Thank you, Mr. Chair. I would just like to confirm that committee would like to consider the tabled document before us, Department of

Education and Transportation, as well, if we get that far. Thank you.

Okay. Thank you, Ms. Bisaro. Does committee agree?

We’ll just add that to today’s list of agenda items. Minister Lafferty, do you have witnesses you’d like to bring into the Chamber?

Yes, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Mr. Lafferty. Does committee agree?

Great. If I can get the Sergeant-at-Arms to please escort the witnesses into the House, please. Thank you.

Mr. Lafferty, would you like to introduce your witnesses to the House, please.

Mahsi, Mr. Chair. I have with me, to my left is Gabriela Eggenhofer, deputy minister, Education, Culture and Employment, and Mr. Paul Devitt to my right. He is the director of strategic business services with the Department of Education, Culture and Employment. Mahsi.

Thank you, Minister Lafferty. Mr. Devitt, Ms. Eggenhofer, welcome back to the House.

Committee, we are page 10-13, Education, Culture and Employment, activity summary, directorate and administration, operations expenditure summary, $10.521 million. I have Ms. Bisaro.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I have a number of questions in this section. I’d like to start with culture and heritage. I spoke last week about a request from a number of heritage groups in the NWT to the Minister to provide a bit more of a focus on heritage. The Minister, I think, sort of suggested that we do stuff for culture, and I’m not saying that we don’t. Or for heritage, I should say. There is a portion under this section of Education… Oh, sorry. We’re not on that page yet, are we? We’re on page 13. Right, Mr. Chair?

Okay. Thank you, Ms. Bisaro. Yes, we’ll address that when we get to the appropriate page. Moving on this page for questions, I have Mr. Bromley.

No questions.

Moving on this page, I have Mr. Hawkins.

I have questions on page 13. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I’m going to ask about the leadership structure of Aurora College and how they’re tied into the Department of ECE. The reason I’m asking that is because last week I had

asked questions about the capital planning for an Aurora College and how that process begins. To be clear and to make sure no one is fooled by my question, I’m not asking for the capital project this coming budget because we’re in an operations budget, so, as such, the planning is an operational issue.

Maybe if the Minister can enlighten us as to how the role of the Board of Governors and the president of the college plug into the administrative level of the Department of Education, Culture and Employment. Is the college in charge of the college? Is some director somewhere within the department in charge of the college? Because I want to get a sense of how we plan for a college. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Hawkins. Minister Lafferty.

Mahsi, Mr. Chair. Through the reporting mechanism, the president works closely with my deputy minister and also assistant deputy ministers pertaining to operations within the college. We provide funding on an annual basis and they provide a report at the end of the year. Then there is also a reporting mechanism within the college through board chairs and myself, as the Minister responsible. At the same time, we are going through a review of the reporting structure and accountability framework between the college and also working closely with my Department of Education, Culture and Employment. That is before us. It should be concluding real soon and we will be sharing that with the standing committee.

If I may, just to elaborate even further on detail of the reporting structure, I will ask my deputy.

Thank you, Minister Lafferty. Ms. Eggenhofer.

Thank you, Ms. Eggenhofer. Mr. Hawkins.

As it stands today, is the president of the college treated as an associate deputy minister when they report to the Department of Education, Culture and Employment? Are they treated as a director? Are they treated as an assistant deputy minister? Can you help define the role, because I want to get to the planning question,

and I want to make sure that if it’s clear on the record who is in charge of the president. Or are they on a shoulder-to-shoulder support role with the deputy minister in a similar manner and they report up through the Minister? I guess, in essence, who’s in charge of the president, setting aside the board governance factor, Mr. Chairman? But who’s in charge and who can apply direction and lack thereof, wording, orders for direction to the president?

Thank you, Mr. Hawkins. Mr. Lafferty.

The reporting and also appointing is laid out in the legislation. The president reports to the board, the Board of Governors for Aurora College. Also, I have working relations through various areas with the president. If there are things that need to be addressed or issues or concerns or ideas, then we would meet. The same with the college chair. I would have frequent contact with the chair as the need arises. But the reporting mechanism comes down to the president to the Board of Governors of Aurora College.

My question seems to continue to elude the department. I’ve asked to set aside the board governance, but when the board governance model, which we haven’t got to yet, is an issue to discuss, but when that message of the college… Maybe I’ll wrap it up this way, because it seems to cause a problem. When the message of the college comes forward, who trumps the message of the college at the department? Does the college itself report to a director somewhere within the system? Does the message of the college report to an associate deputy minister, an assistant deputy minister? Are they treated like maybe one of those, even the deputy minister? I’m not sure why this question is so challenging. Thank you.