Just day-to-day operations. We always meet with our organizations that we do fund. This is just day-to-day operations and meetings. Once the announcement came out, we had to go out and talk to superintendents to get input on this new budget announcement that was addressed earlier on in this sitting. They are just day-to-day operations that we always have, meetings with superintendents.

I believe I heard the Minister say last week in this House that he was going to personally attend this meeting. Is that the case anymore?

Yes, when we have time, I will be getting out and having discussions with the superintendents as well as the boards to make sure we do have that smooth transition and roll-out of junior kindergarten.

Masi. Oral questions. Member for Frame Lake.

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Thanks to the Minister. It doesn't sound like there is going to be one meeting where everybody is in the same room. I will try it one more time: how can the Minister say that junior kindergarten is going to be fully funded by GNWT when there are still these two outstanding issues, whether there is going to be inclusive funding for junior kindergarten students and the busing issue has not been resolved? How can the Minister say that it is fully funded? Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.

As I mentioned, we give out about $152 million to all the boards. Those budgetary items that the Member is bringing up, those are decisions made by the school boards themselves on how they allocate the dollars that we give to them. Those are decisions made by the school boards. As I mentioned, our staff is meeting on an ongoing basis with the superintendents to make sure that this roll-out of junior kindergarten is as smooth as possible. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Masi. Oral questions. Member for Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh.

Masi. Minister of Education, Culture and Employment.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As I mentioned, Aurora College does have the autonomy to make these decisions when they are looking at reductions. As I mentioned earlier, when we have low enrolment rates, low graduation rates, but we still have a full staff, those are decisions that we have to look at, how we spend our dollars more efficiently, the tax-payer dollars. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

No one from Aurora College with their full autonomy is here to answer questions on why they are doing cuts, so I ask the Minister. Because the process is a longer process and we were looking at it last year, and we are looking at 2020 as to when the TEP program would end. That's not even in this government. Although they have autonomy, my understanding is that there would be some sort of a strategic plan in place. Prior to finalizing these decisions, if the strategic plan is completed by the college and there's some indication that this program could be saved, would the department work with Aurora College to continue the Teacher Education Program?

We are still waiting for that strategic plan, so we're not sure what's in it yet. Once we do find the strategic plan is developed, we will share it with committee to move forward. I still have to say that we do have one of the best Student Financial Assistance programs in the country, and we continue to support our students who want to go and get an education to other institutions and give them the support that they need to succeed, as well.

I recognize that this Teacher Education Program could be a little bit of a departure from the standard teacher education programs that may be offered in the South because many of the students are from the North. They're individuals who can be housed at Fort Smith. They have opportunities there that they may not see in the South. I recognize that there is a good SFA program. I'm wondering if the Minister could tell us how we would be able to get teachers to teach in the schools in a small community, which has proven to be very valuable, if this program gets cut?

As I mentioned, we do have one of the best Student Financial Assistance programs in the country, and we do support our students. We've made improvements to that program. The students who are impacted with the reductions that were brought forth through the Aurora College system, those things are still going to get the support that they need moving forward. Any transitions that are going down south to another institution, they'll continue to work with University of Saskatchewan to make sure that the students get that education and can be teaching here in the North.

Masi. Oral questions. Member for Kam Lake.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the Minister of Education has made several statements about a need to ensure value for money at Aurora College, and I need to ensure we have adequate programming to support our fiscal bottom line and the contribution agreements -- the government's and Aurora College's fiscal bottom line. I wonder if that's not part of our strategy moving forward. I've asked questions in this House, to the Minister, about an apprenticeship strategy, and I was told money will not be allocated to that until the plan has been put into effect. Do we have a working draft of that plan from our side in how we're allocating money to Aurora College, or is it, as he says, he has no idea what the college is doing, they're completely on their own recognizance, and there's minimal contact between staff at ECE and Aurora College in working on this long-term strategic goal for the college? Thank you.

Minister of Education, Culture and Employment.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We currently have a contract with a third party consultant that's going out talking to key stakeholders on what they want to see presented to Aurora College programming and the strategic plan that they're developing. We have a third party consultant that's doing all that work. Once that report is done, it will be presented to Aurora College, the board of governors, as well as our department. Once we get that strategy, that report, we will share it with Regular Members to get their input, as well. I do know that Members have been asked to do a questionnaire and a survey with the third party consultants, so we're already hearing some of these inputs from the Regular Member as well as key stakeholders. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The plot thickens, it seems, with this third party consultant. When was that contract signed with the consultant, and how long has this work been going on for?

I don't have the exact dates, but I could get it to the Member if he wishes. Probably in the fall time was when we made that announcement, and they went out and started doing their consulting.

The honourable Member does so wish it, and I believe honourable Members of the Standing Committee of Social Development would like to see that as well, if the Minister could make that commitment to provide details of this consultant's work with both myself and Members of the Standing Committee on Social Development.

Yes, and I can also pull up some documentation in which I believe we did send all Members of this Legislative Assembly an e-mail talking about the strategy and giving input into the strategy, as well as going on the Aurora College website to give input into that as well.

Oral questions. Member for Kam Lake.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I am aware of the strategic plan, just not this consultant's report. I think that's a very important piece of this puzzle. Finally, Mr. Speaker, given that there is a need to reassess how we are providing funding to post-secondary education, will the Minister commit to looking into enriching the partnership with Dechinta and College nordique, who are private sector, private post-secondary education institutions who have shown exponential growth and an ability to leverage their own funding? Will the Minister commit to making that possible coming out of this review, the strategic review? Thank you.