Julie Green

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, when was the last time the allowances were increased to reflect inflation? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. My next question has to do with the number of hours that are required of students to prepare for departmental exams, particularly in grade 12. How will the reduced instructional hours be implemented so that students still have enough preparation to succeed on their departmental exams? Will it be a different number of hours as YCS has suggested, or will it still be the 100 hours?

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I am switching gears now to Aurora College. As we know, the Minister and the board have made a number of cuts to programming. Will there be additional cuts in administration, leasing, and other related college expenses that come as a result of the program cuts? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. So the only difference between the September 20th business plan and now is that there are some reductions. Maybe the Minister could specify reductions to the educational authority? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Does it also represent an increase in the value of income assistance itself? Can the Minister confirm that income assistance allowances are indexed to the CPI? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. With respect to the Minister, I do not see that reduced instructional hours fits into any of those objectives. Taking students out of the classroom for an additional 100 hours a year, or a total one whole year of education over the life of their school career, I just do not see how this is going to meet the outcomes that are put forward in the Education Renewal Initiative. So having said that, how will the department assess the results of the reduced instructional hours? What are the specific measures that are going to be used to measure the outcomes?

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I realize this is a shared responsibility. The Minister's labour market forecast says that we need thousands, literally thousands, of people in the NWT over the next 15 years in different kinds of skilled professions. So is immigration not one of the ways that we are going to meet this demand for skilled workers? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, it seems like an exit interview for people who are dropping out of the program would really facilitate collection of information about what the barriers are. In my statement I noted that social workers with degrees and diplomas will be in high demand over the next 15 years, a total of 600 jobs, so we want people who live here to take these jobs, not come for two years and then move away. Doesn't the number of people required in this profession make the case that social work training is, in fact, a going concern? Masi.

Thank you, Mr. Chair, for being strict. I also have two numbers now for the number of cases in 2016-17 for people who require income assistance. I have 3,900 and I have 3,420. Could the Minister please point me to the correct number? Thank you.

Mr. Chair, I am trying to understand the department's goal of addressing attendance and graduation rates in light of the commitment to reducing instructional hours in the classroom. Could the Minister tell us how those two things are compatible? Thank you.