R.J. Simpson

Thank you, Madam Speaker. Madam Speaker, I'd like to recognize Georgina Lloyd. She is the assistant deputy minister with Northern Affairs for Crown Indigenous and Northern Affairs Canada. She is in Yellowknife this week and has meetings with the Aurora College transformation staff to discuss federal engagement opportunities relating to the transformation of Aurora College into a polytechnic university, and we're happy to have her here. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. A lot of assumptions in that statement there. One of the first assumptions was that I have the whole government at my disposal. And I wish that was the case but that is not the case. And the other assumption is that I can make something like this happen. The fact is that we need students and we need employers to get together and work on this. And we are making efforts. There have been advances in the past few years; we've seen the numbers increase. And we are now working as a government to explore how we can get SNAP students into employment with the Government of the...

Mr. Speaker, I wish to table the following document: Followup letter for Oral Question 127419(2): Aurora College University Campus Accessibility. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Yes, that work is underway. As I stated, the Department of Infrastructure is actually looking at a couple students in different regions to take them on as SNAP students. So that work is happening. And, again, I'll say that when I came into this role I really did start pushing apprenticeships. Not that the department wasn't pushing them before but it really was one of my focuses. And, you know, we've seen more efforts gone into this area and we're continuing to see that. You can see it through the collaboration between ECE, the Department of Infrastructure, and other...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And just to correct the record, there are 24 SNAP students in the territory and 14 SNAP apprentices. After a student graduates from being a SNAP student, they can become an actual apprentice in the SNAP program. So some of the barriers are the fact that we only have so many employers and so many students in the territory. It is not always easy for employers and especially small employers to take on apprentices, although the government does provide funding for that. There are issues around and I'll say that we've had trouble attracting people in the trades for a while...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Summer students falls under the I guess the purview of the Department of Finance. That's generally where those types of questions go. Nonetheless, I'm happy to promote the idea of hiring students to my Cabinet colleagues, and I'll do that wholeheartedly. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I think that question deserves a full answer so what I'm going to do is take it on notice, and I'll return to the House with an answer. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And students who are 19 to 21, they can return to high school. I know that a one or twoyear age difference when you're a teenager is a big deal and so it can be difficult for students to return. I mean, a 21yearold doesn't want to sit with 17yearolds, and that's understandable. Some communities have alternative high school programs. Some of these are flexible programs. Perhaps you could attend on the evenings or on weekends, understanding that older students might have jobs that they need to attend to. In Inuvik, there is the Sunchild ELearning Community program as well...

Mr. Speaker, February is Indigenous Languages Month in the Northwest. Territories. [Translation unavailable].

This month let us celebrate the territory’s nine Indigenous languages and learn about the important role language revitalization plays in advancing reconciliation in a real and meaningful way.

Mr. Speaker, for generations Indigenous people have lived under systems designed to erode their cultures, strip their identities, and erase their languages. Here in the NWT and across Canada, we have seen a profound loss of language among Indigenous residents and communities. I am one of the...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. So there are currently a few options for people. Students can take upgrading at Aurora College. They can take the adult literacy and basic education program. And so that is it's upscaling programming, and there are no tuition associated with this program. There's also the university and college access program and the occupation and college access program at the college. There are fees associated with this, but they are supported through student financial assistance.

As the Member has stated, and I've also stated, we are aware there is a gap here despite these programs...