As the department of education waits to fill its associate deputy minister position with an expert, the Aurora College social program is under no plan for short-term preservation.
In the legislative assembly Oct. 15. MLAs Julie Green and Kieron Testart grilled Education Minister Caroline Cochrane about why the the GNWT cut funding despite the programs inherent value.
Until the department hires an associate deputy minister (ADM) for post-secondary renewal, the department cannot make any decisions on the review or the social work program, said Cochrane.
In the 15-year forecast for needs in the territory, social work is in the top 10, said Cochrane.
“We need to have those programs. We would not offer a program that was not up to par,” she said.
No matter the result, Cochrane wants a “real campus and polytechnic,” she said.
The call for a new ADM closes at the end of this month, with a new hire set for the end of 2019, said Cochrane.
Green asked Cochrane if the department of education will use the foundational review to start making course offerings for a new polytechnic institution.
Green fired back at the minister's answer, stating that the hiring of an expert shouldn't stand in the way of the college's short-term preservation.
It would not be “appropriate” for a minister without the expertise to develop post-secondary education to design Aurora College, said Cochrane.
“My degree is in social work. It is not on running post-secondary education. I need the expertise,” said Cochrane.
One of three instructors has already departed the college, and there are a handful of students completing the program, said Green.
“I regret that the Minister has had a full glass of mumbo-jumbo for lunch and we are not getting anywhere with trying to understand how to preserve the strengths of this program within the time that is still allotted to it,” said Green.
Cochrane could not say who would be left in the social work program by next year but that she is “not willing to let Aurora College stay status quo,” she said.
The external review shared earlier this month by Green, who obtained it through an access to information request, directly contradicts the GNWT's move to cut funding, she said.
“I believe that one of the reasons this review has not been made public is because it contradicts the government's line. The review shows the program is worthwhile. It should never have been cut. Instead, it must be redeveloped to improve student success,” said Green.
While the program flounders, Green is asking Cochrane what the department will do to protect the program until it hires an expert decision maker.
The program is dying a “slow death” despite its strengths, including meeting requirements for licensed social workers and training students who are from the region they will be working in after graduation, said Green.
At an Oct. 4 constituency meeting for MLA Frame Lake Kevin O'Reilly, Cochrane fielded questions from residents who were concerned about the future of Aurora College.
Students are flunking out because they are unable to take university level elective courses in Yellowknife, Cochrane acknowledged.
She said the review was very “negative focused” during that meeting.
It should be redeveloped as a bachelor of social work degree, which would ameliorate the challenges students face in taking third and fourth-year courses in their first year of university.
Moving Aurora into a polytechnic university would not mean “becoming all to everyone” and quality programming is a must, said Cochrane.
A future for Aurora College must establish an “identity” for those who attend and specialize in transferable and recognizable credentials, she said.
– Avery Zingel
GNWT could pilot managed alcohol program for sobering centre
A managed alcohol pilot program could be considered by the Department of Health and Social Services (HSS) as early as one year into the Yellowknife sobering centre's opening.
The centre is a “huge and welcome shift” to serving the downtown population, said MLA Julie Green in the legislative assembly Oct. 16.
The new facility is “more than just a place out of the cold,” she said.
The sobering centre is a "welcome" change to services for people living with addiction and homelessness in downtown Yellowknife, said MLA Julie Green.
Its expanded services for bathrooms, showers and laundry as well as access to health and social services are a shift to help those living with addictions.
Partnerships with the city's street outreach, RCMP and the Arctic Indigenous Wellness Foundation all converge in the new facility.
“All of this flows from an understanding that our fellow citizens are suffering and that non-judgmental support can reduce the harms of addictions, poverty, and homelessness,” said Green.
Intoxication in the downtown care is a common public concern, said Green, adding that the shelter is not the source of these problems.
“Services must be offered where clients are found,” she said.
Green congratulated Minister Glen Abernethy for “championing” the need for improved resources that are difficult to find.
She asked whether HSS would consider a managed alcohol program in this assembly.
Abernethy is “committed” to having HSS explore a possible managed alcohol program pilot at least one year after the shelter first opened.
“We have seen that the managed alcohol program does work in other jurisdictions. I had an opportunity to visit a managed alcohol program in Ottawa which is getting some really great results,” said Abernethy.
Additional staff on site connect clients with healing, anger management and information on healthy relationships.
Green asked how the department will continue to monitor the effectiveness and delivery of the new centre as a harm reduction measure.
HSS contracted NWT Disabilities Council to track individuals using the service and the value of services people expect and need.
Arctic Indigenous Wellness Foundation is using the program space to offer programming.
Green asked for additional funding to the Common Ground litter pick up program to address increased littering in the area.
Abernethy said he was unsure of the financial situation of the program, but acknowledged its value and said he was willing to explore continuing the program.
– Avery Zingel