Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And thank you, colleagues. And just for that, I'll be a little extra nice to Cabinet who didn't nay me today.
Mr. Speaker, De Beers might have said a diamond is forever, but I can tell you a diamond mine isn't, which leads to the question of what are we doing next to spur on our economy? The real question is and many Northerners are curious is what is the future of the NWT polytech?
Mr. Speaker, I support education. I believe we must work to support Northerners as we deserve the opportunities to teach our own, to train our own, to welcome the world. Mr. Speaker, higher education is a true investment into our economy. And as we all know, education can be one of the greatest equalizers of people. It can help raise families from poverty to prosperity, Mr. Speaker. But like many things, let us not forget a diversified economy needs to be foremost on our mind, and we can't just assume it'll show up here on its own.
Mr. Speaker, here is an unclear situation. Is the GNWT truly behind the polytech? If you ask Aurora College, it looks strangely unclear, because they have a different perspective on where the polytech initiative is going. So when you hear the government say it wants to do this, it needs to do this, all I see is it dragging its feet in terms of financial investment. They can talk all they want but where is the money?
Mr. Speaker, I've been here long enough to know that when we hear vague statements that go nowhere, it's simply just daydreaming at best. Mr. Speaker, this government needs to put some momentum behind the polytech initiative before it becomes too late. Mr. Speaker, we cannot stand by bureaucratic leadership. Do not let that be the hallmark of this Assembly. Mr. Speaker, we need clear commitments from this government saying we will do this by when. We want to do this by now. Mr. Speaker, we are going to get behind this. We will, we will, we will.
If this government had courage, it would say something to the effect that we will create a hundred new social housing units. If this government had courage, it would say Mackenzie Valley Highway would advance by 150 kilometers, Mr. Speaker, or we'll raise graduation rates by 65 percent in four years. Mr. Speaker, my point being is that we need to see bold and courageous leadership, and we need to see the money in the budget. Mr. Speaker, in talking to Aurora College, they are investing themselves to create this transition. They are marching ahead because this government is not leading. So I'll tell you, this is the opportunity for this government to get out of the way or get behind, but somebody must make bold action. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Member from Yellowknife Centre. Members' statements. Member from Dehcho.
