank you, Ms. Eggenhofer. Ms. Bisaro.
Thank you very much, Mr. Chair. Thanks to the deputy minister for the info. I’ll look forward to seeing those tenders. That’s all I have, Mr. Chair.
I move that we report progress.
---Carried
Can I have the report of Committee of the Whole, Mr. Dolynny.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, your committee has been considering Tabled Document 9-17(4), NWT Main Estimates, 2013-2014, and would like to report progress. Mr. Speaker, I move that the report of Committee of the Whole be concurred with. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Dolynny. A motion is on the floor. Do we have a seconder? The seconder is Mr. Lafferty.
Awww!
If I had a second choice, I’d pick you, Mr. Menicoche.
---Laughter
---Carried
Orders of the day for Monday, March 4, 2013, 1:30 p.m.:
Prayer
Ministers’ Statements
Members’ Statements
Returns to Oral Questions
Recognition of Visitors in the Gallery
Acknowledgements
Oral Questions
Written Questions
Returns to Written Questions
Replies to Opening Address
Petitions
Reports of Standing and Special Committees
Reports of Committees on the Review of Bills
Tabling of Documents
Notices of Motion
Notices of Motion for First Reading of Bills
Motions
First Reading of Bills
Bill 3, Wildlife Act
Second Reading of Bills
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters
Tabled Document 9-17(4), NWT Main Estimates, 2013-2014
Bill 1, Tlicho Statutes Amendment Act
Report of Committee of the Whole
Third Reading of Bills
Orders of the Day
Thank you, Madam Clerk. Accordingly, this House stands adjourned until Monday, March 4th, at 1:30 p.m.
---ADJOURNMENT
The House adjourned at 5:58 p.m.
