Mr. Speaker, my statement today is to emphasize the importance of post-secondary education in the Northwest Territories. Everyone is different and each one of us has different goals and ambitions in life. One of the benefits of living in this great territory, in this wonderful country, is that each of us has the right and the ability to choose our own path. As a result, our population is made up of trappers and carpenters, welders and lawyers, entrepreneurs and teachers, hunters and pilots. The wide variety of paths available to Northerners are all achieved in different ways, but all require a solid education. For some, their education happens in the bush; for others, it's in the cockpit of an aircraft; for many, required education happens in a classroom. One of the challenges for residents of the NWT, to choose whatever career path they want, is the availability of post-secondary education here at home in the North. Depending on the career they choose, young people may have to move away from home to get the education they need. Not only can that be expensive in spite of the NWT's generous Student Financial Assistance Program, but it's hard to have to move away from home and family to get an education. For that reason, I think it's important that our territory provides all possible support to post-secondary institutions that are emerging in the North. Not only will that allow Northerners to realize their individual dreams and goals, it also helps our territory to become a stronger well-rounded society, not only by providing a broad range of opportunities for Northerners but also by attracting academics, professionals, and students from around the world, people who want to learn about our part of the world, about northern peoples, cultures, languages, and ways of life. Currently, Aurora College provides an excellent service with the programming that it offers. Other academic institutions, like the Dechinta Centre for Research and Learning and the College nordique, are expanding into other fields and specialities. These and other institutions of post-secondary learning deserve our clear support and endorsement. Call it what you may, a university of the north or a territorial centre of excellence, the development of institutions of higher learning will provide opportunities for Northerners. Mr. Speaker, I seek unanimous consent to finish my Member’s statement. Thank you. ---Unanimous consent granted

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and thank you, colleagues. Beyond that, it will attract thinkers, authors, researchers, and specialists whose work will expand the northern body of knowledge, increase our capacity across the territory, and develop our abilities as a society. Later I will have questions for the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment about our support for post-secondary education in the NWT.