MLAs put Nunavut Arctic College under the microscope

Some MLAs had questions on Tuesday for the minister responsible for Nunavut Arctic College, about trades training in communities, teacher shortages, and online learning.

Baker Lake MLA Craig Simailak said in the legislature that trades training through the college should be made available to people studying at the community learning centres along with the regional hubs. The college has community learning centres in all 25 Nunavut communities.

When asked for her position on this proposal, Karen Nutarak, the territory's minister of Nunavut Arctic College, said communities need to gain third-party funding to make it possible.

However, Simailak said a contractor in Baker Lake acquired third-party funding and still couldn't make it happen in that community.

"They kept getting pushed back from the Nunavut Arctic College to even start that program," Simailak said in the legislature. "So the minister just said that funding is an issue, but this time it was not an issue.

"Will the minister commit to having the Nunavut Arctic College open their doors and make it available for trades training to happen outside of the regional hubs?"

In response, Nutarak said yes.

'In order to educate our youth, we need teachers': MLA

The shortage of teachers at the college was also raised in the legislature on Tuesday.

Arviat South MLA Joe Savikataaq asked what Nutarak was doing to rectify shortages in teachers in programs that are affiliated with Memorial University in Newfoundland and Labrador. Savikataaq pointed out that Nutarak had asked that same question to then-minister Daniel Qavvik during last winter's sitting.

Arviat South MLA Joe Savikataaq asked about the shortage of teachers in affiliated programs formerly run by McGill University. (Matisse Harvey/Radio-Canada)

"I've always advocated for educating our youth to the most of their potential and getting on to careers," Savikataaq said in the legislature, in English. "In order to educate our youth, we need teachers."

Nutarak said in Inuktitut that there was some fine-tuning that needed to be done after those program affiliations were transferred to Memorial from Montreal's McGill University.

"We will be doing a review and making some changes for improvement," she said.

But Savikataaq wasn't done quoting things Nutarak asked about in the past, such as how Inuit students were struggling with the Nunavut Teacher Education Program course work, and that many of them were dropping out. Nutarak had suggested those students struggled less and had more support when the program was affiliated with McGill, Savikataaq said.

When Savikataaq asked if the program could be transferred back to McGill, Nutarak said in Inuktitut that they would look into it.

Karen Nutarak is the minister responsible for Nunavut Arctic College. (Nick Murray/CBC News)

Online learning also brought up

Also on Tuesday, Aivilik MLA Solomon Malliki asked how the college has used modern technology to help students who may not be able to attend classes in person.

"One impact of the COVID pandemic was to increase online access to educational opportunities," he said in English. "Nunavut's school system quickly adapted to the situation by offering course work online so that the students won't miss too much of their schooling during lockdown."

Malliki asked which courses at the college are being offered online, and how many students were taking advantage of online learning. Nutarak did not have that information on hand.