Debates of October 21, 2005 (day 15)

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I just want to talk about one of the education programs that has been run out of Yellowknife, particularly the Pre-Trades Entrance Program that was developed, not surprisingly, by a contractor from down south, to the tune of $30,000 over the last year. Now this expenditure, Mr. Speaker, may be a total waste of money if the program doesn’t attract any northern interest or we have no students enrolling in the program. Mr. Speaker, I say attract, not in the sense that we don’t have any young northerners interested in the program, because we do, Mr. Speaker. We have a lot of interest in the smaller communities to these types of programs. But many of these individuals who apply to enrol in this program are not attracted to this program anymore, because they are being told by the program directors that they will have to find their own accommodations if they want to participate in the program. Could the Minister of Education tell these youths, and other residents in these outlying communities, why they are required to find their own accommodation in the capital, when other programs have more than enough housing units available for their particular program? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Villeneuve. The honourable Minister of Education, Culture and Employment, Mr. Dent.

Return To Question 216-15(4): Housing For Pre-Trades Entrance Program Students

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the college has long been interested in finding a way to have a residence built in Yellowknife for college students and the programs here, but we have been unable, at this point, to find the money in the capital program to support that kind of approach. I, like the Member, would dearly love to see us better accommodate students here. I know that we’ve had to restrict the availability of housing to certain programs to ensure that the people in this program can find housing. So it is a problem, and it’s a particular problem because of the cost of housing here. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Dent. Supplementary, Mr. Villeneuve.

Supplementary To Question 216-15(4): Housing For Pre-Trades Entrance Program Students

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It’s good to know that the Minister acknowledges that it is a problem. I just don’t want to downplay some of the other programs, Mr. Speaker, but I know they are just as important as this Pre-Trades Program, such as the Nurse Practitioner Program. I have to let it be known that this program has received approval and funding, Mr. Speaker, to secure twice as many units for these nursing students this year as compared to last year. Another high demand sector of our labour market, that being trades, does not receive one red cent to put towards one unit available for any of these out-of-town students, Mr. Speaker. So can the Minister tell these trade students why that is the situation today? Mahsi.

Thank you, Mr. Villeneuve. Mr. Dent.

Further Return To Question 216-15(4): Housing For Pre-Trades Entrance Program Students

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I will continue to work with the college to see if we can find a way to address the housing issue, but this government has invested heavily in assistance to the nursing program. That’s because of the difficulty we are having filling nursing positions across the North. So we put a real emphasis on getting northerners into the field. The Member is right, though, we need to see a similar sort of emphasis on the trades. We have, this year, put an extra $600,000 into trades training. What we are doing there is encouraging employers to take on tradespeople with increased subsidies. One of the benefits there is that the apprentices actually earn a salary while they are studying. So unlike other students like nurses, they don’t wind up further in debt as they go through the process. So there is an expectation that they will be able to pay for a bit more. I recognize the Member has talked about the pre-trades where they don’t necessarily have a job yet. That is a problem. It’s an area I will discuss with the college. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Dent. Supplementary, Mr. Villeneuve.

Supplementary To Question 216-15(4): Housing For Pre-Trades Entrance Program Students

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Again, I don’t want to downplay the nurses program, but I know there is no guarantee that these nurses who graduate from the program are even going to stick around in the North, because there is a big demand right across Canada for nurses, Mr. Speaker. But in many of the trades programs that these youth in the North enter into, they wind up staying in their communities and developing their trade expertise there. How does the Minister plan on making more programs readily available to out-of-town students who cannot find adequate accommodations in the capital? If it’s a big problem for this government to address today, how about sending these smaller pre-trades programs into the smaller communities where sufficient interest has been generated. Has this been considered, Mr. Speaker?

Thank you, Mr. Villeneuve. Two questions there, Mr. Dent.

Further Return To Question 216-15(4): Housing For Pre-Trades Entrance Program Students

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Just for the record, we know that the vast majority of the graduates from our nursing program do stay in the Northwest Territories. That program has proven to be quite successful in getting northerners into nursing.

The Member makes a very good suggestion in terms of getting the training into communities. It’s one we encourage the college to pursue. We have, right now, a mobile lab for welding. The college does move from community to community to offer the Pre-Trades Training Program. That is one of the ways in which we are hoping to expand that training. We do hope to be able to provide more training in more communities. One of the things we have discussed, under the Northern Strategy, is the acquisition of six mobile labs for trades training; so we have other opportunities besides welding, and we can bring those into the smaller communities, too. We think it’s essential that we take more of this sort of training to the communities, because it becomes more available to more young people to learn what the opportunities are. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Dent. Final, short supplementary, Mr. Villeneuve.

Supplementary To Question 216-15(4): Housing For Pre-Trades Entrance Program Students

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Again, I am glad to hear that there will be more mobile labs coming down the line. This pre-trades program was developed last year for this year’s enrolment. It’s unfortunate to say that enrolment has gone down from the small, outlying communities because of the fact that there are no accommodations. Could the Minister give some reassurance to the directors and the people who work in the Aurora College who have to turn away these students and say, "You have to find your own place to stay or else you can’t enrol in the program"? What kinds of assurances or other options can these people who are dealing directly with the students who would like to enrol in these programs offer these students? Give them some timelines: "In two or three months, we will have something rolling into the community, and we will have more money to develop programs within the community." What kinds of other options can the Minister provide to these directors who deal with students? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Villeneuve. Mr. Dent.

Further Return To Question 216-15(4): Housing For Pre-Trades Entrance Program Students

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I will have to discuss this with the college -- and I will commit to the Member that I will do that very quickly -- what the options might be, so that I can make sure that the directors can have to see the answers to those questions. Thank you.