Home page

Text size

E-mail this page

SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
A Yellowknife MLA says there is an "urgent" need for a new stand-alone Aurora College campus in Yellowknife.

Frame Lake MLA Wendy Bisaro made her pitch to the legislative assembly on Friday. She said while it remains to be seen how much a new facility would cost the government to build, in the interest of fairness, planning for a new stand-alone building should be farther along in the process than it is currently. She pointed out that the Inuvik and Fort Smith campuses both have their own stand-alone campus buildings and "designated housing infrastructure," as opposed to in Yellowknife where student housing is rented from the rental market.

"There has been a lot of talk about this project, but so far no concrete action," she said in the assembly.

"We should be anticipating the start of actual construction in three or four years' time. Are we there yet? I think not."

Aurora College currently occupies a portion of the Northern United Place building on Franklin Avenue and 54 Street and in recent decades, GNWT has had a lease agreement with NWT Community Services Corporation to maintain the college there. The property managers would not provide any information about the history of the college's occupancy.

"A stand-along building is quite different than being housed within a building that has other uses as well," said Bisaro of the college's situation.

"Northern United Place has been fixed up in the past so that classrooms are workable and it is not a bad space, but it is not their own space."

Bisaro said that while the issue has been in discussion for the better part of the last decade, she wanted to ensure the college remains a priority and is concerned about the lack of concrete plans by the government. Among the problems she notes are an ever-expanding nursing program, the lack of a student centre, and classrooms that get too hot in the summer and too cold in the winter.

Education Minister Jackson Lafferty said discussions about a new building between the GNWT and the college are ongoing and "very preliminary." He is hoping the territorial government and the college can provide more clarity on the issue by this fall with potential funding in the capital budget and a new finalized lease agreement.

He also hopes to build partnerships with outside bodies such as the city and interested corporations and to make a convincing case to cabinet for capital money.

"We are in the process of expanding the (Northern United Place) lease agreement for two years minimum up to five years," he said.

"That will give us some time for a potential stand-alone building. We are still in the preliminary stages of finding partners and finding funds at the GNWT."

Lafferty said he expects the GNWT to continue with the Northern United Place lease in future years, and that it will be part of the challenge to "fully utilize" the space there. Solidifying the lease agreement will provide a time frame in which the government can plan for a new building.

Yellowknifer attempted to contact Aurora college president Sarah Wright Cardinal and other officials with the college but was referred to Jane Murray, manager of communications and college relations, who works at the Fort Smith campus. Murray did not return calls by press time Monday. Cardinal had expressed the need for a stand alone facility during a convocation ceremony at the Yellowknife campus last month, saying "you can't make a silk purse out of a sow's ear."

Carissa Chung, a student who graduated this year with a Bachelor of Science degree in Nursing, said based on her experience, there is definitely a need for a new building.

"Absolutely I feel there is a need for the program because (the nursing program) is really growing," she said.

"Since I started in first year, I know the class sizes have been increasing each year. Now they seem to be turning down more students every year, at least compared to when I applied in first year."

Chung also said she was lucky to get into residence in her second year after waiting the first, but said student housing remains inadequate.

"Right now they don't even have close to the amount of housing as they should compared to the amount of students," she said.

"It is very restricted for families or students from out of town with the plan to eventually accommodate everyone."

We welcome your opinions. Click here to e-mail a letter to the editor.