Marsi cho, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, today I would like to speak on two ideas I have for post-secondary students in the NWT. On February 7 and again on May 31, 2018 a Member states turning the idea of the old Stanton Territorial Hospital into a nursing school as it transitions into a long-term care facility for seniors. Mr. Speaker, this idea is still relevant today and remains to be an idea which contains a lot of potential for the NWT. This is also an idea where I get more and more positive feedback as I talk about it. Therefore, Mr. Speaker, today I would like to reiterate some previous comments I made on this topic as well as some new ideas I'd like to share on expanding post-secondary education in the NWT.

Mr. Speaker, creating a nursing school at NWT has all the ingredients needed to foster employment across our territory. This would happen because we would create a facility which houses long-term care patients and will in effect serve as a school for students in and outside of Yellowknife. That would make it possible for seniors in all 33 communities to remain in their own homes. This would make it possible thanks to the newly trained nurses and homecare workers that would return to their communities to work in the field.

Furthermore, Mr. Speaker, looking forward into the future, I think the Department of Education, Culture and Employment should consider expanding the scope of the current science curriculum being delivered in Aurora College in Fort Smith. My vision for what the main changes might look like includes an implementation of a fully-fledged school for conservation and environmental studies. Mr. Speaker, such an investment in education would long serve the people of the NWT on a number of fronts: firstly, northern students who study this topic would acquire the option of remaining in the North during the entirety of their studies; secondly, the NWT would become better positioned to employ new students right out of post-secondary into a field of environment and conservation. Currently, Mr. Speaker, the federal government is investing in conservation across Canada. They put $1.3 billion in over the next five years as it has become the most significant investment in nature conservation in Canadian history.

Mr. Speaker, I seek unanimous consent to conclude my statement.

---Unanimous consent granted