BUILDING THE FUTURE TODAY:

DEMOGRAPHIC, EDUCATION, AND SOCIO-ECONOMIC INDICATORS TOWARDS

A NEW NORTEP JOINT-USE, SHARED FACILITY

By Dr. Michael Tymchak

and Shuana Niessen

March 24, 2007

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Table of Contents

Abbreviations for References ............................................................ 3 Executive Summary ........................................................................ 4 Preamble .................................................................................... 7 The Pressures of a Knowledge Economy: An Opportunity to Include and to Prosper ............................................. 9

Demographic trends pose a threat to future socio-economic sustainability ......................................................... 9

Population Trends.......................................................................... 9

Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal populations ...................................... 9 Northern and Southern populations ..............................................11

Employment, Unemployment, and Labour Market Participation Rate Trends ..12

Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal.....................................................12 Northern First Nation Employment and Income Status ......................13

Encouraging Education Indicators ......................................................14

Increasing Northern School Enrolments..........................................14 With increased school enrolments there is a demand on post-secondary education, as well as, on training programs and services. ...................15

Post-Secondary Education leads to Employment which leads to Individual, Community and Provincial Prosperity ...............................................16

Lower employment and participation rates associated with lower levels of education .............................................................................16 Increased education means increased employment for First Nations and Métis people..........................................................................16

The Old Education Model ................................................................17

Inequity and Inadequacy ...........................................................17 The New Training Model .................................................................17

A Viable Framework for Education in the Knowledge Economy .............17 Some Recommendations for Rebuilding .........................................18

The Need for Post-Secondary Education in the North...............................18 New and Innovative Education Strategies are Necessary ...........................19

NORTEP and NORPAC: Successful and Innovative Strategies ....................20 NORTEP/PAC: Demonstrate the Priorities of the New Training Model.........20

Learner-centered programming...................................................20

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Accessible and Inclusive programming ...........................................21 NORTEP and NORPAC are designed to address institutional and personal Barriers .............................................................................22 Aboriginal Self-Governance .....................................................22 Other Barriers are Addressed...................................................22

Innovative and Collaborative Partnerships......................................22 Responsive and Flexible Programming ...........................................23

Linked to labour market while maintaining sensitivity to cultural concerns ............................................................................23 NORTEP/PAC: positively impacting the individuals, communities and government ........................................................................23

Building Towards the Future Today: A NEW NORTEP JOINT-USE, SHARED FACILITY........................................25

Responding to the needs of the future today......................................25 FUNDING REQUEST: DESIGN PHASE ...............................................26

References .................................................................................28 APPENDICES ................................................................................29 Appendix I: Estimated Building Needs ................................................30 APPENDIX II: Memorandum of Understanding.........................................32 Appendix III: Typical Budget Scenario $20 Million Facility ........................35 Appendix IV: NORTEP-NORPAC Board of Governors – Agencies ...................36 1st Printing March 2007 2nd Printing April 2007 3rd Printing July 2007

Abbreviations for References SIPP = Demographic trends and socio-economic sustainability in Saskatchewan: Some policy considerations [Public Policy Paper 19]. J. Stokes, (2003, October). Regina, SK: University of Regina, The Saskatchewan Institute of Public Policy. NTM = Final report of the 2005 Training System Review Panel. A new training model for Saskatchewan. D. McArthur, et al. (2005, November). Regina, SK: Saskatchewan Learning. NSTNAR= Northern Saskatchewan Regional Training Needs Assessment Report, 2006-2007. Northlands College. (2006, March). The Northern Labour Market Committee & Saskatchewan Learning. Impact = Innovation, Determination, Impact: The Impact of NORTEP/PAC After

30 Years. Michael Tymchak (2006, June). La Ronge, SK: Centre for Northern Research and Graduate Studies Education (CeNRGe).

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Executive Summary This document provides the rationale for a new NORTEP-NORPAC Joint-Use, Shared Facility and concludes with a request for $125,000 to support the planning and design phase for this major capital project in northern Saskatchewan. A brief outline of recent planning efforts is documented, including the formation of a widely representative Advisory Committee. The reasons that are offered for constructing the building include a wide-range of factors, opportunities and trends that are evident in northern Saskatchewan and the rest of the province. Demographic, socio-economic and educational trends and issues are, therefore, carefully examined. All of these elements are nested within the opportunities and constraints of the knowledge economy, and the New Training Model proposed by Saskatchewan Learning.

It is abundantly clear that being competitive in a knowledge economy is dependent on growing and developing an educated, highly skilled, technologically proficient workforce. However, the demographic trends in Saskatchewan pose a threat to future socio-economic sustainability and prosperity. Saskatchewan’s overall population is aging, decreasing, and does not fill the demand for a future labour market. One reason for this decline is the number of young people who are leaving the province to find employment. Over half of those who leave have completed post-secondary education. This out-migration of educated youth, along with an aging and shrinking labour force, puts a strain on Saskatchewan’s ability to grow and develop a competitive labour market.

Conversely, the Aboriginal and northern segments of the population are young and increasing in number. But, because Aboriginal employment and participation rates are so low, the growth in population increases pressure on the labour market and tax base, further threatening future sustainability. Still, while the problem of an aging workforce is in part associated with a trend for post-secondary-educated youth leaving the province, the North tends to retain its post-secondary educated and growing youth population. Aboriginal people are the fastest-growing, youngest and most-likely-to-stay segment of Saskatchewan’s population. Future hope is dependent upon increasing the employment and participation rates of First Nations and Métis people. Thus, while this problem is difficult and complex, the pressure of competing in a knowledge economy can also be seen as an opportunity to redress inequities and the marginalization of Aboriginal and northern populations in Saskatchewan thereby improving the quality of life for those who have been excluded from education and economic opportunities, and securing future prosperity. Saskatchewan must look to its full human resource capabilities in order to overcome the threat to socio-economic sustainability.

Raising education levels is key to the future success of Saskatchewan. Those with completed post-secondary education have significantly higher employment and participation rates than those who have not completed post-

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secondary education. Post-secondary education leads to employment which leads to individual, community and provincial prosperity.

In terms of K-12 education, there are encouraging signs in the northern segment of the population. While school enrolments are slowly declining in the south, the northern school enrolments show dramatic increases. Increased school enrolments create increased demand for post-secondary education and training programs.

However, on the whole, the education system has been unsuccessful in meeting the learning needs of the Aboriginal population, and post-secondary institutions continue to cater to professional and higher income families in urban locations. As the demand for post-secondary education increases, so does the need to mobilize, to make opportunities accessible to those who are educationally and economically marginalized.

