Thank you, Mr. Chair. Given that
we’re on the page, I just have a real quick question. I see that the graduate placement program is being reduced, and I understand that’s due to lack of enrolment or lack of uptake on the program, which makes sense. I mean, if we don’t have enough students, it makes sense not to spend the money — or rather, to reinvest that money in more appropriate areas. But it raises a different question to me.
Given the importance of nurses and the success we’ve had at Aurora College and intake on that nursing program, I’m really curious why the enrolment is dropping off so far. I understand that graduate levels next year.... There will only be
seven nurses graduating out of the Aurora College nursing program. Given the importance of northern nurses and their ability to contribute to our system and hopefully help us alleviate some of our challenges, what is the department doing to help increase enrolment at Aurora College, thus increasing the number of nurses in the program?
Which leads to another question: if you do that and it works, and your enrolment goes back up, are you not going to be in trouble on the grad placement front? Are you then not going to have enough money to place the grads as you currently do?