Caroline Cochrane

It is well-known that my degree is also in social work, and I have a personal commitment. The Social Work Program is also identified in our Skills 4 Success in the top 10 positions in the Northwest Territories coming up, but I need to put aside my personal biases. This needs to be a review that is done by the person who is the expert, and that will be the associate deputy minister of post-secondary renewal.

There are things, yes. The current staff that are in the Social Work Program can help with program curriculum, but can they build the relationships with universities across Canada? Is that...

For this school year, the program is providing support for students who are trying to finish up. Next year, it won't be happening. It's really important to note that the internal review did not just give an outline that says, "Here's to go." It gave options, similar to the Aurora College foundational review. Some of those options were either stay with the program using the University of Regina, looking at other universities so that the credits are more transferable, or doing a standalone university, and each one of those takes time to be able to research them and get them correct.

Yes, thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. On my right is Mr. Andy Bevan. He is the assistant deputy minister for Labour and Income Security with the Department of Education, Culture and Employment. On my left is Christina Brownlee. She is the legislative counsel for the Department of Justice. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I am pleased to be here today to introduce Bill 16, An Act to Amend the Social Assistance Act. I'd like to thank the Standing Committee on Social Development for their review.

Bill 16 seeks to extend the term of Social Assistance Appeal Board members from two years to up to four years. It also seeks to add Indigenous governments to the list of public bodies with whom information received under the act can be shared.

This bill will allow board members to establish continuity and build greater corporate knowledge over the course of their term. It will also allow for more...

One of the greatest strengths within the program that was identified in the internal review was that it takes a northern context; taking people on the land, bringing others, et cetera. That will be there because, Mr. Speaker, thanks to a previous Minister of Education who was really focused on language and culture, we have language and culture programming throughout our education system, including our post-secondary. So I can't take credit for that. I do have to give credit where it was deserved. That was a previous Minister, Minister Lafferty, I believe, at the time, and so we will make sure...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I have the political will to make sure that we have quality programming for our students based on the credited standards. I have the political will to know that the social work program and the Bachelor of Education program are in our top 10 needed skills within the Territories in the next 15 years. I have the political will, Mr. Speaker, therefore, to tell the person who takes the position, as I've stated many times in the House, that the first programs to be reviewed within the context of the Aurora College is the social work and the degree in education. Thank you, Mr...

The competition is now open. It's going across Canada. It closes, I believe, at the end of this month. At that point, we will be conducting the interview process, and we are presuming that person will be hired by the end of this calendar year.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I have made a commitment and I will stand by my commitment that I am not willing to let Aurora College stay status quo. There are issues that need to be addressed within our post-secondary education, and my commitment is to making sure that we have the best quality post-secondary and secondary and elementary education for our students as possible.

I cannot really identify who will be left in that social work program this time next year. That is an operational decision that will be made by the associate deputy minister for post-secondary renewal when they, that person, assumes their position.