In response to the demographic problems that Saskatchewan faces in a knowledge economy, a Saskatchewan Learning training review panel has made recommendations for a New Training Model. Among other priorities, this framework suggests the following: Education must become accessible, inclusive, learner-centered, continuous and progressive, flexible, responsive, innovative, supported by technology, and linked to labour force needs and employment opportunities. New strategies must be designed that recognize, strengthen, and incorporate the history, culture, language, values, and traditions of Aboriginal people. The northern segment of the population requires unprecedented and immediate actions to improve impoverished conditions due to a lack of educational and economic opportunities.

One such strategy is to build upon the successful foundations of the NORTEP and NORPAC programs by recognizing the urgent need for a new NORTEP Joint-Use, shared facility. The Northern Teacher Education Program (NORTEP), and the Northern Professional Access College (NORPAC) are well established programs based in La Ronge which deliver university courses and degree programs, from both the University of Saskatchewan and the University of Regina. NORTEP/PAC have already demonstrated many of the principles that are inherent in the New Training Model, and they are continuously looking for new possibilities to serve the northern Aboriginal population.

After 30 years of growing and responding to the needs of Aboriginal learners, it is evident that these programs have effected profound change in the socio-economic conditions of the northern regions of Saskatchewan. NORTEP/PAC tell a story of “innovation, determination and impact; and also a story of decolonization, self-determination, and development” (Innovation, Determination, Impact: The Impact of NORTEP/PAC After 30 Years. Centre for Northern Research and Graduate Studies Education, 2006, (Tymchak, CeNRGe, 2006, p. 1). NORTEP/PAC have literally transformed the human resources situation in the North. Their educational, cultural, administrative, and socio-economic impact are strongly evident. They have responded to community and learner needs for role models in education. NORTEP produces teachers who are speakers of both the Dene and Cree languages, and who reflect the culture of

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the students in their classrooms. A high percentage of NORTEP graduates teach in their home communities.

These programs have developed by using innovative organizational and administrative solutions to navigate resistance, maintain self-determination, and to decolonize their structure. NORTEP/PAC programs reflect an understanding of the difficulties in linking the labour market, economy, and culture. While economy and employment could be construed as a colonizing influence, exclusion from economic participation and unemployment would surely be more oppressive. NORTEP/PAC recognizes that intervention strategies must be implemented to stop the drainage of resources from less populated areas, to enrich, include, and invite participation for economic benefits.

For this reason NORTEP/PAC recognizes a call to respond to growing needs and further development. Three areas of critical need, linked to the labour market, are most apparent:

• teachers specializing in math and science • secondary teachers, and • careers outside of teaching

“There is a critical shortage of Aboriginal teachers at the high school level who are qualified to teach mathematics and sciences” (Final report of the 2005 Training System Review Panel. A new training model for Saskatchewan. Saskatchewan Learning, 2005, (NTM) p. 143.) Thus, the new NORTEP Joint-Use, shared facility would offer courses in the area of math and science. Also, Secondary teacher education is specialized in various subject areas: English, social studies/history, math, biology, chemistry, physics, physical education/health, law, and so on, requiring an array of course options. Further, there is need for programs related to careers outside of teaching. In order to support these expanded and enhanced program offerings, however, a new facility is urgently required: specifically, the building of a new NORTEP/PAC Joint-Use, Shared Facility. The construction of such a facility represents a major capital project for the north. This project promises to create a bright new light on the horizon of university education that is readily accessible to northerners, especially Aboriginal northerners. Although based in La Ronge, the historic home of NORTEP/PAC, the programming it offers will extend throughout northern Saskatchewan. Distance delivery and satellite campuses should certainly be part of the program concept that emerges from this important initiative. A request is made for $125,000 to support the planning and design phase of the new building. The function to be served by these funds is carefully documented. An account is also provided of the steps which have been taken to create a strong, broadly representative, inter-agency advisory committee needed to support the building project.

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Preamble Since its inception in 1976 NORTEP has always been housed in leased facilities belonging to another agency. The program began its life in the attic of the Old Gateway School, which belonged to the Northern School Board; shortly thereafter it moved to the old Pre Cam High School building when that became vacant and then, later, in 1984, it moved into the Mistasinihk Building in La Ronge, which belonged to the Government of Saskatchewan. At present there are two very strong constraints on this location as a home for NORTEP: a) as an educational facility the building has become seriously inadequate in many ways: its construction was never intended for educational use (so classrooms are far from sound-proofed); there are no adequate laboratory facilities; there is no lecture theatre of any kind, and there is critical shortage of classroom space; there is no proper teaching preparation centre, no cafeteria, no exercise space (much less a gymnasium), little storage room and no AV services space. b) the growth of the government’s own agencies has itself become quite pressing, and the 1,700 sq. metres of space currently occupied by NORTEP/PAC is urgently needed for Government service agencies. Moreover, the mix of clientele between a post-secondary education agency, and a variety of government’s agencies and departments, is far from ideal. In short, the government urgently requires more available space in the Mistasinihk Building, and NORTEP/PAC needs its own dedicated post-secondary education building suitable for universities studies. Although there has been an awareness of these needs for some time, it has recently become painfully evident that both sides of the need are now critical and demand urgent attention. In order to move things forward in September, 2006, NORTEP/PAC convened a Round Table discussion to which many agencies were invited to discuss the potential for building a joint use northern campus dedicated to post-secondary education. Many agencies responded to this call, including: the NORTEP-NORPAC Board of Governors; the Lac La Ronge Indian Band; the Northern Lights School Division; the Ile a la Crosse School Division; Creighton School Division; the Prince Albert Grand Council; and the First Nations University of Canada. Attendance at subsequent meetings also included representatives from Northlands College, the Meadow Lake Tribal Council, and the Northern Regional office of Saskatchewan Education. At a later meeting, in February, 2007, a Memorandum of Understanding was developed that is currently being circulated amongst the representatives in accordance with an amendment taken at the most recent

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meeting of the NORTEP-NORPAC Board of Governors, Friday, March 16, 2007 (see Appendix II: Memorandum of Understanding). At the March 16th meeting of the NORTEP-NORPAC Board of Governors, the following motion was passed: REQUEST FOR FUNDING NORTEP FACILITY: Motion 04/03/16/07 Moved by Doyle Vermette that senior staff apply for funding for the design phase of the NORTEP joint-use education facility with additional space to support program delivery of other partner agencies. The following document provides a rationale for the new building, and concludes by asking for $125,000 to support the planning and design phase of the building. The rationale itself covers a very broad range of considerations, all of which point strongly towards the need for a new home for NORTEP-NORPAC, together with ample space to support joint-use of the facility by many agencies. The rationale for this major capital construction project incorporates an analysis of economic and demographic imperatives, and well as educational needs that show promise for strongly impacting the labour market, in the north and throughout the province. All of these considerations are nested within the demands and opportunities that have been created by the knowledge economy and are consistent with, and supportive of, the New Training Model proposed by Saskatchewan Learning. This document should also be seen as complementary to, and supportive of, the Statement of Intent developed by NORTEP entitled, “Facility 2010: Northern Centre for University Studies” (Elie Fleury, Executive Director, NORTEP-NORPAC, March 2007).

