Kieron Testart

Merci, Monsieur le President. [Translation] Today I have a question for the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment, and this question will be in French. The construction project of the Allain St-Cyr School is going forward and the Minister is negotiating with the Minister of Heritage Canada to get more funding. The Minister of Education is only asking for additional funding, twinning funds to expand the size of the gymnasium from 404 square metres to 456 square metres. The Minister of Education says that the rest of the construction can wait and can be built in another phase. The...

Nothing further, Mr. Chair. Thank you.

Merci, Monsieur le president. Mr. Speaker, it's Small Business Week, a time when we take a moment to appreciate the efforts of our entrepreneurs and growing economy and creating jobs and providing solutions to many Northern challenges. Can't imagine talking any further about business without talking about my riding of Kam Lake.

Mr. Speaker, often when we think of Kam Lake it's about big lots, industrial aesthetic and the sound of sled dogs. These are just a few examples of what Northerners would say if asked that question, but if you delve deeper you will find the heart of Yellowknife's...

Just to speak to my colleague's comments on the rationale for building a rather large facility based on our female inmate population. Was their policy rationale in developing this facility based on those reports or was there something else at work that saw the construction of the brand new facility? Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Well, I'll take the Minister at his word, which was "could," but have the residents in that subdivision, are they aware that there will be potentially cameras observing them, or is that not within the scope of this project? Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. The perimeter fence and security equipment, this is new fencing, as I understand it, apart from what's already completed, to separate the facility from the residential neighbourhood. Is that correct? Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I appreciate that there is funding that goes to Yellowknife's Dene, and they of course in close proximity, but they still have their own community and it's constituated its community. It's the City of Yellowknife that doesn't receive this funding, and the City of Yellowknife that increasingly has the needs of Northerners pressed upon it.

People come here for the services and there's always a constant and rising demand for services. So is there any way that the Minister can communicate that message to Ottawa for a direct partnership from the City of...

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I will yield the balance of my time until tomorrow. Thank you.

Thank you to the Minister for providing that update. What is our plan going forward now that there's an awareness that there'll be a shortfall for health funding? Is there a chance we can turn this around before we move into our next budget cycle or is this going to be reflected in the next budget? When will this reduction impact the Northwest Territories?

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I'm interested to know more about the heavy equipment operator facility for Aurora College. We've been told that Aurora College is developing its strategic plan and that, you know, the repurposing of this to a vocational school, which is why it's housed in Labour Development and Standards, is the intended course. But the strategic plan is not yet completed.

So are we developing capital for the college under the old strategic plan, under the old purpose or are we waiting to invest in whatever we want the school to become? It just seems odd to invest major capital into a...