Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, can the Minister of Education explain what the distinction is, if any, about the term "administrative centre" versus "university headquarters" in reference to the Thebacha Campus for the future polytechnic university? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Member for Thebacha. Minister responsible for Education, Culture and Employment.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And of course I don't speak for the college. This House passed changes to amendments to the Aurora College Act which has significantly changed my role in relation to the college.
So the college has adopted the term "administrative centre" to acknowledge that the staff who support corporate administrative functions of the college are in Fort Smith. So that is why they're using that term. It's a term that's commonly used in postsecondary environments. Thank you.
Mr. Speaker, just for clarity, it's one staff member that's doing that, okay. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Speaker, does the Minister agree with the statement that the term "headquarters" in reference to the university campus is solely a government term? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I'm not going to single out any individual staff member. That's inappropriate, it's against the rules of this House, so I'm going to leave it at that. That's the term Aurora College uses. That's the term the institution uses. The idea of a university headquarters is something that is it's not really used in postsecondary institutions. Colleges and universities don't distinguish one campus from another by calling one a headquarters and one, you know, a subservient. Each campus has difference roles. Sometimes they have different colleges as part of the same university. So every campus has its own role. I can leave it at that. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Speaker, clarity on a term is not singling out one person, for the record. Mr. Speaker, does the Minister agree and support the notion that Fort Smith is the education capital of the NWT as proclaimed by the former Commissioner in 1967? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I'm not aware that that would be an official designation. But I think that given the number of jobs in Fort Smith that are education related, the amount of money that the GNWT flows to the community in terms of education, probably more per capita than anywhere else in the territory, I think in that sense, yes, Fort Smith is the education capital. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Minister. Final supplementary. Member for Thebacha.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and I want to thank the Minister for acknowledging that. Mr. Speaker, can the Minister once again, assure me and the constituents of Thebacha that the primary campus for the future polytechnic university will be in Fort Smith? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As I stated, each campus serves a purpose. In Fort Smith, that's where the administration of the college takes place, and there's no intention to change that. The other campuses each have their roles as well. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Minister. Oral questions. Member for Kam Lake.
