Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, on the nominee program my question is, is 197 spots that we just heard about enough to meet the NWT's economic demand for this program? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Member for Range Lake. Minister of Education, Culture and Employment.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. No. Thank you.
Thank you. I would ask what the Minister is going to do about it, but I think she's had that opportunity. In the past, NTNP often opened in January of every year which set a rhythm for temporary workers' permits expiring in February and March. The NTNP has not yet opened. We know it's opening next month. How will the Minister support all prospective applicants who now can't apply when it eventually does open, because of this lag? Thank you.
Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. So, Mr. Speaker, last year we had three separate allotments awarded to the Northwest Territories from the federal government. So we started off at the very beginning of the year where on January 16th of 2025, we learned that our allotment had been cut in half. From there, we received two additional allotments throughout the year. The last one was awarded to us in the very last quarter. This meant that we had a decision to make. We either had staff prepare for our program for 2026, or we worked in order to make sure that we were processing those applications. The decision was made to ensure that we weren't losing out on prospective applicants to the Northwest Territories nominee program, and so we prioritized those applications. That means that our program this year, which is going to look much different so that we can maximize benefits to the labour needs of the Northwest Territories, will open in March of 2026.
I've also let the federal government know that having frequent allotments throughout the year and kind of changing the goalposts has meant that we can't be as strategic as we want to be, we can't plan like we want to be, and has an impact both to staff morale and also our ability to react here in the Northwest Territories as a smaller jurisdiction. Thank you.
Thank you, Minister of Education, Culture and Employment. Final supplementary. Member from Range Lake.
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.
Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I look forward to releasing the details of the program on Wednesday, on February 18th. That said, Mr. Speaker, there is going to be more demand for this program than what we have spaces for. We know this already. We knew this last year as well. This is going to be a challenge clear across Canada. I've heard from all of my immigration Minister counterparts how cuts to the program are going to impact their economic potential and their workforce needs in every province across this country. The Northwest Territories shares those concerns, and we continue to advocate to the federal government. Thank you.
Thank you, Minister of Education, Culture and Employment. Oral questions. Member from Yellowknife Centre.