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Demographics in Saskatchewan are negatively affecting the condition of the workforce, health care system, education, and race-relations, threatening long-term socio-economic sustainability in the province.

The Pressures of a Knowledge Economy: An Opportunity to Include and to Prosper

Demographic trends pose a threat to future

socio-economic sustainability

Saskatchewan has systematically and quickly responded to rapid

globalization and the increased competition of a knowledge economy. This global economic environment calls for diversification and development of knowledge-based economic sectors. Consequently, there is need to develop a larger, highly-skilled, educated, and technologically proficient workforce. However, Saskatchewan’s future prosperity and socio-economic sustainability are threatened by the demographic structure of Saskatchewan, and a shrinking labour market. “Demographics in Saskatchewan are negatively affecting the condition of the workforce, health care system, education, and race-relations, threatening long-term socio-economic sustainability in the province” (Demographic Trends and Socio-Economic Sustainability in Saskatchewan: Some Policy Considerations, The Saskatchewan Institute of Public Policy SIPP) (p. 1). Saskatchewan must look to its full human resource capabilities in order to overcome the threat to socio-economic sustainability. The search for new, innovative, and profitable ideas, so essential to a knowledge-based economy, must extend to the problem of marginalization, exclusion, inequity, and the inaccessibility of educational and economic opportunities for Aboriginal and northern people.

Labour force participation by Aboriginal people is now widely seen as essential to the economic future of Saskatchewan, but it is also essential to the political viability of Saskatchewan as a modern democratic province embracing values of inclusion, prosperity and social development (Policing the Future: The Changing Demographics of Saskatchewan, The Saskatchewan Institute of Public Policy, p. 2)

Population Trends

Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal populations Saskatchewan is characterized by an overall declining, and aging population. Compared to other provinces, Saskatchewan has a low population

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density. These factors place heavy demands on the tax base and negatively impact the ability to grow and develop a labour workforce that can meet the pressures of a global economy and secure future prosperity. The non-Aboriginal segment of the population is in decline because of several factors:

• A lower number of births than deaths • A higher number of out-of-province migrations

than immigrations. Saskatchewan also has an aging population caused by three factors:

• An increase in life expectancy, • the number of baby boomers moving into the 35-

54 age-group categories, • the number of young people migrating out of the

province to find employment. “The senior population in Saskatchewan is overwhelmingly (96 per cent) non-Aboriginal” (SIPP, p. 2). The province of Saskatchewan has the largest percentage of seniors. Not only is this aging, decreasing non-Aboriginal segment of the population unable to fill the needs of the growing labour market, but also, even more jobs will open up due to retirements, and many of these jobs require post-secondary education.

• Saskatchewan’s “baby boom” and ‘bust’ populations are smaller than other provinces because of out-migration. But the ‘echo’ is larger because the growth in the Aboriginal population coincides with the ‘echo’. (SaskTrends)

• Saskatchewan has both the largest

population of seniors and the largest population under 15 years of age. (SaskTrends)

As one considers the opposite demographic trends for the Aboriginal population, hope emerges. First Nations and Métis populations are growing dramatically.

Figure 1: Potential Labour Force- Aboriginal and Non Aboriginal

Figure 2: Age Distributions in 2003

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• According to the 2001 Census, the total Aboriginal population in Saskatchewan increased 17 % between 1996 and 2001, and represented approximately 14 % of the total provincial population.

Continued growth in the in the Aboriginal population is expected.

• The Aboriginal population of 2001 is expected to increase to 21% by 2025 (Final report of the 2005 Training System Review Panel. A new training model for Saskatchewan, Saskatchewan Learning. (NTM), p. 35), and is further expected to grow to be one-third of the provincial population by 2050 (SIPP, p. 4).

• “Saskatchewan Health projects 38% growth in the next 15 years”

(Northern Saskatchewan Regional Training Needs Assessment Report, 2006-2007, The Northern Labour Market Committee & Saskatchewan Learning. (NSTNAR), p. 13).

The following charts graphically illustrate the projected growth of

Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal populations.

Source: SaskTrends

Northern and Southern populations

The majority of northerners are of Aboriginal heritage:

• 23% of Saskatchewan’s Aboriginal people reside in the North, and make up 83.6% of northern Saskatchewan’s population (NSTNAR, p. 11).

2003 Total =995,000

Aboriginal = 14%

2013 Total =994,000

Aboriginal = 17%

2023 Total =988,000

Aboriginal = 20%

Figure 3: Projected Growth from 2003 to 2023 –Aboriginal % growth in population

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3.0%

16.0%

13.5%

86.0%5.8%

-1.1%-20%

0%

20%

40%

60%

80%

100%

Based on 2001

Statistics Canada

Census Data

Demographic polarizations: Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal

non-Aboriginal

Aboriginal

non-Aboriginal 16.0% 86.0% -1.1%

Aboriginal 3.0% 13.5% 5.8%

% Senior (65 + ) % of population population % change

Figure 4: Demographic Population Polarizations – Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal The northern population is growing quickly:

• “Between the years 1998 and 2005 the northern region population grew by 5.8% compared to a provincial decline of 1.1%” (NSTNAR, p. 12).

A large portion of the population in the northern region is young.

• 44% of the population in the northern region is under age 20 as compared to 27% under age 20 in the whole of Saskatchewan. (NSTNAR, p. 11).

This means there will be a larger population in the child-bearing age-group, and an even greater potential increase to population in the North. Aboriginal and northern population growth will place a greater demand on both K-12 and post-secondary education and training programs (NSTNAR, p. 4).

So, while southern Saskatchewan is characterized by high out-migration patterns in the younger population and an aging non-Aboriginal population, the northern portion of the province is experiencing a young, rapidly increasing Aboriginal population. Northern Aboriginal people are the fastest growing, youngest segment of Saskatchewan’s population.

Employment, Unemployment, and Labour Market

Participation Rate Trends

Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal

Disturbingly, Aboriginal populations in Saskatchewan experience much lower employment and participation rates than non-Aboriginal populations, especially First Nation people.

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• The employment rate of the Aboriginal people, which includes both First Nation and Métis people, was 30.2 per cent lower than non-Aboriginal people in 2004/2005.

• The unemployment rate of Aboriginal people was 24.7%, 16.3 per cent

higher than non-Aboriginals. Also, “First Nations people experience unemployment rates of 25% and higher” (NTM, p. 43).

