Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, on February 9th, I gave a Member's statement on the Innovate Centre in Inuvik and the dire situation that it's in and requested that the Minister speak with the chair of Aurora College to look at continuing the funding.
Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Minister of ECE. I guess my first question is, is she aware that they've now been given notice that the funding will be done at the end of March and the Innovate Centre is to shut down maybe, Mr. Speaker, forever. Thank you.
Thank you, Member from Inuvik Boot Lake. Minister of Education, Culture and Employment.
Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, certainly the Member has raised this in the House and in this building before, and it's certainly a huge loss to the community. I definitely always think that there are creative ways that we can look at futures of buildings and programs and see how they can evolve and that often requires a broad conversation with lots of people at the table so that we can make sure that we're being creative in future uses as well. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And I wholeheartedly agree but similar to what happened with CLCs, it can happen so quick. What the centre is looking for, Mr. Speaker, is one-year funding, approximately $200,000, to continue and do that work that the Minister is talking about, to find new ways to kind of have the Innovate Centre amalgamate with the community. So what I am asking the Minister, can the Minister find a way to keep this centre open, to find that $200,000 to keep this centre open for another year to do the things that she's suggesting they do?
Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, there is not dollars within the education, culture and employment budget that have been dedicated to this purpose. There is, however, the SEED programming which does and has seen applications come through, for example, in order to hire and work with consultants on the evolution of businesses, and certainly a SEED application might be a space where some of those dollars can be discovered to really help plan for the next chapter and next phase of this program. Thank you.
Thank you, Minister of Education, Culture and Employment. Final supplementary. Member from Inuvik Boot Lake.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Again, I agree, but as the Minister knows, SEED funding does not cover core funding and it would be good for the governance, absolutely to get that, but this is a volunteer board. Can the Minister commit to once again bring this up with the chair of Aurora College -- I had asked for that back on February 9th -- to implore him to find a way to -- and the board, to keep this centre open for another year so they can find a way to keep it open forever. Thank you.
Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I can certainly commit to discussing this with the chair of Aurora College board of governors. Thank you.
Thank you, Minister of Education, Culture and Employment. Oral questions. Member from Frame Lake.
