Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As I spoke about earlier in my statement, I am very excited that one of the areas the polytechnic will focus on is skilled trades and technology. I have been happy with the information that has been released to date, but I am hoping to get a little more out of the Minister about where we are going with this. Can the Minister expand on what this specialization is presently going to look like? Is it going to be a building science program of some sort, or is it an architectural program or an engineering degree? I am just wondering the extent of this skilled trades and technology expansion the polytechnic is aiming for. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Member for Yellowknife North. Minister of Education, Culture and Employment.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and I thank the Member for the questions. The skilled trades and technology is an area of specialization, so it's not a program; it is one of the four areas that the college is going to focus on initially. The reason to start there is, first of all, it will be a polytechnic and that is what polytechnics do, but also those are a lot of the things that the college does right now and does well. Initially, it's going to be building on those. As we move to become a polytechnic university, there will be a research component. We have recently added a position of applied climate change research chair in Inuvik, and that is the type of thing that I can see that research happening around, is northern building. I heard the Member's statement, and it sounds like he could be writing for the polytechnic university right now because those are the kind of visionary things that I think that we all want to see. We all understand that the North has natural advantages, and we want to take advantage of those in every way that we can. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
I know the Minister is looking forward to getting the board and the polytechnic up and running so he can stop fielding so many questions about what they are going to do, and maybe one day, I will try to sit on that board. Right now, pretty soon, hopefully this summer, we are going to see a three-year economic plan for Aurora College, and I hear what the Minister is saying, and that is the building on current programming. However, I feel that the transformation requires new programming; it requires some sort of new courses, new certifications. My question for the Minister is: especially in this area of skilled trades and technology, when are we going to see some new programming and/or funding for the polytechnic?
Of course, the transformation will require new programming, but a transformation takes a long time. I wish Members could see into the guts of the college, essentially, and see what is happening right now because there is a lot going on. There are working groups. There are about 50 staff in the college who are putting in extra time and extra work to participate in this and ensure that the foundation and the structure of the college can support a polytechnic. We are not quite at the point I think where the Member would like us to be, but we will get there. Right now, it's ensuring that, when we start adding new things, it is on a solid foundation and that things are not going to have to change and that we are making those decisions with appropriate information. Soon, we are moving to a board of governors, and they really will be driving the work going forward, and that is going to be based on things such as the labour market, all of those, and also our engagement with our partners in the territory, Indigenous governments, who really have a stake in training, as well. They are already big partners with the college. I wish I could say that we are going to roll out these programs on these dates, but we are just not there yet. However, the future is exciting.
Yes, I get that. I suppose my job now in this House is that, we seem to be on the right track, but I am going to push so that it gets sped up a little more. I understand there is a lot of work being done at the college, but I think one of the big areas is curriculum reform and looking at how all of our building science and all of our trades and technologies curriculum is. We largely just adopt the Alberta curriculum, and I know the Minister is having that conversation in regard to our high school curriculum, but the amount of work to build a northern curriculum that is going to be different and is going to attract southern students is a large amount of work. Can the Minister speak to when we can expect to see some of the curriculum in this trades and technology area reviewed? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Times are changing. There is a lot more technologies in the trades, as well. We see across Canada that jurisdictions are incorporating more technology. Here in the North, we will be incorporating northern-specific aspects to it. I have to point out, though, that when it comes to things like becoming a Red Seal and the courses you need, that is becoming standardized across Canada, so that you can get your second year here and go to Ontario and pick up there where you left off and vice versa. There is a push for that. That being said, there will be a northern element to it. Of course, that is going to roll out as the programming rolls out.
Thank you, Minister. Oral questions. Member for Hay River South.
