Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Just recently in the news yesterday and the information I was given the students, as well as instructors for the Social Work Program, historically we’ve had low admission as well as low graduation rates within that program, although I will say that there have been some successes for the people that did graduate. Aurora College does have the autonomy to make these decisions in where they're looking at moving forward with the programs that they provide. We support those decisions. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

What direction has the Minister given to Aurora College for its programming offerings and overall direction ahead of the strategic plan being released?

Early on in my position in the role of Minister of Education, Culture and Employment, we had given our board of governors a mandated letter on how we roll out programs within the Aurora College system, and we met with the board chair and the president to make sure that it's reflective of our strategic plan moving forward and the mandate that we, as 19 Members, have mandated our priorities in this government, and that that was the direction going forward.

With the strategic plan, we did make reference to our labour market information report as well as our Skills 4 Success document to make sure that our Northerners get the education that they need to get into the jobs that are in demand across the Northwest Territories.

Thank you to the Minister for that. It's good that we're giving more hands-on direction to the college, as they take a lot of our funding and, in fact, nearly all of our post-secondary education funding to provide these services.

Mr. Speaker, does the Minister believe that the college is properly resourced? Could the $3-million reduction that's being proposed in this budget have anything to do with the termination of programs such as the Social Work Diploma degree?

As I mentioned, the Aurora College does have that autonomy to make the decisions they need. We did give them direction with the mandate on the priorities that our government came up with at the beginning of the 18th Legislative Assembly. We looked at that labour market information demand. We are going through a strategy right now, and that strategy should be available in June. We are working with the board of governors, we are working with the president to make those changes.

Does this move by the college fit into the mandate of this Assembly and the direction it has set?

One of the things a Northern Social Work degree can do is help implement the TRC recommendations and help with the stated goals of reconciliation. I know first-hand that one of my constituents would prefer to work with an Indigenous social worker, with recent dealings with the health system. Does this move fit into the mandate? Can the Minister be clear in how it fits into the mandate, to cancel this program?

As I mentioned, the program historically has had low admission as well as low graduation rates. The mandate that we provided as a government is focused on Aurora College's focus and looking at our mandate when they develop their strategic plan.

I've got to remind the Member that we do have a great student financial assistance program, that we continue to support our students who want to go and get an education in other institutions, and we'll continue to provide that support. We've made great enhancements to that support. Any student who is concerned about this program, we will work with them to have a smooth transition into other institutions that provide the same quality, that will meet the TRC recommendations, and can hopefully come back up North and work and provide services to our residents of the Northwest Territories.

Masi. Oral questions. Member for Kam Lake.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, why are these decisions being made ahead of the strategic plan? I listed a number of them in my Member's statement, but we've seen a heavy equipment operators' facility, the termination of this diploma, aligning Aurora College with the labour market forecasting. These seem like strategic moves, so why are we making these decisions and reducing the contribution to Aurora College ahead of the release of the strategic plan? It seems like we are rushing to make changes without letting the public and Members of this House know exactly what is happening with our most important tool to provide quality post-secondary education in the Northwest Territories. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As I mentioned earlier, we are going to have the new strategic plan for the Aurora College. That's going to redefine how Aurora College runs its programs to provide the program services that our Northerners want to get into, and also for the in-demand jobs.

As I mentioned, this program in particular had low admission and low graduation rates. As I mentioned, again, the Aurora College, they have the autonomy to make the decisions that they want to do in terms of developing their whole strategic planning, and we support the decisions that the Aurora College makes. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Masi. Oral questions. Member for Sahtu.

Masi. Minister of Lands.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Of course, the Imperial Oil is responsible for the remediation of oil and gas operation at Norman Wells. I understand they've recently posted a $180-million irrevocable letter of credit. We're continuing to monitor and engage the Sahtu Land and Water Board's closure and reclamation planning process, so I can advise that we are on top of this file. This is a complex matter. Of course, the majority, in fact virtually all, of the assets of Imperial Oil are in the proven area, which is an area of federal responsibility. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I welcome the response. My next question is: will the Minister support an oversight committee? As I mentioned in my previous statements, there's a particular site outside the proven area boundary, so therefore there's a demonstration that oversight is needed outside of the proven area of boundary, which is an obligation to this government. My question is: is the Minister willing to support an oversight committee?

I understand that the MLA opposite also raised this question in September, and the Minister of ITI at the time thought that an oversight committee at that time was premature. I think that's still this government's position.

Moving forward, and to get some commitment so we have land management to address these issues of contamination, is the Minister willing to support, with my invitation, to have a stakeholders meeting here in Yellowknife, at his office?

Mr. Speaker, this is of course a very important issue, and I am willing to consider such a meeting. Perhaps it would be best if other Ministers were included, so I will consult with them and get back to the Member opposite on that issue. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Oral questions. Member for Nunakput.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my questions are for the Minister of Housing. My first question, Mr. Speaker, is: can the Minister identify the current number of in-use or available public housing and market rental units in Nunakput communities? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Masi. Minister of Northwest Territories Housing Corporation.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Within the region, within Tuktoyaktuk itself, we have 162 public housing units and nine affordable housing units; in Paulatuk, we have 57 public housing units and nine affordable housing units; in Ulukhaktok, we have 90 public housing units and 11 affordable housing units. Sachs Harbour, we have 20 public housing units and five affordable housing units. That makes a total, Mr. Speaker, of 320 public housing units and 34 affordable housing units.

I appreciate the response. Mr. Speaker, my second question is: how is the Housing Corporation progress in its housing project conversations with the Inuvialuit Regional Corporation?

As some of the Members may be aware, NWT Housing Corporation had originally had money in that region within this budget, this coming budget. We had to do a reallocation of that because the federal government gave the monies directly to the Inuvialuit Regional Corporation. So that was $15 million totally; $10 million coming up in the new fiscal year.

So the Inuvialuit Regional Corporation, which I will call "IRC" from here on, does have the discretion to use their funding as they see fit. However, we have met with them and we both decided that it is in the best interest to the residents of the Northwest Territories to work in partnership. So we have had many meetings with the IRC. We have given them our templates; they have come back. We have signed agreements. They are looking at tailoring some of the projects a little bit more. We gave them a range of ideas. They are liking the seniors' units at this point. So we are willing to work with them on their terms to ensure that the housing needs within the region are met and that we are providing the best services to the residents of the Territories.