R.J. Simpson

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Since February, I've been talking about an implementation plan that I'm going to be releasing that will lay out the path forward to a final transformation to a polytechnic university, and I will be releasing that in the coming weeks. That is going to have some key dates in there, and it talks about things like the facilities plan. The college is going to go out and do an assessment of all the different facilities and see what's in place, and that can inform things like programming and things like the Member is talking about. I can say, and I've said before, I've never...

Mr. Speaker, I give notice that, on Wednesday, October 28, 2020, I will move that Bill 13, An Act to Amend the Interpretation Act, be read for the first time. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, I wish to table the following three documents: "Annual Report on the Activities of the Rental Officer - April 1, 2019, to March 31, 2020;" "Legal Aid Commission of the Northwest Territories Annual Report 2019-2020;" and "Northwest Territories Coroner Services 2019 Annual Report." Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I don't think we can discriminate in the territory based on age and so to say that someone is under a certain age so they make less because we're calling it a training age. I had jobs when I was younger. I wasn't training. I was training people sometimes. I was working with people older than me, and I was training them. I don't want to get in trouble with any sort of human rights legislation, but again, I'm open to anything. I can't wait to see that report, and as soon as I receive it, I'll make sure that it's shared with the Standing Committee on Social Development. I'll be happy to have a...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Depending on how long I'm here, I'm sure, at some point I might. The way that this works is that there is a minimum wage committee. It's made up of non-governmental organizations, industries, and there are representatives from the GNWT, as well. This group of people look at economic climate in the territory, they look at employment statistics, and they produce a report. That report should have been on my desk already, but the recent report from Finance regarding the effects of COVID-19 was deemed important enough that the committee got back together. They are...

Another good idea from the Member, but again, I don't do the programming at the college. Nonetheless, I do appreciate what the Member is saying. The college is moving towards a laddered approach, where you can get your certificate and then move into a diploma, degree, and so on. That is not currently possible with this personal support worker program. There is nothing beyond that. The credits do not transfer, and it would take some rejigging of the program in order to make that happen, especially considering that nursing is nationally accredited and that there are stringent requirements...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I'd be happy to grow that program. I can't count how many times, just talking to members of the public, they've said that, "My child didn't know what they wanted to do. They didn't have the courses they needed to graduate. I wish there was someone to help them." I've been able to answer time and time again that we now have that. We have a program that was only accessible to students in about six schools in the territory. Most students did not have that access to career counsellors. This program, we had six counsellors, and we added three more in this current fiscal year...

There are only two ways organizations become successful: strong leadership and dumb luck. I'm not going to bank on dumb luck, so I agree that we do need strong leadership. The current president of Aurora College, I believe he is doing an excellent job. Right now, we need to strengthen the foundation. There needs to be real organizational fortification, and that is moving along very well. I've been very happy with what I've seen. Once there is a board of directors, a board of governors appointed, then they will use their knowledge and their vision, frankly, to find a president who they believe...

I'm not sure under what premise the City of Yellowknife is operating. I'm sure they have a desire to have infrastructure built in the community. I mean, any community leader does. I expect that, but I think there is a lot of maybe confusion about what a university has to be, these days. A lot of people, in their minds, still see a big, single building made of brick with ivy growing up the walls and a big quad where students are sitting out in the sun reading, but that's not the way things are these days. With technology, you can have campuses that are spread out. When I went to university, I...

Mr. Speaker, I give notice that, on Wednesday, October 28, 2020, I will move that Bill 14, An Act to Amend the Securities Act, be read for the first time. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.