Robert Hawkins

Mr. Chair, I appreciate that answer, but one of the problems with that is we don’t have a direct policy for a mandate under a department. How do we get a policy statement by a department where it falls under an activity description that supports seniors and active living? We have one under MACA that truly represents and bolsters the needs that fall under youth and certainly what support the youth need. How do we get one in the Municipal and Community Affairs that supports seniors with dollars? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Now I’m hearing there are two or three lines they’re reporting to and I’m trying to get to the bottom of this, that if the college wants to put forward a particular initiative, who do they forward it to in the department? Does that person or persons… We need a clear role because somebody would be in charge of that.

The Minister has been in charge of this department for six years. I have been asking about an Aurora College plan for years. Is someone at the department stopping this? I’m not sure what the heck he’s doing over there. I want to be clear on the record. Who is...

Maybe the Minister could elaborate what expression of interest means.

If a message was sent from the Board of Governors to the chair, to the president to be carried to the Department of ECE, would ECE have the ability to say no if the college, through the Board of Governors, through the chair, through the president said that they wanted to build a stand-alone college? Would they have the authority to say no? Who would that particular person be to say no? Who would be saying no if the answer happened to be no? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. The question was, what did Aurora College put forward as a capital planning initiative to the department on their own initiative? Now, we’ve heard the Minister and certainly Mr. Devitt talk about the technical planning the department does through its needs assessment. What initiative for the planning process has been put forward by the college so that we know where it goes into the system so that could be rolled forward? What was the college’s initiative?

My question seems to continue to elude the department. I’ve asked to set aside the board governance, but when the board governance model, which we haven’t got to yet, is an issue to discuss, but when that message of the college… Maybe I’ll wrap it up this way, because it seems to cause a problem. When the message of the college comes forward, who trumps the message of the college at the department? Does the college itself report to a director somewhere within the system? Does the message of the college report to an associate deputy minister, an assistant deputy minister? Are they treated like...

I’m not on the standing committee, so I will go to the Minister for his thoughts on that regard.

I have questions on page 13. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I’m going to ask about the leadership structure of Aurora College and how they’re tied into the Department of ECE. The reason I’m asking that is because last week I had asked questions about the capital planning for an Aurora College and how that process begins. To be clear and to make sure no one is fooled by my question, I’m not asking for the capital project this coming budget because we’re in an operations budget, so, as such, the planning is an operational issue.

Maybe if the Minister can enlighten us as to how the role of the Board of...

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Are there any technical or planning documents on the needs assessments of the college that are being anticipated for this fiscal year that are specific to the college itself? Furthermore, what has the department developed, and how much money have they spent in the past two fiscal years to that end?

Mr. Speaker, in the Minister’s mind, that horse may have been gone six years ago, but I can tell you it’s before the taxpayer for the next 35 years, if not longer.

Why didn’t the Minister of Transportation mention that we saved approximately $2.4 million on the operation and maintenance of the ferry and the ice road services? If I have to answer my own questions in this House, I’m going to ask the Minister what was left over with the $7.6 million needed to open up the bridge a year earlier. What were the benefits of opening it up a year earlier other than spending $7.6 million uselessly? Thank...