• The 2004/05 labour market participation rate for Aboriginal people is

24.7 per cent lower than non-Aboriginals. “The Saskatchewan Chamber of Commerce and Sask Trends Monitor note that labour force participation issues may work against the opportunity that the young Aboriginal population holds for the Saskatchewan workforce” (SIPP, p. 9).

Northern First Nation Employment and Income Status

• In 2001, First Nations people off-reserve had labour market participation rates 18% lower than non-Aboriginal, and First Nations people on-reserve had the lowest rates, 43.1%, a gap of 26.2%. Over half (55.8%) the people registered to a northern Saskatchewan First Nation live on reserves.

• “The employment and income status of reserve residents is so

unacceptable as to call for unprecedented action” (NTM, p. 46).

Figure 5: Demographic Employment Polarizations – Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal

35.2%

65.4%

24.7%

8.4%

54.5%

69.3%

0%20%40%60%80%

100%

Employment rate

Unemployment rate

Participation rate

Demographic polarizations: 2004/05

Non-Aboriginal

Aboriginal

• The long-term unemployment rate in northern Saskatchewan is more than 4 times that of the province (Health Indicators, 2004 p. iii).

• The First Nation population’s average employment income is less than

50% of average income of Non-Aboriginals, an extreme inequity (NTM, p. 45).

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First Nations, Northern and Rural School Divisions % Change 2005/06

-100%-50%

0%50%

100%150%200%250%

12 11(2

007)

10(2

008)

9(20

09)

8(20

10)

7(20

11)

6(20

12)

5(20

13)

4(20

14)

3(20

15)

2(20

16)

1(20

17)

K(2

018)

Grade and Grade 12 Year

Per

cent

% Change in SD 113Northern% Change in FNSchools% Change in SD 205Rural% Change in SD 208Rural% Change in SD210 Rural

Figure 6: Average Income—Aboriginal, First Nations, Métis, Non-Aboriginal

Source: NTM

Because Aboriginal employment and labour market participation rates are so low, the growth in population increases pressure on the labour market and tax base, further threatening future sustainability. Future hope lies in increasing the employment and participation rates of First Nations and Métis people. Thus, while this growing, young segment of the population offers hope for future socio-economic prosperity, extraordinary efforts must be given to including and making accessible employment opportunities, particularly in the North where there is a job and skills/education shortage, rather than a labour market shortage.

Studies show that raising education levels is key to raising employment and participation rates.

Encouraging Education Indicators

Increasing Northern School Enrolments

In terms of education, there are encouraging trends occurring in the northern segments of the province. School enrolments are increasing:

• “Since 1998/9, total enrolments increased by 3% across the North. Most

of the growth has been in middle years and high school enrolments and in First Nations schools” (NSTNAR, p. 15).

The following chart illustrates the percent change in student enrolments using a best case scenario of 100% retention rate. The First Nations Schools and schools of the Northern Region show significant increases unlike the steady decline in the southern region.

Aboriginal First Nations Métis Non-Aboriginal Average Income $15,961 $13,247 $20,372 $26,914

Figure 7: First Nations, Northern Region and Rural School Divisions % Change

Sources: SaskLearning and SaskLearning Northern Region Office from stats provided by INAC, Funding Services, Saskatchewan Regional Office.

Note: while student enrolment decreases in the southern portion of the province, the northern student enrolment shows significant increases.

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• Declining numbers of southern Grade 12 students put pressure on the labour market.

• The falling off in enrolment for 2018 shows a province-wide trend of

fewer numbers of children enrolled in Kindergarten.

With increased school enrolments there is a demand on post-secondary education, as well as, on training programs and services.

• Saskatchewan Education Indicators 2004 show that northern students are

taking more Grade 12 credits than a decade ago. Northern students also increased the average number of Grade 12 credits earned by almost 2 credits (NSTNAR, p. 16).

• Further, there are more students from the northern region going on to

university and technical schools than before. “An informal survey found that 33% of the 290 graduates of northern high schools in 2005 went on to university or technical training programs in the autumn – and most attended southern institutes” (Northern Region Office, Saskatchewan Learning) (NSTNAR).

Another hopeful trend exists in the northern population. While the problem of an aging workforce is associated with a propensity for post-secondary-educated youth to leave the province (about 50 % of youth that are out-migrating have post-secondary education), the North tends to retain its post-secondary educated and growing youth population.

• “The projected increases in northern populations are [partially] due to Aboriginal peoples, who make up the majority of the northern population, being not nearly as likely to leave the North and the province, as others in the population” (NTM, p. 37).

These trends show there is increased interest in education for northern Aboriginal people and there is more chance of retaining northern graduates with completed post-secondary education.

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Post-Secondary Education leads to Employment which leads to Individual, Community and Provincial Prosperity

Lower employment and participation rates associated with lower levels of education The lower rates of employment and participation in the labour market in the Aboriginal population are, in part, associated with lower levels of completed education. To create future socio-economical sustainability, Saskatchewan must “raise education levels in the population generally and the Aboriginal population specifically to enable an increase in participation rates” (Sask Trends, p. 19). Increased education means increased employment for First Nations and Métis people. Employment bridges the gaps in the distributions of income and prosperity.

• “for the off-reserve Aboriginal population… persons with some post-secondary education or less, as well as those with completed post-secondary education, have experienced improved labour market outcomes since 2001” (Statistics Canada’s Labour Force Survey data NTM, p. 43).

The following chart demonstrates the difference Post-Secondary Education has on employment, unemployment and participation rates in the labour market:

Figure 9: The Difference Post-Secondary Education has on Employment, Unemployment and Participation Rates

40.9

60.9

29.8

22.2

58.2

79.5

1

10

100

Source: 2001 Statistics

Canada Census

EmploymentRate

UnemploymentRate

ParticipationRate

The Difference Post-Secondary Education has on Employment, Unemployment, and Participation Rates

(Age Category 25-64)

Have notcompletedpost-secondaryeducation

Havecompletedpost-secondaryeducation

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• Employment rate among this cohort is 20% higher for those with completed post-secondary education

• Unemployment rate is 7.6 % lower for those with completed post-

secondary education

• Participation rates in the labour market are 21.3 % higher for those with completed post-secondary education.

These data clearly indicate the positive impact of post-secondary

education on labour market outcomes. Note, for example, how the Aboriginal population with completed post-secondary education more closely resembles the labour market outcomes of the non-Aboriginal population (NTM, p. 43).

Education and employment are linked inextricably; thus education must

be seen as a major part of the solution to the problems of developing and growing a labour market that can prosper in the competitive knowledge economy.

