Caitlin Cleveland

Thank you very much, Mr. Chair. So, Mr. Chair, it is in the planning cycle of Aurora College to bring back the Bachelor of Education as well as the social work program to Aurora College in the fall of 2027. They rolled out their general education degree last fall in order to -- where people start with the general education and then in year 3 and 4 have the opportunity to choose either one of the other programs to transition into. So the work that they're doing right now with the college is they're able to specialize in one of those programs when it becomes available. And the intention of...

Thank you very much, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, I'd like to pass to the deputy minister to give the department perspective as well on this one. I know I've answered questions on the floor of the House, so I will pass to the Deputy.

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, yes. I agree. Thank you.

Thank you very much, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, that would require some legislative change for sure, to look into something like that. Within that, Mr. Chair, we would want to ensure that at the end of the day that students were pursuing a certification or diploma or degree program, and we would also need to weigh that against other financial priorities given that there is access to improving grades and accessing these courses within the Northwest Territories. And so it would require additional funding for students to be able to access these type of programs outside the Northwest Territories. And...

Yes. Thank you, Mr. Chair. The answer is yes.

Thank you very much, Mr. Chair. So the counsellors that health and social services hires typically are people with a Master's degree, and then the funding through education, culture and employment gives education bodies a lot more flexibility into what they use the funding for as long as there is a prevention aspect to it but allows them to use the funding, for example, for additional clinicians, for personal support workers, for community support workers. And so it allows them the flexibility to determine how they want to use the funding to address the mental health needs of their specific...

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. And thank you to the Member for the question, but also the clarification. I can confirm for the Member that 69 seniors have accessed income assistance instead of the income assistance for seniors and persons with disabilities, so the number 69. And client navigators work with the clients to walk them through the options and what the difference is between the two programs so that they can have the tools at their disposal to make that decision. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, through education, culture and employment we have a suite of programs that employers have access to in order to do retraining with staff. This can be something, you know, like upgrading programs but can also be more on-the-job training, so specific for certifications required for them to evolve into a new position. We're also pursuing more funding through the federal government specific to industries that have been impacted by tariffs. And this is one such industry that exists in the Northwest Territories that has seen impact because of tariffs from the...

Thank you very much, Mr. Chair. So, Mr. Chair, certainly that is something that has been tried in the past and ultimately has been found that if, you know, certain jobs want to be incentivized by a certain department, that the department offer, for example, different scholarships which has been done throughout the government. But from a student financial assistance perspective, we have a number of jobs in the Northwest Territories that are in demand. Trades, for example. You know, environmental technicians as we move toward more major projects. And so really, you know, in the example of...

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I'd love to talk about workforce development until the bison come home, but for this one I will pass to the deputy.