Bob Bromley

I appreciate the comments from the Minister. I appreciate his direction to college to get after this. The president of Aurora College was quoted in media, saying that the past three-year Aurora College programs were withdrawn because of some bumps in keeping them. I know that is the business of the college, but I am wondering if the Minister would know what those bumps are and what action is being taken to clear them away. Mahsi.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. May I follow your lead and also wish happy Valentine’s Day to my most lovely wife, Marianne.

Business administration students at Aurora College have appealed for the creation of a third-year degree-granting program. I support that request. The current two-year diploma-granting program is filled to capacity. Currently, diploma graduates seeking a baccalaureate degree must transfer to a southern institution to complete their studies, or take distance education. Students say 87 percent of them – Mr. Moses might take note – have children, and point out that the demands of...

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I appreciate those comments from the deputy minister. I hope that we will be public with that information because I know there are concerns in the public amongst both our Aboriginal governments and other people that aren’t just from reading the newspaper and opinion pieces and so on. It’s clear that people want to move in the area of sustainability and where we derive our energy, but they also want to know it’s being done properly and with all due care. So I appreciate that.

The last question I have here is the climate change and the Greenhouse Gas Strategy and so on. Both...

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I want to make just a few comments here. I think we’re still continuing to miss an opportunity in the forest management area and that’s the area of wild crafting and particularly mushroom harvesting. I don’t know where we’re at on that. I know there has been work to look into that, but it’s an industry that is proving to have some potential but it needs some management to really benefit the people of the Northwest Territories, otherwise the benefits go to people that come in from outside and take away the resources. So one question is what are we doing about that.

I’m...

Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank my colleague, Mr. Yakeleya, for helping to bring this motion forward. This motion is in response to the very deeply held concerns territory-wide about the loss of environmental review, oversight and public participation that changes to federal legislation is causing. As the motion lays out in detail, the impacts upon our environmental management regime of the measures concealed in the federal omnibus budget Bill C-38 and Bill C-45 are a major assault upon the land for all Canadians.

Because federal stewardship for our northern natural birthright is so dominant...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’d like to table two documents today. The first one is from the students at Aurora College in the Business Administration Program, with a cover letter from Kari Williams, vice-president, Aurora College Business Administration Student Association, directed to Aurora College with an attached petition for extending the program to three years.

The second one is the Dene Nation support on federal changes to the environment motion that was issued on February 13th. Mahsi.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I seek your consent to return to recognition of visitors in the gallery, item 6 on the Order Paper. Thank you.

---Unanimous consent granted

The Minister and I are on the same page there. We really would like to keep these students here, and engaged, and up working here as opposed to getting jobs elsewhere by going to schools down south.

The level of student commitment is indicated by the fact that, although 87 percent of the students are parents, they are making education a priority and juggling their parenting jobs and studies to get ahead. Forcing these students to leave their home territory for these advanced studies would be yet another burden. We want them to stay here, as we have said.

Will the Minister commit to report to...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My questions today are for the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment. My statement today dealt with the appeal from the Aurora College second year business administration students for the reintroduction of a degree-granting program. What action has the Minister taken to investigate and respond to this very positive suggestion? Mahsi.

Thank you for that, Mr. Chair. I know people used to rely on biomass for many of their energy needs. Biomass and good high-quality food, that was our energy sources way back. Today, obviously, when we’re proposing to use it to heat much larger facilities and so on, it’s a different scale of demand on our forests, so I appreciate that this work is being done and I appreciate the commitment to make sure that the word is getting back out to people who want to know that we’re on top of those sorts of questions. So I appreciate that and that’s all I had on this page. Thank you.