The Old Education Model

Inequity and Inadequacy

Despite many renovations and improvements, the education system struggles to deconstruct its industrial, colonial model and efforts to eliminate institutional barriers such as exclusion, inflexibility, standardization, and uniformity have been insufficient in addressing the inequities and marginalization of Aboriginal and northern populations.

• University education, located in urban locations, “disproportionately

serves young people from professional and higher income families”(NTM, p. 71).

As the demand for post-secondary education increases, so must the ability to mobilize, to make accessible its opportunities to those who are economically and educationally marginalized.

The New Training Model

A Viable Framework for Education in the Knowledge Economy

The pressures and difficulties of competing in a global knowledge economy, while difficult and complex, can be seen as an opportunity to redress inequities that have existed in the education system and, consequently, in the

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labour market. Without the full participation of First Nation and Métis people, particularly the youth, and the full financial support of both provincial and federal governments, “the Saskatchewan economy has little hope of realizing its potential” (NTM, p. 13).

The labour market’s efforts at generating and distributing income to include Aboriginal people, while showing minor increases, are inadequate. Raising educational attainment levels is necessary for Saskatchewan to be able to compete in the knowledge economy. Equally important is the need to bridge the gap between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal employment and education opportunities, raising the income status of First Nation and Métis people.

In response to this problem, a training review panel has outlined recommendations in the Final Report of the 2005 Training System Review Panel: A New Training Model for Saskatchewan (Saskatchewan Learning, 2005). The New Training model presents a viable framework to construct a new and innovative educational system in a global economic and democratic climate. These priorities are essential to redress inequities in the system; increase education, employment, and participation rates among Aboriginal peoples; and meet the threat to Saskatchewan’s prosperity.

Some Recommendations for Rebuilding

Among other priorities, this framework suggests that education must become accessible, inclusive, learner-centered, continuous and progressive, flexible, responsive, innovative, supported by technology, and linked to labour force needs and employment opportunities.

The Need for Post-Secondary Education in the North

In applying the New Training Model, particular attention should be paid to the northern portion of the province where poverty, unemployment, and participation rates are entirely unacceptable, and where the population increases are most significant. Accessible Post-secondary education opportunities are required for northern Aboriginal people to qualify for new jobs that will be opening up.

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Job Forecasts in Major Northern Industries include: Mining: Trades like power engineers, instrumentation technicians, mechanics Professional and management like geologist, mine engineers, supervisors Oil and Gas: There is a strong demand for workers with higher level training as engineers project managers, geoscientists, trades, and mechanics at oil sands projects. Health and Education: Workers for the health sector including licensed practical nurses, lab and X-ray technicians, special care aides, food service workers, as well as professionals such as nurses, social workers, and physicians. Secondary Teachers with specialty qualifications in such areas as high school sciences and math, computer science, practical and applied arts, and French immersion (NSTNAR, pp. 5-6). Further, 61,000 job openings are projected for the whole of Saskatchewan, 36,500 opening from retirements, and 24,500 new jobs due to diversification and development.

If Saskatchewan can increase the participation rates of Aboriginal peoples, then “the Aboriginal labour force could increase by 138%,..with a notable 200% increase in the First Nations portion from an estimated 23,000 in 2001 to 68,500 by 2025” (NTM, p. 46).

New and Innovative Education Strategies are Necessary To increase education, employment and participation rates among First Nation and Métis people, and to meet the labour market demands, new strategies are necessary. The New Training Model suggests that “new strategies must provide support systems which recognize, strengthen and

Figure 10: Projected Job Openings in Saskatchewan

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incorporate Aboriginal culture and traditions in the deliver of training programs. The unique history, culture, values and traditions of Aboriginal peoples and their learning needs”( NTM, p. 144). Building on the proven and successful foundations of NORTEP and NORPAC, by expanding their program offerings through a new NORTEP Joint-Use, shared facility would appear to be an excellent strategy for building future prosperity in northern Saskatchewan.

NORTEP and NORPAC: Successful and Innovative Strategies A significant effort, demonstrating many principles of the New Training

Model, and alert to the hopeful possibilities for the Aboriginal population, is already effecting profound change in the northern regions of Saskatchewan. The Northern Teacher Education Program (NORTEP) is an accredited course of study by both the University of Saskatchewan, and the University of Regina. In 1989 another program, the Northern Professional Access College (NORPAC), was created to accommodate the growing needs of Northern people to access other professional careers. The NORTEP and NORPAC programs have developed over thirty years in response to Aboriginal education and employment needs. This story is documented in a recent report: Innovation, Determination, Impact: The Impact of NORTEP/PAC After 30 Years. “It is a story of innovation, determination, and impact; and also a story of decolonization, self-determination, and development” (Tymchak, CeNRGe, p. 1). NORTEP and NORPAC have transformed the human resources situation in the North. Their educational, cultural, administrative, and socio-economic impact is readily discernable.

NORTEP/PAC: Demonstrate the Priorities of the New Training Model

Learner-centered programming

NORTEP/PAC were designed to meet specific community and learner-centered needs. First, there was a costly 30-40% teacher turnover rate, meaning disruptions for pupils, schools, and communities. Also, the children entering northern schools were Cree or Dene speaking, and the teachers who greeted them spoke neither language. Aboriginal children did not have role models to demonstrate the possibility to enter the teaching profession.

• Before NORTEP, less than 1% of certified teaching staff was of Aboriginal

ancestry while Aboriginals made up 75% of the population. Now, most of the 308 graduates of NORTEP have remained in the North (Impact, p. 6).

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• NORTEP has also impacted teacher turnover rates. Of NORTEP

graduates, 56% are working in the same community since graduation and 91% of NORTEP graduates have elected to stay in northern Saskatchewan.

• “Even after 30 years, 84% of all NORTEP graduates still occupy teaching

or teaching-related positions” (Impact, p. 6).

• By selecting northerners with a preference for Cree and Dene speakers, NORTEP has created a graduate population that is 90% Aboriginal.

Further, NORTEP graduates who are speakers are better able to serve the learner needs by reflecting the culture and language of their students. Accessible and Inclusive programming

NORTEP and NORPAC provide training in an accessible northern location close to many reserve residents, redressing the problems of exclusion, accessibility and inequity of opportunity.

• Before NORTEP professionals were imported into northern communities,

reinforcing the perception that professional careers were reserved for people from outside of the North.

• Economically and politically, the salary payroll tended to exclude

northerners, especially Aboriginal northerners.

• There was a growing awareness that the education system was an alien to northern life, and the institution had no “compelling, long-term meaning for the personal lives of the pupils” or the community it served.

