The summer student program is very important tool that the Government of the Northwest Territories has to hire students, to introduce them to government work, to introduce managers to potential future hires as a recruitment tool, and a retention tool, as well.
As it was last year, Mr. Speaker, once the COVID-19 pandemic went through the spring and the summer and workers returned to their offices, we were able to bring some students on. As I said, 236 students were hired. It, right now, does depend on each department, what their needs are. What we are trying to communicate, again, number one is that it's for students to register for the program, but then also for departments to be able to communicate their own needs and to be conscious of the fact that we have a number of students who we want to have returning.
In short, Mr. Speaker, there's not a set contingency plan. It will, of course, depend department on department, and it depends on what may or may not come this summer. Right now, it is certainly our hope that we learned a lot from last year's process, and we learned a lot about how to get people back to work. Relying on that, we are looking forward to a good season. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.