R.J. Simpson

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. If this government, as the Member said, made culture and heritage a higher priority it doesn't mean that we would have a new museum; it might mean that we have more resources in communities. Making something a higher priority for the territory isn't synonymous with making something a higher priority in Yellowknife. So there are people outside of Yellowknife who we want to be able to access culture and heritage resources as well. So this is not the only culture and heritage resource in the territory.

That being said, it is a very valuable one, and it does more than...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And we do share all of that information with the education bodies. ECE will share it with the regional DEC, and they then distribute that to the DEAs. And we have offered information sessions on all of those initiatives, because we want everyone to be on the same page and know what's going on. So I can't really direct the DECs to do things like that. It's not my role. But I would be happy to share that information and provide those types of briefings if they are requested, because if everyone knows what's going on it's beneficial to everyone.

I will say, though, that we...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. So one of the first things in the art strategy is to review all of the different funding, how it's working. Now, I had the option to just not put out an art strategy, and I considered that because I knew that people would want something a little more concrete and specific and I thought, well, we can just do this work without sort of telling the public what we're undertaking. But I thought, no, for the sake of transparency let's release the strategy, say, this is our plan; it's going to take some time but it's our plan. And then after we take some of those steps in that...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Prince of Wales Northern Heritage Centre has two curated shows a year where they display the work of an artist. I would imagine that that would count as an art gallery for the purposes that the Member is speaking about. In terms of a public art gallery, building a new public art gallery, there are no plans to build a new public art gallery. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, I'm unable to produce that data for the Member right now; I'm sorry. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I try to stay up on my files but I don't have that level of specific information for the Member right now; I apologize. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. There will be engagement that's going to happen to get that feedback from artists, and that's going to begin likely early in the new year. So we are going to engage, and we're going to talk to them, and we're going to listen. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Madam Chair. I'm here today to present Bill 30, an Act to Amend the Aurora College Act. I want to thank the Standing Committee on Social Development for their interest in and review of this bill.

This bill will result in an arm's length governance system that supports an effective, efficient, and sustainable Aurora College positioned to continuously identify and respond to the needs of northern residents, Indigenous governments, partners, and stakeholders. It will also set the stage for further legislative change in 2024 to create the polytechnic university.

The creation of a...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The type of arts council structure that the Member's speaking about, they are usually born out of a grassroots organization, a group of artists that get together and has a vision, has a plan, and it's an organization that then can be supported.

There is currently no organization in the territory that has that ability at this point. There's a number of different organizations, and maybe if they all combine their power, that might be an organization that we might be able to support. But that's just not the case. These are generally grassroots organizations. And while the...

Mr. Speaker, I wish to table the following document: Plain Language Summary for Bill 41: Justice Administration Statutes Amendment Act. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.