Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The other day in the House during Committee of the Whole, the Minister responsible for Education, Culture and Employment talked about potential partnerships and things working behind the scenes for the stand-alone Aurora College. I’d like to hear, maybe on the record today, what partners is he working in particular with on this particular project and when can we actually see some real advance on this particular issue. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Hawkins. The Minister of Education, Culture and Employment, Mr. Lafferty.
Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. When I referred to potential partners, we are seeking out those individuals that are interested in working with us as a department and also the college. We have been approached during the 16th Assembly by a corporation that could be the same corporation that may come forward. We are at the preliminary stages at this point, as I stated in Committee of the Whole. This fall or later in the summer we’re going to be discussing the next step, once we sign off on the extension on the lease agreement for Northern United Place. Mahsi.
I’m not sure how the lease deals with the discussion with the corporation. I’m curious; when will you be able to shed some light on who this corporation may be and is it a real partnership or is it just someone giving us a call, not really committing? I mean, we really know what’s actually happening out there. We’ve been led along for quite some time as to whether there may or may not be partners. When will the Minister really be able to make a substantial commitment of information saying these are the people we are talking to and this is what we’re working towards? Thank you.
The lease agreement plays a huge part. We need to extend the agreement. We have a minimum of two years, up to five years. We’re going to have some more information this fall. Mahsi.
Has the Minister or anyone from the department been talking to the City of Yellowknife as a potential partner in this particular initiative? They may not be a cash partner, but they may be able to work in partnership such as the library I mentioned the other day. It’s a project in the not-too-distant future. The City of Yellowknife has always wished to advance that particular one. I can’t speak for them specifically, but that’s the type of partnership I’m talking about. Now, there may be private corporations, but how much investment has the department done on advancing other types of partnerships, and to whom? Thank you.
The City of Yellowknife could be a potential partner because we are dealing with the library in Yellowknife. We need to identify a location for that as well. There’s been talk about adding that to a stand-alone college. Those are the discussions that are happening, very preliminary. Later this fall we need to identify those individuals that are interested in discussing this even further.
Thank you, Mr. Lafferty. Final, short supplementary, Mr. Hawkins.
What type of summary information can the Minister actually provide to me, so I can provide to my constituents, on what is actually happening with this project? I mean, every time we bring this particular issue up, to me, all they hear is the discussions that are happening. When I go back to them it doesn’t seem to be a satisfying answer. Will the Minister commit to putting some type of profile onto this project to bring it to fruition, what’s being done and some of what the objectives are and would he be able to do it in a timely way?
We can provide a summary of the status of our discussions and provide more detailed information as we move forward this fall. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Lafferty. The honourable Member for Range Lake, Mr. Dolynny.
