Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I did some additional research and I have some additional questions for the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment about his decision to dismiss the Aurora College board of governors in May. According to the board minutes posted on the college web site from the February meeting, "Individual board members brought forward their concerns over the budget cuts, specifically the impact on students, regional centres, and staff." Can the Minister tell us what consultation he did with the board prior to announcing the changes to the teacher education and social work programs? Mahsi.
Masi. Minister of Education, Culture and Employment.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As I mentioned in previous sessions, our staff worked with Aurora College to look at some of these proposed cuts and made sure that we made informed decisions based on data and the information that they provided. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
The minutes of that February meeting go on to say, "The board also noted their disappointment in how the decisions were brought forward with little consultation or discussion with the board." Does the Minister recall this statement from his February meeting with them?
If the Member wants, we can get that information on how the process went down in regards to our staff meeting with the Aurora College senior management, how this information was relayed, and how this discussion happened right from staff to staff. We will get that information for the Member.
I will take that as a commitment. The minutes of the February board meeting is that the board was fully functional. It was engaged in issues of financing, governance, strategic planning, and so on. I am still not understanding why the Minister decided to fire the board in May.
When the discussions of the foundational review had taken place in the May/June sitting, we looked at some direction that has come through, and one of those discussions and directions that were brought forth from some Members was that we look at the governance and we look at the structure of the college. There was a recommendation from the 2013 document moving forward. We took that decision, made that decision, and we are going to be looking at governance as we do this foundational review moving forward, and we look forward to the results.
Masi. Oral questions. Member for Yellowknife Centre.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I am going to push back on that statement. I do not recall any of the Regular MLAs saying that they wanted the board dismissed and that this was something that they wanted to see in connection with the foundational review. What I want to say is that those minutes which I have just referenced indicate clearly that the Minister and the board were on different pages. The obvious question is: did the Minister decide to dismiss the board so they would not have any further pushback about the changes he wants to make at the college? Mahsi.
No, not at all. Thank you.
