Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my questions are for the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment. I have called the Minister's attention to the Aurora College foundational review recommendation for the creation of a degree-granting polytechnic, and I am aware that she is now working on that. With the social work program report, the Minister has a thorough road map in hand for creating a degree-granting program at the new polytechnic. Will the Minister use this report to make a start on our course offerings in the new institution? Mahsi.
Masi. Minister of Education, Culture and Employment.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. So, yes, once the associate deputy minister for post-secondary renewal is in place, he, she, that person will be responsible for utilizing both the Aurora College foundational review and the internal review on the social work program that was done by the college.
Thank you to the Minister for that response. Mr. Speaker, it's my understanding that there is already a loss of one of the three instructors and that the college is now down to just a handful of students who are finishing up their program. What is the Minister's intention for this program in the meantime, before the review is implemented?
For this school year, the program is providing support for students who are trying to finish up. Next year, it won't be happening. It's really important to note that the internal review did not just give an outline that says, "Here's to go." It gave options, similar to the Aurora College foundational review. Some of those options were either stay with the program using the University of Regina, looking at other universities so that the credits are more transferable, or doing a standalone university, and each one of those takes time to be able to research them and get them correct.
What I am trying to have the Minister answer is: who will be left in the social work program at this time next year? What resources will be allocated to it?
I cannot really identify who will be left in that social work program this time next year. That is an operational decision that will be made by the associate deputy minister for post-secondary renewal when they, that person, assumes their position.
Masi. Oral questions. Member for Yellowknife Centre.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I regret that the Minister has had a full glass of mumbo-jumbo for lunch and we are not getting anywhere with trying to understand how to preserve the strengths of this program within the time that is still allotted to it. It's not too late to have the remaining staff start working on how the implementation of the reports' recommendations could happen, and so what is standing in the way of this? It cannot be the hiring of this associate deputy minister. He is working at too high a level to start worrying about which elective social work students are going to be taking. So, once again, I would like to know from the Minister what she is going to do to preserve the strengths of the program in the short term. Thank you.
It is well-known that my degree is also in social work, and I have a personal commitment. The Social Work Program is also identified in our Skills 4 Success in the top 10 positions in the Northwest Territories coming up, but I need to put aside my personal biases. This needs to be a review that is done by the person who is the expert, and that will be the associate deputy minister of post-secondary renewal.
There are things, yes. The current staff that are in the Social Work Program can help with program curriculum, but can they build the relationships with universities across Canada? Is that the role of a professor, to go about and look at the different universities, the different options, and then decide the best path forward? I beg to differ, Mr. Speaker. I believe that is a higher-level position, to be able to build those relationships.
Both reviews, both the Aurora College Foundational Review and the social work review said, "Build relationships with post-secondary educations." That is the first step. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Masi. Oral questions. Member for Frame Lake.
