Kieron Testart

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Now, I wasn't sitting in this House on the last Assembly, but I did pay attention. I feel like some deja vu. The last time this was attempted, surveys were sent out, consultations were done, and a plan was still adopted that left many schools outside of the ability to provide exactly what the school board is looking for, which again, Mr. Speaker, is providing best resources and the best schools for our kids which is exactly what we and the department agrees with and what the resolution puts forward, but to get to there we need a clear and costed plan and resources...

I just wanted to ask the Minister some questions about those numbers on capacity. This is of course the Ecole St. Joseph School which is in my riding of Kam Lake, and the school board is reporting 522 students for 90 per cent capacity for the 2016-2017 enrolment year. The Minister's quoted some other numbers. Can he explain the difference between the school board's numbers and the Minister's numbers? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I know last week was Small Business Week, however when you represent Kam Lake there's always a good reason to talk about business. Mr. Speaker, today I'd like to acknowledge the achievements of one of my constituents who recently won the Aboriginal Entrepreneurship Award at the Yellowknife Chamber's 70th Annual Business Award Gala, Garth Wallbridge and his firm Wallbridge Law Office. Mr. Wallbridge is a Metis public speaker, lawyer, and a leading northern entrepreneur.

Having over 30 years of experience in the North and operating the only 100 per cent owned...

Thank you, Mr. Chair, and I was going to speak to the amendment that my colleague just spoke of, but it seems like there's no need for that, and I'd like to applaud the Minister for being progressive on this issue. You know, in following suit with Quebec, the North is on the progressive edge of this issue and moving forward, and it's always nice to feel like Canada's catching up with you rather than us catching up with Canada. So I applaud this decision and I think it very much supports what the standing committee heard when this bill was reviewed in public.

The other component of this bill is...

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I see that there's some capital expenditure on Aurora College for our infrastructure improvements. I'm wondering if the Minister could tell me who determines infrastructure needs for the college? Is it the college itself or is it the Department of Education, Culture and Employment, or is it based on the capital needs assessment, et cetera? Just the methodology there? Thank you.

The Minister just said that exporting power has been the way to reduce cost. Does the Minister also agree that lowering the cost of power in the Northwest Territories would lower costs of doing business and provide more incentive for people to live, stay here, and start businesses, and for the mining industry to open new projects? Does the Minister agree that lowering the cost of power is a key economic concern for Northerners and for our economy?

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I'd like to ask the Minister responsible for the Power Corporation some questions about resolving this issue. We've had a lot of discussion in this House and in the public around the issue of affordable power in the Northwest Territories; however, the debate has largely centred on the claims from NTPC versus the claims from ATCO, when the real issue that Northerners have on their minds is how to make power more affordable.

Now the Power Corporation mentioned systemic issues that drive up the cost of power, and one of those is a lack of connection to the...

I appreciate the Minister will do some research into this. I think the bigger issue here is with the roll out of junior kindergarten, it seems that many of the school boards, both in YK1 or YCS, are feeling additional pressures, and I would like to ask the Minister if the department will be providing additional resources above and beyond what they currently receive to accommodate these new students and these new resource pressures on our schools.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The element of surprise is well and true today. Mr. Speaker, recently the Yellowknife Catholic School Board has gone to the press and expressed their frustrations with additional pressures being placed on the district schools by the implementation of the Junior Kindergarten Program, and in the words of the school board, “we want to make sure that we're providing the best and the best school for our kids.” Right now they're looking to appropriate some portables from the YK1 School District. Has the Minister had a conversation about these resource needs and how does he...

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I'd like to move that we report progress.