Caitlin Cleveland

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. So, Mr. Speaker, in the course of the last term we did a lot of work on legislation to do with Aurora College. So we had the Aurora College Act itself that was done. We did the PostSecondary Education Act, and we also had the opportunity under the previous Ministers to reestablish the Aurora College board of governors. And in terms of my role within that, I provide as Minister responsible for postsecondary oversight of the NWT postsecondary system as a whole, and including holding postsecondary institutions accountable under the Aurora College Act itself and...

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, in the Northwest Territories we currently have so schools have access to arts and trades programming through career and technology study courses. As we transition to a BC curriculum, these will then be known as applied design and skilled technology courses. So just a name change there. And these, within the BC curriculum, are known as experiential handson programming, learning through design and creation, and really is able to pull on skills and concepts from traditional and Indigenous practices as well. But what it comes down to is the capacity...

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, we are in a position now where the Aurora College is at an arm's length relationship from the Department of Education, Culture and Employment. That being said, ECE does provide funding for interpreters to support training through the interpretertranslator funding program, and there's also connections with other jurisdictions to explore possible training options for future interpreters. And I think it's also worth noting here the Indigenous language instructor employment plan that is currently a pilot within the Beaufort Delta and the Deh Cho...

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I think this is a really important question, and I can't assure the Member what she is looking for here today from me. But access to services in Indigenous languages are found in section 11(2) of the Official Languages Act, and that guarantees that people have the right to communicate with and access government services in Indigenous languages from their community area and also regional offices. So the Member reflected previously on the disbandment of the languages bureau in 1997. And since then, each Minister is now responsible for the delivery...

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the Member, first off, for reflecting on the fact that this is the only jurisdiction that has a whole month dedicated to Indigenous Languages Month, and so I very much appreciate that. The theme this month is Say It In Our Language, and I also want to thank the Member for speaking her language in the House here with us on a regular basis.

In addition to Indigenous Languages Month that's celebrated every February, Mr. Speaker, ECE continues to partner with seven Indigenous governments to deliver the mentor apprenticeship program. In...

Absolutely, Mr. Speaker. And thank you for that. I can honestly share with the Member that I am, as a parent and as a member of the community, very much committed to ensuring that the mental health of our students and our youth and children is supported and would appreciate the opportunity to be able to speak with any Member of the House about where this program is going. This program with many education bodies is still rolling out. They're still looking for people and deciding what this looks like. So not every education body hasn't absolutely hundred percent, you know, set in stone what it...

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, for the specifics on kind of what schools have who in them, that would definitely be a question that would be best directed towards health and social services, but I can say that it really is regional dependent. Some regions have all regions now have the ability to have different setups and are in the process of putting those setups into place.

What I can speak to and what schools do have is schools have the access to not only be using clinical counsellors for their children, but they also have access to Indigenous counsellors in schools now. They...

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, one of the things that I can commit to doing let me start over. I was distracted by my earpiece. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, I can confirm for the Member that I am absolutely interested in seeing our immigration program grow. I believe that us, like the rest of the country, are very much reliant on immigration in order to empower our employers in the Northwest Territories to be able to put people and the dreams that they have to grow their businesses, and I can say that I am committed to extending our immigration strategy that is...

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, ECE has approximately three staff members who deal with immigration for the Northwest Territories Nominee Program. They do their best to work with employers in order to let them know what the process looks like but it is very much and largely a process that is directed by the federal government under IRCC. And so here in the territory, we definitely do our best and it's a program that I would like to see grow here in the territory so that we can continue as a government to support labour development and workforce development and especially...

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I'd like to acknowledge and welcome and thank for his very hard work this week, page Maddox Hutchinson who's joined us here for the week and helped us pass notes and fill our water. It's very much appreciated. Thank you.