I would be interested in some information from the department in terms of the costing of that. I appreciate the Minister just indicated that this is at a very preliminary stage, maybe it's not even that far. But I would like to see this being discussed and considered by the policy section or whoever does the long-term planning in the department. I would think that the profiles of the students, enrollment rates and money already being spent, the age of the building that it's in now; Northern United Place is not one of the newest buildings in town. I'm sure that it has its own lifespan that you have to consider, as well as the leases that the college will be expected to pay in future. I will be interested in getting some information from the Minister in the not-too-distant future about what the potential and feasibility is. I guess as we continue to have a shortage of space in the campus to provide the programs that the students are looking for, and if it continues to be the case that students cannot afford to go to school in Yellowknife because everything is just too expensive, then we may see students choosing to go south for schooling or to other communities in the North. But I do believe that there are students who want to pursue education here, and that they're not in a position to move anywhere else, or they don't want to; they want to do it in Yellowknife. I'd like to see some information along with the profile that I've asked for from the Minister in that area.
One other thing I want to see is I would like to have Aurora College becoming a university level sometime in the near future. I don't know how a college becomes a university, but I guess it's by practice and by offering more university programs as the time goes on. I realize that the teacher education program is offering university level programs, although it's not until 2004, so the students that are finishing the three-year program this year will have to go south if they want to continue and finish the four-year program.
This may be just a hypothetical question, but I really feel that there is so much happening in the North in terms of political development and cultural development historically, I think that there is a place in the North for scientific research and economic research. The Aurora phenomenon could be something that could be studied in the North. We have lots of mineral development going on with diamonds and everything else that I'm sure is of interest. I remember watching on CBC these scientists from all over the world -- Japan and everywhere from Inuvik -- in Inuvik studying. They were digging...I'm sounding really unscientific, but apparently there's frozen gas deep, deep underneath that is of academic interest to everybody. Politically, whether it's studying of the consensus government or all of the Aboriginal self-governments that are being settled, I just think that the more that I am involved in political life I am beginning to appreciate more and more critical academic thinking about what people are doing. You know, the decisions we are making as political actors, and business leaders and science and so on. I'd love to see a university level academic institution in this part of the world. I don't know, maybe I should ask the Minister. How does a little college become a university? Thank you.