June 30, 2011 - The ministers responsible for education in Canada’s three territories signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) today to express their mutual interests and goals in exploring approaches for university development in Canada’s North.

The governments of Yukon, Northwest Territories and Nunavut are committed to providing and supporting consistent, accessible, quality post-secondary education opportunities to all northerners, and recognizing the importance of offering an educational environment that includes a balance of academic and traditional lifestyles and pursuits.

“Signing this MOU takes the first step to bring our governments’ shared goal of university development in Canada’s North to reality,” said Minister of Education, Culture and Employment for the Government of the Northwest Territories Jackson Lafferty. “It is the next logical step in the evolution of our post-secondary institutions and will enhance the learning environment for northerners by providing quality post-secondary education close to home, where family and community supports are available.”

“We are excited to explore university models and advance the post-secondary capacity of Canada’s North,” said the Honourable Patrick Rouble, Yukon’s Education Minister. “This Memorandum is a commitment among our three territories to further develop practical, quality post-secondary options for northern students.”

“We know that our young people are the key to building our future and we want to help them develop the skills and abilities needed to take on leadership roles in our territory,” said Premier Eva Aariak, Nunavut Minister of Education. “A high-quality educational environment that maintains a balance between academic excellence and the culture, values and lifestyle of our northern students will provide the support they need to achieve success.”

“This is part of our continuing commitment to Nunavummiut to increase post-secondary opportunities in all occupational categories from career training to professional education,” said the Honourable Daniel Shewchuk, Minister responsible for Nunavut Arctic College.

To undertake this work, the three governments will form a tri-territorial committee to develop options on how to move forward with university development in Canada’s North. The Committee will work collaboratively to advance discussions with the Government of Canada on investments to support university development in Canada’s North.

The committee will include two representatives from each territorial government and an appointed chair. Participation from additional stakeholders is also being considered. The Committee will produce a discussion and options paper this summer for Ministerial consideration.

For more information, please contact:

Ashley Green                                                     Wende Halonen
Public Affairs  Officer                                        Communications Manager
Education, Culture and Employment                 Department of Education
Government of the Northwest Territories         Government of Nunavut
Phone: (867) 920-3059                                       Phone: (867) 975-5624
Email:  ashley_green@gov.nt.ca                          Email: whalonen@gov.nu.ca



Chris Madden                                                           Jamie Bell
Communications Officer                                           Public Affairs Officer
Department of Education                                         Nunavut Arctic College
Government    of Yukon                                            Government of Nunavut
Phone: (867) 456-6789                                            Phone: (867) 857-8625
Email: chris.madden@gov.yk.ca                              Email: jamie.bell@arcticcollege.ca