NORTEP opens access to the beneficial aspects of the “dominant”

society, while preserving and affirming Aboriginal language and culture. Keith Goulet describes this “bi-cultural” philosophy best when he described NORTEP’s attempt to “draw on the best from both cultures”(Impact, p. 10). This entails preserving the language and culture in the context of envisioning and creating a new North. This vision “marshals valued traditional elements in the task of addressing underemployment, poverty, and marginalization” (Impact, p. 10).

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NORTEP and NORPAC are designed to address institutional and personal Barriers

Aboriginal Self-Governance The NORTEP and NORPAC programs are designed to address the institutional and personal barriers to higher Aboriginal participation, as mandated by the New Training Model (NTM, p. 143). They have given space for Aboriginal involvement in the decision-making process. NORTEP/PAC have created a space and a capacity within the Aboriginal community for northerners to have this conversation, to make decisions about core funding, appointment of faculty and employment of staff, amongst other challenges, and to exercise self-determination. In this environment, both instructional and educational policy formation are strongly influenced by First Nation and Métis people themselves. From a holistic point of view, the necessary complexities that exist on an organizational level can be seen as the price of self-determination and decolonization, and used as a measure of the underlying forces and tensions.

NORTEP/PAC governance and self-determination is supported by the New Training Model: “there is considerable evidence in the research to support the importance of Aboriginal-governed institutions in improving outcomes for Aboriginal people” (NTM, p. 139).

Other Barriers are Addressed: There is relevant programming developed in response to northern needs; it is located geographically accessible to northern people, and therefore involves built-in community support for its students; it provides incentives for retaining students by being relevant and linked to employment.

Innovative and Collaborative Partnerships

The governance and program authority for NORTEP/PAC are characterized by complexity. Novel and creative organizational and administrative arrangements have been adopted out of necessity to navigate resistance, maintain self-determination, and decolonize its structure. NORTEP’s infrastructure belonged to a school board, while its academic program belonged to the participating universities, a unique division of authority based on the Education Act and the Universities Act (Impact, p. 18).

The northern population itself consists of deep political and racial divisions; Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal, First nation, Métis, and Non-Status. In this complex environment, NORTEP/PAC programs are designed so that “all have a distinctive place, and often with a distinct legal framework within the larger northern umbrella” (Impact, p. 20). In time, NORTEP transitioned to a larger, more inclusive Board of Governors that embraced all northern people groups in a collaborative and balanced coalition.

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Responsive and Flexible Programming

NORTEP AND NORPAC demonstrate responsiveness and flexibility. While NORTEP offered the opportunity for northerners to become teachers, it was clear there was a significant number of northerners who wanted careers outside of education. Thus, NORPAC was created to offer opportunities for students to take university arts and science courses, and to see careers other than teaching. NORPAC has made a variety of careers possible. Careers “represent a world of salaried employment, responsibility, and leadership opportunities for northern Aboriginal people-in a wide variety of fields and vocations-unheard of in 1976 when NORTEP first began” (Impact, p. 15). Linked to labour market while maintaining sensitivity to cultural concerns

NORTEP/PAC reflect an understanding of the complexities and difficulties involved when combining labour market, economy, and cultural concerns. NORTEP was developed to meet the labour market demand for teachers, then grew to include other programs through NORPAC. NORTEP/PAC recognizes an uneasy tension that exists between economy and culture. And while economy and employment could be construed as a colonizing influence, exclusion from economic participation and unemployment would surely be more oppressive. The socio-economic conditions in the north are characterized by poverty, a rising dependency on social assistance and transfer income, and a higher number of lone-mother families. These conditions are known to contribute to incidences of delayed vocabulary, social, and psychosocial impairment in children. “Clearly, one of the most effective means of addressing poverty is through human resource development that creates access to wage and salaried careers”(Impact, p. 30).

NORTEP/PAC: positively impacting the individuals, communities and government

Intervention strategies must be implemented to stop the drainage of resources from less populated areas to enrich, to include, and to invite participation for economic benefits. The impact that NORTEP/PAC has had on the northern socio-economic environment demonstrates that this program provides a support system, which recognizes, strengthens and incorporates Aboriginal culture and traditions as recommended by the New Training Model.

The impacts of NORTEP/PAC are both direct and indirect. The existence of these programs in the North has been remarkably effective in creating benefits for primarily Aboriginal peoples, with 91% of graduates remaining in the North. But this also benefits community economic conditions because increased salaried employment means increased spending, increased demand for good and services, and increased quality of life, for students, professionals, and communities. Also, the indirect benefit of increased quality of life, means an avoidance of additional social cost. Thus, from a taxation and core funding

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perspective, the “government currently derives a 220% return on their investment in NORTEP/PAC” (Impact, p. 40). Had NORTEP/PAC not been in existence, the losses to individuals, communities and government revenues would be significant. When the direct benefits are combined with the indirect benefits, this creates “an impact that can only be described as truly massive” (Impact, p. 40).

Yet, while NORTEP/PAC have done much to improve conditions in the North, there is still an urgent call for further development in response to the needs of northerners, as well as the future needs of the labour market.

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Building Towards the Future Today:

A NEW NORTEP JOINT-USE, SHARED FACILITY

Responding to the needs of the future today

NORTEP/PAC recognizes the call for northern post-secondary education to expand and grow, just as it has in other provinces, such as Manitoba, Alberta, and British Columbia. These provinces have dedicated colleges to the needs of their northern populations. NORTEP/PAC, with an exceptional achievement record, recognize that the time has come to incorporate enhanced institutional status, with an expanded choice of options for students.

“There is a critical shortage of Aboriginal teachers at the high school level who are qualified to teach mathematics and sciences” (NTM, p. 143). Thus, the new facility would address the need to develop and offer courses in the area of math and science. Also, Secondary teacher education is specialized in various subject areas: English, social studies/history, math, biology, chemistry, physics, physical education/health, law, and so on. This option requires an array of course options. Further, there is need of programs related to careers outside of teaching.

With the anticipated labour market shortages, the development and growth in both the mining and petroleum industries, and the health and education sectors, there is an urgent call for NORTEP/PAC to grow and develop in the areas of math and science, secondary teacher education, and arts and sciences. To continue in its responsive, flexible learner-centered role NORTEP/PAC must grow and develop. The dramatic increases in K-12 school enrolments suggest that the time to act is NOW.

Clearly, the next step is the building of a new NORTEP-NORPAC Joint-

Use, shared facility with enhanced program offerings to serve the university education needs of the North, specifically its Aboriginal peoples.

