Thank you, Mr. Chair. I guess it concerns me that we are voting on the appropriation today and we are not going to get it until later on.

I guess the next question is: if the Minister is going to be talking to the college, can he get us what other programs the college has reviewed in regard to their programs and when they have done those reviews? Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Mr. Thompson. Minister Moses.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I do have a meeting coming up with the president of the Aurora College, and I will be bringing some of these concerns forward. I am not sure if the Member is asking for all the programs, a list of when they were reviewed and last reviewed. Maybe he can be a little bit clearer. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Minister Moses. Mr. Thompson.

Thank you, Mr. Chair, and I thank the Minister for asking that question. Yes, I want all of the programs that are running at Aurora College at the campuses in Inuvik, Yellowknife, and in Fort Smith. For those programs there, what programs do they have, and which ones have they done reviews on? Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Mr. Thompson. Minister Moses.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Yes, as I said, we are having a meeting with the president and the administrator coming up later this month, and we will have those discussions. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Minister Moses. Mr. Thompson.

Thank you, Mr. Chair, and I appreciate the Minister for that commitment. I guess my concern is that I am looking at the college and the things that the college is doing right now. Don't get me wrong; they are doing a good job in a number of areas there. However, if we remove the Teachers Education Program and we remove the Social Work Program, we are only going to have the Nursing Program left, if it offers a degree or a diploma in that. Can the Minister verify that I am mistaken, or is that the direction that the college is going? Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Mr. Thompson. Minister Moses.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Early on in the session here, I had made a couple of statements in this House. We do have an ambitious post-secondary agenda moving forward. That includes legislation, looking at possibly the degree-granting programs, and also, with this foundational review that is going on, we are going to continue on that path and see how we can best make the Aurora College provide the best programs and services to our residents of the Northwest Territories. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Minister Moses. Mr. Thompson.

I thank the Minister for that answer. Thank you, Mr. Chair. I guess my concern is that I am listening to the direction that we are going with Skills 4 Success, and it sounds like we are going back to the old program of an adult vocational training centre. We are going back to the old model, and that is what is scaring me, that the college has developed to where we are and it seems to me that we are coming back to making it a vocational training centre.

Can the Minister clarify: is this the direction the department is looking at doing, or is Skills 4 Success part of that picture, or am I mistaken in looking at it this way? Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Mr. Thompson. Minister Moses.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. As I mentioned, we are on an ambitious agenda with post-secondary here in the Northwest Territories. I think that the Member is trying to have me make a response saying that we are making the decisions even before this foundational review is completed.

As I mentioned earlier, I think we are all excited and eager to see that report and the recommendations coming forward and working with Aurora College, looking at the future of Aurora College and the programs and services that it will provide, and the work that we are doing right across the whole gamut of post-secondary here in the Northwest Territories. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Minister Moses. Mr. Thompson.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. My personal opinion is that is the direction that I feel it is going. Post-secondary is accreditation to develop a university. Aurora College is actually by itself, so they are not going to interlink. Maybe I am mistaken about that, but I do have one other question on here.

In regard to the budget, labour market agreement for persons with disabilities, there is no money in there presently. Can the Minister explain why? Is it sunsetted, or is it a federal program, or is there a reason for that? Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Mr. Thompson. Minister Moses.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. We are currently in negotiations with the government of Canada. We are near to finalizing those agreements on the Labour Market Agreements for the Northwest Territories, and once those are finalized, we will see what the numbers are. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Minister Moses. Time has expired. Mr. Vanthuyne, then Mr. O'Reilly.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Just a couple of questions around apprenticeship, if I can. We have got some good programs that we either undertake or support. NWT Skills Canada is one of them, and I believe it's the SNAP program that is the work experience program that allows students to be involved in the trades while still attending high school and working towards their apprenticeships; but it seems as though, in the last year, we had budgeted $2,000,000 and almost $800,000 for apprenticeships. This year we're doing $2,300,000. We have about a $500,000 difference. Is this because we just aren't having as much uptake with apprenticeship registration? Is it a sign of the economy, that there just isn't as much construction going on? Can the department give us some commentary around apprenticeships, how many we have? Are the numbers increasing or decreasing? Why is the funding $500,000 less than it was last year? Thank you, Mr. Chair

Thank you, Mr. Vanthuyne. Minister Moses.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. There would be a number of variables, and I think the Member has alluded to a few of them, in terms of journeypersons with certificates. We have seen a decrease over the years. We continue to also look at having 389 apprentices who are current registered in the Northwest Territories. The good news is that we have developed an Apprenticeship Trades and Occupational Certification Strategy for the next five years, and that's being implemented by the working group and the steering committee. That's mainly made up of people in the industry. So hopefully we will start seeing some good improvements in that, and as, you, Mr. Chair, asked me questions in the House last week on updates on that program, we are almost a year into the implementation of that strategy, but we can look at both the steering committee and working group and try to get updates on how those are and what are some of our challenges. So we'll definitely keep an eye on that. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Minister Moses. Mr. Vanthuyne.