Kieron Testart

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In my Member's statement, I talked about the knowledge economy. In the future, when we look at how technology is changing Canada's economy, we can see that, where new technologies have been introduced, there is a demand for highly skilled workers, particularly highly skilled information and communications technology workers. I would like to ask the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment if the department has a plan to harness potential information and communication technologies, and what they are doing about that field and how it can transform our economy. Thank...

Will there be an opportunity to table this in the next sitting; not the current sitting, but in the third session of the House? Or will we have to wait until next year? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I was aware of that and I'm pleased that we have that clarity from the Minister; however, business planning is a closed-door process and members of the public won't be able to see or hear exactly what is being planned for this, so what is the plan to allow for transparency on this plan? The government was quite keen on selling the changes to the airport based on enhanced infrastructure services, et cetera. When are we going to see detailed plans on infrastructure improvements at the Yellowknife Airport?

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Again, the Minister is looking at what we have currently got in play. Embracing one economic model does not mean abandoning the other. The work they have done is about existing economic opportunities in the Northwest Territories. I am talking about creating new economic opportunities.

Let us go with the Minister has said here. We need to bring in more universities and more post-secondary institutions. When is the Minister going to develop legislation to enable these post-secondary institutions to operate in the Northwest Territories? I am talking about an overarching...

I am glad the Minister brought up Inuvik. A perfect example of how knowledge economy is changing Canada is the City of Calgary. It is one of Canada's fastest-growing cities, and it has some of the highest incomes in the country. What most people don't know is that 40 per cent of its workforce is in the creative industry, and that is the fourth in the country, just ahead of Toronto. The entire City of Toronto, there are more creative people working in this knowledge economy information communications technology. Inuvik has this fibre optic link. Is there a plan to develop a knowledge cluster...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Often in this House we have talked about a knowledge economy, but it occurs to me today that we might need a refresher on what exactly that means, as it is a relatively new concept as a source of economic focus. The knowledge economy today is recognized as a major driver of productivity and economic growth in Canada and all across the world.

It is defined as an economy in which growth is dependent on the quality, quantity, and accessibility of the information available rather than on the means of production. Employment in this economy is characterized by strong demand...

Thank you, Mr. Chair, and thank you to the official from the Department of Justice for that helpful clarification. With this fencing issue that has yet to be resolved, that the tender was not successful, what is the plan to deal with that? Is it to put more money into it so we can get it done, or is it to scale it down into something different? Can the Minister provide some more clarity about what this is going to look and where we will see it? Obviously, it is not in this budget, but where will this House consider that capital project, and how much is it going to cost? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I am sure the Minister can guess where I am going to go with this. We have two capital items here: North Slave Correctional Centre Zone 2, building security control system renovations; and North Slave Correctional Centre, building, security control system integration. Let's hear more about that. Can the Minister provide some detail about why these are required and if they are related to the security improvements that are required due to the incident report from last year? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Chair, and thank you to the Minister for that response. Is the Housing Corporation pursuing other capital projects with Northern contractors along the same lines as this deal? Is that feasible for the foreseeable future as we continue to build public housing units? Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. The Housing Corporation initiated a celebrated deal of having northern businesses construct a number of housing units, and I would like to ask the Minister how the progress is going on that work. I believe it was around 50 units that were selected to be built here in the North, by northern contractors. What is the status of that work? Thank you.