Caitlin Cleveland

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I can say that, yes, operating as a college requires that the institution be established in legislation. And as far as timelines, it really depends on how that work progresses and so I would love to report back on that progress to the Member. But currently, there is a quality assurance process that must be undertaken, and ECE is working closely with Dechinta through this process. Thank you.

Yes, Mr. Speaker, we are working to achieve a new multi-year funding agreement before the end of this current fiscal year. The Department of Education, Culture and Employment has had a great working relationship with Dechinta over the last decade, includes currently the two-year contribution agreement which the Member is talking about which concludes at the end of this fiscal year. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, it's a 54-hour course that people without post-secondary education are required to complete in order to be considered certified under the new system and the new regulations. And so those 54 hours, if somebody works for a centre-based system, their operator determines if they are able to use centre-based time to do that. There is no difference in the amount that is paid to the centre. And then in addition for people who are day home operators, they receive two training days, and they're able to use that time to complete the course should they wish, and that...

Absolutely committed to working with day home operators.

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, some of the changes that were made in the last term, one of them was the removal of productive choices because it was found that people were often doing the same type of productive choice over and over again and wasn't necessarily leading to something that was helping people at the end of the day achieve their employment or education goals.

One of the changes, however, that was made was the ability of people to keep more earned income, encouraging people to go and pursue additional opportunities, but certainly prepared to have more conversations...

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, that is a great question from the Member, and I want to warn you that the answer is not very straightforward. So I'm going to start there, sorry.

Mr. Speaker, Education, Culture and Employment, through income assistance, does have client navigators. Those client navigators hold the role not only of assessing the basic needs of a client, as the Member said, of a resident, but they also can refer people to things like income assistance, career development officers, business development officers, etcetera. And some of the programs that the career...

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I see what's happening in the Yukon and Nunavut as a positive for us because it means that there is heightened awareness and increase looking at education in the Arctic and education in the North and, specifically, in the territories. I see this as plowing the way for us and see this as being a great opportunity for us to continue down the path that we are on and eventually get to that point. Thank you.

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Absolutely to the Member's question, the answer is yes. I also have to say I've been really excited about some of the creative solutions that people are coming forward with for community learning centres. And I think that's part of our success story here, at the end of the day, is really looking creatively and at communities independently because everybody's needs are going to be different at the end of the day here. I also want to reflect, Mr. Speaker, on what the Member said as far as education being a lifelong journey, and I -- I'm certainly committed to...

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I want to start off by recognizing that there is absolutely an impact to communities across the Northwest Territories and specifically the staff of the community learning centres across the Northwest Territories. However, under the Aurora College Act, Mr. Speaker, the board of governors is responsible for operations decisions of the college. I know that Aurora College is working closely with Department of Finance to support staff through the process and that elements of the staff retention process and policy have been communicated to potentially...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I'd like to start out with a huge shout out to Kelsey Wrightson, who is the executive director of Dechinta and is very active, and we have great meetings, and I love hearing about her vision. So the Post-secondary Education Act came into force in 2022, and this provides the foundation to build the new system. So through the act, a quality assurance system for the accreditation of certificate, diploma, and degree programs and institutions was created, and this includes the opportunity for designation as a private college. So staff with education, culture and employment...