Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, Mr. Speaker, your Standing Committee on Social Development is pleased to provide its Report on review of Bill 39: An Act to Amend the Post-Secondary Education Act and commend it to the House.

INTRODUCTION

Bill 39: An Act to Amend the Post-Secondary Education Act (Bill 39) was first introduced by the Department of Education, Culture and Employment on November 24, 2021, and then referred to the Standing Committee on Social Development for review.

The Department proposed changes to the Northwest Territories' Post-Secondary Education Act that would add details on quality assurance review, correct errors, and ensure alignment with the implementation of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. Bill 39 proposes changes to:

• Remove a pre-condition to being recognized as an Indigenous institution;
• Allow for the charging of fees and costs related to applications and quality assurance review processes;
• Require a quality assurance review of an application for registration as a private training institution and for a renewal of that registration;
• Clarify the role of a Post-Secondary Education Advisory Committee;
• Give the Minister additional powers concerning the establishment of a committee and standards a committee must follow;
• Allow for regulations to prescribe the quality assurance body to which a particular type of application is referred and to prescribe matters relating to that referral;
• Allow the Minister to order a refund of tuition fees on suspension or revocation of an authorization;
• Require specific Boards or other governing bodies to establish quality assurance processes for programs of study offered by an institution; and,
• Improve the use of consistent language throughout the Act.

The proposed amendments focus on addressing gaps and inconsistencies as identified by the Department when drafting the regulations required for implementing the PSE Act. The Act received assent in August 2019 and is not yet in force.

The main changes proposed by the Standing Committee include:

1. Narrowing the powers of Post-Secondary Education Advisory Committees to quality assurance matters.
2. Requiring a minimum of half of the members to Post-Secondary Education Advisory Committees to be Indigenous.
3. Increasing consistency within the legislation.

The Standing Committee wishes to thank all those who participated.

WHAT WE HEARD

The Standing Committee held a public engagement period from December 22, 2021, to February 4, 2022, and a public hearing in Yellowknife on March 24, 2022.

The Standing Committee received written submissions from Aurora College, the City of Yellowknife, and the Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner of the Northwest Territories.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would now like to pass the reading of the report to the MLA for Great Slave. Thank you.