Kieron Testart

Yeah, okay, thank you. And, I mean, that would be helpful, and I think the transparency is important here because you can see Aurora College and that line, and it's always there, including the, again, 34 or $35 million we used to fund it. So given that we are willing to spend tens of millions on Aurora College, can we at least find a million dollars for other post-secondary institutions, double what we're currently providing? My math is $1.4 million. Can we double what we're providing? Because I believe if we double the resources available to these institutions, we will double their output...

He could have also said that's hypothetical so I can't answer it. But the point is there's significant concerns coming here. So when is this Minister going to update and modernize the RTA so it's very clear -- it takes a side essentially. Because right now it's up to total interpretation of the rental officer. We're giving far too much latitude. And the decisions that are being made are not helping communities, and that's what we're here to do. So when will the Minister actually take action, stop talking about it, and fix this problem with the RTA?

Thank you. Okay. Also the -- so the federal funding that's out there for Collège Nordique and Dechinta, which are the two named institutions in the other post-secondary contributions, has changed significantly, and they're seeing at least -- and some of the French language post-secondary funding that was supposed to be a permanent thing is now being clawed back. So that's a huge funding gap. I don't think that $353,000 to share between the two institutions is going to be sufficient. How are we going to meet the needs of both of these institutions to ensure they continue to succeed at educating...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, today I want to ask questions about the rental office and the Residential Tenancies Act. There's been no shortage of criticism here, including from the other side of the House very publicly. So I'd like to ask the Minister of Justice, is the Minister able to issue policy guidance to the rental officer in the same manner as to the public utilities board or other independent bodies that are still empowered by territorial statute? Thank you.

Thank you. Is this approach of using formula funding present in other provinces and territories and how they fund public and private post-secondary institutions? Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. So I just want to talk about other post-secondary contributions. So Dechinta, from my understanding, receives on average $2.6 million from the federal government calculated over a five-year period. College Nordique, $1.5 million. Our contribution to the former is around $500,000 and, again, taking the same five-year average, and $350,000 for College Nordique compared to Aurora College which is $33.5 million, plus federal funding on top of that. So it seems like these other post-secondary institutions, which we're trying to grow to build a northern knowledge economy and...

Thank you. Can the Minister also look into the status of the MOU and just see when the last meeting was done, what was accomplished, all that kind of stuff. I think, although it's between independent parties, having that conversation might spark a discussion that could lead to some growth around these issues like micro-credentials or ways to collaborate. So can the Minister look in specifically to that MOU? Thank you.

Thank you. Well, it's been brought to my attention so that's interesting. I will have to go back to the institution I was having conversations with and see if there's -- why it hasn't moved along.

Will the Minister be willing to proactively approach institutions about micro-credentials and see if there's interest? Like I said, this will help expand our market offerings for -- or build up the capacity of private institutions to support our public institution and build a network of -- well, build a knowledge economy. So will the Minister proactively pursue this idea of micro-credentials with...

Thank you, Mr. Chair. That's good. My understanding is this will require some legislative and policy change -- or let's just say policy change that may include legislation, regulatory or accreditation bodies. So are we -- what work does the department have to do to ensure micro-credentials are available as course offerings by these colleges? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And I agree with the Minister it was a boneheaded move from Ottawa, and I am glad -- and I hope it doesn't happen again and we can have certainty with this program. The question remains for people whose permits are expiring, they are going to be -- potentially have to leave the Northwest Territories because they can't get access to this program. Will the Minister prioritize those applicants who applied in January of last year, got their permits, and are now expiring? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.