Marci cho, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, [English translation not provided].

Marci cho, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, as we debate the cutbacks proposed for Aurora College, we must ask ourselves as an Assembly: what kind of territory do we want to be?

When the devolution agreement came into force in 2014 we promised our people we would build a territory and shape our future ourselves. Today, three years later, we are talking about shutting down two flagship programs at Aurora College: the teacher education and the social work programs.

If we cut the Teacher Education Program we turn back time nearly 50 years in history, hard work and success in training northern teachers here so our teachers can be taught by our own teachers.

Mr. Speaker, we are forgetting about the cost of cannibalizing our public education infrastructure. If the Teacher Education Program is cut, we will lose its staff, curriculum, supporting materials, agreements with other universities. It is very expensive and time-consuming to rebuild. The Teacher Education Program needs to be improved. We should fix it, not kill it.

Mr. Speaker, we say our people are our greatest resource. We say that we will invest in them and in our territory. We say that lifelong learning is a goal that we want our people to be our teachers, taught in an environment that respects and understands our rich history and the ongoing struggles of Aboriginal peoples in the territory.

All will be lost if we shut down TEP. If we are going to build our territory we must invest in the North and keep our education programs and infrastructure strong. Sending our students and education resources south to the provinces is a step backwards into the darker days of the last century. We will pay dearly for that in the long run. Mr. Speaker, I wish to seek unanimous consent to conclude my statement.

---Unanimous consent granted