Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, education is a treaty right and a greater access to education, especially in small communities across the territory, like communities in my riding of Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh. It is clear part of the process towards true reconciliation.
Many of my colleagues have spoken in this House about Aurora College closing 19 community learning centres this June. Their constituents are angry and so are mine. The decision to take all of us by surprise because there were no consultations about these closures. According to the most recent public accounts, the Government of the Northwest Territories provided Aurora College nearly $46 million in grants and contributions in 2024. The GNWT can say that Aurora College made these decisions on their own, but they appointed the board and provided them with their funding, so the buck stops with the Cabinet.
For example, my constituents of Fort Resolution have one of the larger learning centres. It is a standalone building with two classrooms, computer lab, an office, and a common area, two washrooms, and a kitchenette, and a janitor room. A lot more could be done with these spaces yet now it's closing. If Aurora College is closing learning centres because they were underused, that is because the college's programming only centered to a small group of community. Judging by the unanimous criticism from my community members regarding these closures, they wanted improvement, not closures.
Mr. Speaker, I suggest either increasing the fine tuning the amount of programming offered to each of the most people possible in our small communities or transfer the responsibility for these buildings to the communities and make them traditional knowledge learning centres. At the constituents meeting of Lutselk'e last month, I heard many passionate ideas to that effect. They say that if Aurora College cannot be maintained, then the GNWT should transfer them to the communities yet still maintain the full funding, including for programming and operational management. I agree, after all, communities know what is best for their people in education.
Mr. Speaker, we must respect the rights to education enshrined in our treaties and should be doing more for Indigenous communities, not less, and the GNWT needs to face up to the responsibility for education and more specifically the responsibility to keep these education centres open. Mr. Speaker, I will have questions for the Minister for culture and employment later on. Thank you.
Thank you, Member from Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh. Members' statements. Member from the Sahtu.
