Glen Abernethy

Thank you, Minister Lafferty. The next on my list is Ms. Bisaro, but before we go to Ms. Bisaro we will take a short break.

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Thank you, Mr. Bromley. Mr. Daniels.

Also in this area, I mean, we want this $148 million to go as far as it possibly can by way of programming and helping to educate children. In my general comments to the opening remarks I talked about infrastructure. I know this isn’t infrastructure, but as I indicated then, infrastructure drives spending and Sissons School and Mildred Hall... Mildred Hall, we could probably reduce the operations costs of that facility significantly just by finishing the renovations that we started and finishing the back side of that building and putting in the better quality windows and more insulation. By...

Thank you for continuing to look at is as you move forward, but I’m curious what, if any, assessment or analysis has been done to date about that program and the suitability of a diploma program in the North as opposed to a degree program. Actually, I don’t even think it’s a diploma, I think it’s a certificate program here in Yellowknife with a tie-in to the South. Has any analysis been done in partnership with Health and Social Services about the value and potential benefits? There is a chance that if we had a degree program, we could also increase our enrolment at the Aurora College program...

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. In talking to some of the school boards, I was under the impression that there was some negotiation going on between Education, Culture and Employment and the school boards to bump that percentage up to 20 percent. For a while I thought it sounded like it might happen, but then it didn’t happen. Is there any reason why we didn’t move up to the 20 percent allocation for inclusive schooling?

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I have a similar question related to the Aurora College campus here in Yellowknife and a stand-alone campus. Has there been any assessment done on potential savings in the long run for actually having a stand-alone facility as opposed to renting the several buildings in Yellowknife we do to act as a campus? Specifically I’m interested in finding out if we can maximize our dollars by actually having a stand-alone facility over the long term and focus more money in programming rather than excessive rents.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I give notice that on Friday, February 18, 2011, I’ll move the following motion: I move, seconded by the honourable Member for Monfwi, that the 16th Legislative Assembly strongly urges the Government of Canada to announce the successor strategy to the Aboriginal Skills and Employment Partnerships Program immediately, to ensure that the partners can continue to train Aboriginal Northerners for employment in the mining, transportation, construction and petroleum exploration sectors.

Thank you, Mr. Beaulieu. Minister Lafferty.

Thank you, Mr. Beaulieu. Mr. Lafferty.

Thank you. Once again, I appreciate the Minister’s response, but I come back to this example. The person was told that they weren’t getting the job after they passed and the references were good and they were told that Stanton would not accommodate this person’s disability. So we know it’s happening. Does the department have any recourse where a department clearly isn’t abiding by the rules? Does the department have any recourse or ability to make sure that departments do adhere to the policies and procedures of this government? Thank you.