Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I want to offer special recognition to the Minister of Education today. We completed yet another capital with nary a dollar to plan for a stand-alone campus in Yellowknife for Aurora College.
Not only is there no money for this project, there is no timeline. The Minister seems content with the perpetual rental of the college at its current location. I can remember when this was a short-term solution because we were going to build a real campus. There was some real excitement and energy behind that prospects of where we were going next with northern education at the post-secondary level. However, since then, various Members have raised the topic more than 30 times, by my count by going through various copies of Hansard and documents, Mr. Speaker. More than 30 times Members have been promised discussions, plans, partners, and more discussions with results in due time. It seems to be a new kind of time; perhaps the 12th of never, or maybe after that. So I’m not sure if this will ever come to pass.
I believe the college’s Board of Governors are as equally frustrated as I am, if ideals of expressing and delivering further enthusiasm on northern post-secondary education continues to be met with stony silence and clear, firm inaction.
The years have gone by. There have been at least two Aboriginal groups who have expressed partnership opportunities to work with Aurora College to help build a stand-alone campus in Yellowknife. There are real groups with real opportunity and enthusiasm to be our partners, but apparently no deal has ever come to fruition, nothing has ever really been explored, we’ve heard nothing and our partner potential fades away.
The only thing that’s ever been built so far are the false hopes for students, staff and the general public, who expect us to help work toward developing a northern university. Again, nothing that will come to pass. Instead, Aurora College seems to be forever in limbo as the Education Minister sets new records on ignoring this issue.
The future of Aurora College in Yellowknife is akin to something like swimming in quicksand: the harder they struggle to reach their dreams, the deeper in disappointment they sink. If this Minister does not care nor ever want to do anything on this initiative, I call upon his honourable credentials and say be honest with northern students and the northern people that you are not going to do anything. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
The Member for Deh Cho, Mr. Nadli.
