Kieron Testart

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to take this opportunity to recognize and thank all the Pages for their hard work over this sitting. I would also like to recognize my constituency assistant, Mr. Garett Cochrane. I couldn't do this job without him, and I am very appreciative that he is joining us here today. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I move that we rise and report progress. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

We're still at the consultation stage. I think that's helpful for understanding our progress to date. In addition to northern institutions, their willing partners are very close to us in northern Alberta who have been trying to make inroads with our student population. Has the Minister had any interaction with these institutions in trying to bring their programming into the North and make it more accessible to Northerners?

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We spent a lot of time this sitting debating education. I'd like to ask the Minister of Education now how the ambitious plans for post-secondary education are rolling out of the departmental level and if he can give an update to the House on the work to date on developing a thorough post-secondary education regime to the Northwest Territories. Thank you.

I appreciate that explanation from the Premier. There's a clause in that Devolution Agreement that allows us to take disputes through that process. Is the Premier going to use the Devolution Agreement to bring Canada to task on this issue? I should point out that it's not a permanent ban. It's a five-year ban that can be revisited, so is the Premier going to wait for five years until we can revisit that decision or are we going to access the Devolution Agreement to start these negotiations early and as he's clearly stated, he's a strong believer in this economic opportunity. Are we going to...

Thank you, and thank you for that clarification from the Minister. I will move on to asking about the perimeter fence. Again, this seems to be funding that is allocated to address the security concerns that emerged after that escape. Is that correct for this $414,000 fencing project? Thank you.

Thank you to the Minister for that answer. What is the nature of this investment? I am sorry if I missed that. We are not talking about building a new building, here? Are we making additional space to an existing asset? What are we approving, here? Thank you.

Mr. Chair, I move that consideration of Tabled Document 383-18(2): Supplementary Estimates (Operations Expenditures), No. 2, 2017-2018, be now concluded and that Tabled Document 383-18(2) be reported and recommended as ready for further consideration in formal session through the form of an appropriation bill. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I will certainly encourage and potentially facilitate those discussions with the Minister's department. We have an immigration framework and action plan that's currently in development as of this year. Kind of what I was getting at with the last one: will the Minister find a place for family reunification in that framework, even if it is just advocacy items that will go to the federal government? Will he make it clear when we develop that strategy that family reunification is on the agenda, even if it is not directly our responsibility? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I move that we rise and report progress. Thank you, Mr. Chair.