Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Today I’m going to speak about the Aurora Campus in Inuvik. On June 10th members of the Standing Committee on Social Programs had the opportunity to meet with the Board of Governors, the executive, as well as the Minister and his staff up in Inuvik. Along with those meetings we had the opportunity to go on some tours. We toured the college, the classrooms, the residences. We looked into the mobile trades unit as well as going over to the Aurora Research Institute. Great facilities, great staff, and I think the Members can agree with that, and great work that’s going on up there at the Research Institute.
However, when we were walking through the halls, they were pretty bare. You go into the facilities and there was hardly anybody that was around or utilizing them. The facilities are not being fully utilized to their potential. You heard it earlier in the Minister of Finance’s comments, the NWT economic activity is low and that we want to provide training opportunities for NWT residents to take jobs here in the NWT.
The realities for this campus are there’s a lack of programs that are being delivered, there are low enrolments and they’ve been getting lower every year, in fact our Office Admin Program is not being delivered this year because there is low enrolment.
As well, our single units as our family units are not all being used, and I do believe that the Aurora College does a have an agreement with one of the rental organizations for those family units, but because the enrolment is not there we’re paying for empty units.
Great facilities, great staff provide great opportunities. We have great opportunities here in the North. We’re looking at the satellite farm, you know, the fibre optic link. Early childhood development, we have a great facility that this government has contributed to within this government, the Children First Centre. The Aurora Research Institute has great opportunities with the research that they’re doing, as well as the mobile trades unit that we can get some of our workers in to help build these roads, infrastructure that we want to do in the years to come.
I seek unanimous consent to include my statement. Thank you.
---Unanimous consent granted
I just listed off a lot of great opportunities that this government has invested in, except investing in our people. Where are the programs, where are the education opportunities, the training opportunities for great facilities like this, and staff, in the northern region of the Northwest Territories? It’s just not there.
I’m going to ask the Minister later on, where are the plans for this campus? Where are the plans for the staff? What are the plans for residents of the Northwest Territories, our students and our families, for the northern region of the Northwest Territories? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Moses. Member for Weledeh, Mr. Bromley.