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FUNDING REQUEST: DESIGN PHASE

At its regular meeting of the NORTEP/NORPAC Board of Governors on March 16, 2007, the following motion was passed: REQUEST FOR FUNDING NORTEP FACILITY: Motion 04/03/16/07 Moved by Doyle Vermette that senior staff apply for funding for the design phase of the NORTEP joint-use educational facility with additional space to support program delivery of other partner agencies. NORTEP currently occupies 1,700 sq metres of space in the Mistasinihk Building in La Ronge. All indications point to the fact that Provincial Government services need this space for the growing needs of the services delivered by Government. By the same token, NORTEP’s educational needs are reaching a critical point. A current estimate prepared by NORTEP indicates that recognition of a full-service program, including adequate laboratory space, a library, cafeteria, lecture theatre, student services area, exercise room, and administration offices, would require 4,597 sq meters. At $6 sq meter, the cost of such a building would be $25 – 30 M (see Appendix I: Estimated Building Needs). The design phase required for such a building is estimated to cost in excess of $100,000. Given the need to assess the suitability, and variable costs for several possible sites in La Ronge, in addition to accommodating the normal, rather complex needs of a university education facility in a northern setting, NORTEP/NORPAC, therefore, requests funding for the planning and design phase of this capital project in the amount of $125,000. An inter-agency Advisory Committee has been active for approximately six months. A Memorandum of Agreement has been developed and is currently being circulated to the participants (see Appendix II: Memorandum of Understanding). The Committee will continue to evolve as responses are received from the other parties with a vital interest in the project. There will be differentiated roles in the development, but preliminary indications are that there is considerable interest in the ‘joint-use, shared facility’ concept. A great deal of work remains to be done, including a wide range of considerations and decisions. Project expertise is now required to address such items as:

• selection of a lead consultant (probably an architect, or engineer) • conduct a comprehensive needs assessment (taking into account

the data assembled in this document)

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• identification of dedicated space needs, and those with potential for shared usage

• location of potential site(s) in La Ronge, and selection of the best option

• identification of revenue sources • exploration of possible partners, both public partners (such as the

Lac La Ronge Indian Band), and private partners, such as CAMECO • conduct a phase 1 environmental assessment of chosen site • develop site lay-out, possible building orientation and

determination of the site development that will be needed • develop building concept, and prepare preliminary drawings • identify, and possibly choose, the principle contractor • identification of equipment and start-up furnishing costs • identification of legal issues, and necessary legal instruments

(contracts, memoranda of understanding, mortgages, etc.) • development of time lines, consolidation of funding • assessment of risk factors • liaise with all interested parties, and assist with developing the

terms of reference and procedures for the Advisory Committee. It is recommended that NORTEP be regarded as the lead agency for the project, and that its Board of Governors (which is very broadly representative of northern agencies, see Appendix IV)) be regarded as the legal entity responsible for the funding being requested. Within NORTEP, the Centre for Northern Research and Graduate Studies Education (CeNRGe) has been asked to help coordinate and support project data collection and management (such as the writing of this proposal). For information purposes a sample of the expenditures that would be typically associated with a building of (approximately) the size being proposed, is attached as Appendix III: Typical Budget Scenario $20 Million Facility, and the agencies represented on the NORTEP/PAC Board of Governors is included as Appendix IV: NORTEP-NORPAC Board of Governors - Agencies.

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References Elliot, Doug. (2005, October) Population and Demographic Trends Sask Trends

Monitor. Irvine J., & Stockdale D. (2004). Northern Saskatchewan health indicators

report 2004. La Ronge, SK: Athabasca Health Authority & the Keewatin Yatthé and Mamawetan Churchill River Regional Health Authorities, Population Health Unit.

McArthur D., et al. (2005, November). Final report of the 2005 Training

System Review Panel. A new training model for Saskatchewan. Regina, SK: Saskatchewan Learning.

Northlands College. (2006, March). Northern Saskatchewan Regional Training

Needs Assessment Report, 2006-2007. The Northern Labour Market Committee & Saskatchewan Learning.

Stokes, J. (2003, October). Demographic trends and socio-economic

sustainability in Saskatchewan: Some policy considerations [Public Policy Paper 19]. Regina, SK: University of Regina, The Saskatchewan Institute of Public Policy.

Turpel-Lafond, Judge M.E. (October 2006). Policing the Future: The Changing

Demographics of Saskatchewan [Briefing note: Issue 16]. Regina, SK: University of Regina, The Saskatchewan Institute of Public Policy.

Tymchak, Dr. Michael. (2006, June). Innovation, Determination, Impact: The

Impact of NORTEP/PAC After 30 Years. La Ronge, SK: Centre for Northern Research and Graduate Studies Education (CeNRGe).

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APPENDICES

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Appendix I: Estimated Building Needs

New NORTEP-NORPAC Joint-Use, Shared Facility

ROOM SQUARE FT. TOTAL # PEOPLE CAFETERIA 1 cafeteria seating for 100 @ 3,641 sq ft 3,641 100LECTURE THEATRE 1 lecture theatre seating for 200 @ 3000 sq ft 3,000 2001stage 1,000 coat check 60 1 toilet (male) 120 1 toilet (female) 160 1 retail area 100 1 projection / sound / control 250 1 equipment storage 300 CLASSROOMS 1 classroom to seating for 50 900 15 classrooms - seating for 30 @ 760 sq ft

11,400 45015 attached classroom storage @ 60 sq ft ea. 900 151 toilets (male) 120 1 toilets (female) 160 1 storage for computer equipment 100 network racking, printing, photocopying 80 network administrator's office 120 LABS 2 computer labs @ 675 sq ft each 1,350 30biology lab 968 chemistry lab 968 physics lab 968 language lab 968 4 storage rooms @12% each lab 465 LIBRARY circulation counter / 2 employees 80 sq ft 160 5 computer research terminals @ 20 sq ft 100 lounge seating for 10 @ 20 sq ft 200 table seating for 20 @ 16 sq feet each 320 10 electrified carrels @ 30 square feet each 300 2 research journals stacks @ 12 sq ft 24 5 reference stacks @ 12 sq ft 60 30 collection stacks @ 12 sq ft 30 1 AV work room / duplication @ 200 sq ft 200 librarian's office 120 work room 200 bookstore 625 bookstore office 120 store room 300 5 small classrooms 500

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board room 500 STUDENT SERVICES program counsellor’s office 120 registrars office 120 joint medical office 150 housing office 120 storage for archived student records 300 day care 11,612 student lounge 500 GYMNASIUM exercise room 300 gym 1,150 storage for equipment 100 locker / change room /showers ADMINISTRATION OFFICES 2 accounting clerk's offices 240 accounting archives 100 secretary-treasurer's office 120 reception - 3 people 360 administration archive 80 office supply storage 80 director's office 150 10 faculty offices 1,200 5 sessional offices 500 faculty and staff lounge 300 mechanical system elevators, ramps and stairwells janitorial storage wheel chair accessibility loading dock parking landscaping public areas

