Shauna Morgan

Okay. I mean, my next question is what tools does the Minister have to be able to hold the board of governors of Aurora College accountable to actually finish the transition to a polytechnic university by a certain date given that their funding is coming from our budget? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. So my questions, again, are for the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment, but this time I want to ask about Aurora College and the transition to a polytechnic university.

So the college has announced that the transition to a polytechnic university will be significantly delayed. And we hear from the college that it's because of inadequate funding from governments. We hear from the ECE Minister that it's up to the board of governors now, they're arm's length. So my question to the Minister is who can we hold accountable for the delay in the polytechnic transition...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. So purely just on a financial level, I'm curious whether analysis has been done comparing the administrative costs of doing that month to month administrative checks and all the paperwork that's required versus the amount of money that the system is able to recover from people by doing those month to month checks; has any analysis been done to compare just on a financial basis, you know, which ends up on top? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. So we've been speaking about the changes to income assistance for seniors and people with disabilities that mean they would only need to apply for income assistance once per year, and that seems very positive, both in terms of less burden both on clients and the staff and the system. Are there plans to make the same change for all recipients of income assistance beyond seniors and those with disabilities? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, income is the leading factor that determines how healthy someone might be. People who have higher becomes are much likelier to be healthier, and people on lower incomes tend to have worse health. It's easy to see how more money would allow someone to buy healthier food or have more recreation opportunities, but what could actually be more important to someone's health is the toll that poverty takes on mental health and relationships. How incredibly stressful it is to have too little to get by and support your family. The stress of insecurity, not knowing...

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I don't have any more comments at this point. I certainly have questions and comments throughout but that was that's enough for the general comments. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. So does the GNWT have a line in the sand, like a date by which the polytechnic university must be established? And what would be the consequence to Aurora College if that goal is not met? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. That's a clear commitment and statement that is certainly welcomed to everyone.

My second question is that the transition team that was set up for the polytechnic university transition, I know that it has now been disbanded, the transition team that was within ECE. Were there goals or benchmarks set for what that team needed to accomplish before it was disbanded? And if so, were those goals met? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. So the Minister seems to have anticipated my final question around the consideration of combining various income assistance benefit programs into a single program in order to streamline. I think, you know, part of the idea of guaranteed basic income is that it's supposed to make the system more efficient. And so by combining these different pots of funding. Does the Minister see the attempts to streamline those income assistance programs as moving towards aspects of a guaranteed basic income system? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

(audio) government know what's the reason for particularly poor retention of staff in speech language pathology and occupational therapy within the past five years? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.