TOTAL COST @ $600 PER SQUARE FT 29,676,144

current square feet (Mistasinihk Place) 18,292 25% increase in space in square feet

RTEP REQUIREMENT) 22,865 total square feet new facility 49,460 total square metres new facility 4,597 increase in square feet in new facility 31,168 total % increase in new facility 170%

total cost of new facility at $600 per sq ft $ 29,676,144.00

CONVERT SQ METRE TO FEET # SQ M X 10.76

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APPENDIX II: Memorandum of Understanding

Memorandum of Understanding

between

Parties with an Interest in Establishing a

New NORTEP/PAC Joint-Use, Shared Facility

Preamble We the undersigned Parties share a common vital interest in the construction of a new NORTEP/PAC Joint-Use, Shared Facility dedicated to university education in northern Saskatchewan. We support this initiative and are agreed to participate in the furtherance of this objective in a variety of ways. Consistent with our commitment is the recognition that our agencies will likely play different roles in the promotion and development of the facility, just as we have different needs and anticipate somewhat different uses. In general, however, we recognize needs that include a comprehensive facility dedicated to the delivery of a wide range of university programs and academic courses. We intend this Memorandum of Understanding to be instrumental in supporting the first phase of the project’s development. Once the concept of the facility is further elaborated, and the roles and commitments of the various agencies are more clearly defined, we anticipate that a second phase memorandum will be required. Differing needs and uses: A. Some of us envisage the facility becoming our primary home, including occupancy and use of: offices, administrative space, large lecture theatre, classrooms, scientific laboratory(ies), A/V Services facility, ICT lab, library, program counselling rooms, learning materials preparation space, gymnasia and/or exercise room, cafeteria, student lounge, faculty lounge, and

the like. B. Others of us do not anticipate becoming primary residents, but we do anticipate using, or sharing in the use of some, or all of:

• library • classrooms • scientific laboratories • ICT laboratories • learning material preparation centre(s) • gymnasia/exercise room • …..and the like

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C. In addition to sharing in the use of facility space, we may also be prepared to consider the possibility of sharing some core functions; these include but are not limited to:

• registration • joint course scheduling • accounting, payroll and financial management • maintenance, and custodial services • ……and the like

Notwithstanding our recognition of these possibilities, we state clearly that the participation of our agencies in the use of a new facility, or any of the core functions, is and shall remain voluntary. We name the possibilities in this Memorandum of Understanding simply for the purposes of exploration and consideration. Differing Roles: Besides differing needs and uses, we also recognize that as the project proceeds, we may play different roles. The variety of such roles may include, but is not limited to:

• Planning • Contributing to the capital construction cost • Becoming an owner, or a co-owner • Assuming managerial responsibility • Renting or leasing space • Serving on a users’ management advisory board • ….and the like

Notwithstanding the possibility of our playing different roles, we are mutually committed to the vital importance of constructing a major, new NORTEP/PAC Joint-Use, Shared Facility dedicated to the post-secondary educational needs of northerners. We share in common the view that this need is urgent, and vital to the interests of northerners. We also share a commitment to the notion that although this facility will become the new home of NORTEP/PAC, it will also be a joint-use and multi-purpose resource for many agencies. We agree, therefore, to support the development of this facility and urge appropriate levels of government - provincial, federal and First Nation(s) - to recognize the funding necessary for its construction and its operation. In signing this MEMORANDUM, however, although we indicate support in principle for the concept of this building, our agency does not commit to sharing the capital costs of the project.

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Advisory Board: The agencies whose signatures appear below agree to serve on an ad hoc “NORTEP/PAC Joint-Use, Shared Facilities Advisory Board”. Although not signatory to this Memorandum, it is understood that a representative from the Government of Saskatchewan, Northern Region Office of Saskatchewan Learning, will be included as an ex officio member. The Advisory Board may add, or delete, members at its discretion on the basis of need (e.g., of broader consultation), or evidence of interest and commitment (e.g., non-participation in meetings).

Signatories

________________________________ ____________________________ Northern Teacher Education Program Lac La Ronge Indian Band _____________________________ _____________________________ Prince Albert Grand Council Meadow Lake Tribal Council ____________________________ ______________________________ Northern Lights School Division Northlands College ____________________________ _______________________________ Ile a la Crosse School Division Gabriel Dumont Institute _____________________________ ______________________________ First Nations University of Canada Creighton School Division March 24/07

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Appendix III: Typical Budget Scenario $20 Million Facility* Construction Costs New Construction 5,000 m2 x $3,500/m2 $ 17,500,000.00 Total Construction Cost (no GST) $ 17,500,000.00 Design, Engineering, Consultant and Management Fees Functional Programming $ 75,000.00 Concept Plan and Functional Program $ 10,000.00 Prime Consultant, SAA Standard Sliding Scale $ 1,400,000.00 Prime Consultant Disbursements (including reimbursables, printing, travel) $ 150,000.00 LEED’s Certification $ 50,000.00 CBIP Modeling Consulting Fee (hourly rates) estimate $ 10,000.00 Land/Legal Survey $ 16,000.00 Geotechnical Survey $ 13,000.00 Testing and Inspections $ 15,000.00 Thermographic Testing $ 10,000.00 Design Fee Subtotal $ 1,749,000.00 Land Acquisition Land Purchase $ 250,000.00 Site Services $ 100,000.00 Sasktel Servicing $ 2,500.00 SaskPower Connection (usually waived in consideration of future revenues) $ 0.00 SaskEnergy Connection (usually waived in consideration of future revenues) $ 0.00 Land Subtotal $ 352,500.00 Contingencies Design/Inflation Contingency 5% of construction cost $ 875,000.00 Construction Contingency 5% of construction cost $ 875,000.00 Contingency Subtotal $ 1,750,000.00 Taxes/Grants GST 6% $ 1,281,090.00 PST Allowance on Professional Fees 30% x 5% $ 25,425.00 Taxes Subtotal $ 1,306,515.00 TOTAL PROJECT CONSTRUCTION COSTS $ 22,658,015.00 VALUE FOR PLANNING PURPOSES $ 23,000,000 Equipment and Furnishings (5% of Construction Cost) $ 875,000.00 Total Equipment and Furnishings $ 875,000.00 TOTAL PROJECT COSTS $ 23,533,015.00 VALUE FOR PLANNING PURPOSES $ 24,000,000 *Source: ADOBT Architects, Saskatoon, sample only

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Appendix IV: NORTEP-NORPAC Board of Governors – Agencies

9 Members, NORTEP Council Inc. and 1 Representative from each of the following agencies: Lac La Ronge Indian Band Prince Albert Grand Council Meadow Lake Tribal Council Ile-a-La Crosse School Division Creighton School Division