Bob Bromley

Just to complete that for me, will that be completed this fiscal year before the schematic design and the next steps are begun? Thank you.

Thank you, Madam Chair. There are a few points I’d like to bring out here. First of all, the deferred maintenance is an important issue. We know that we have quite a backlog. We have made some progress and I appreciate that, and there’s still much more to go and the department is continuing to work on that. That’s good work.

I want to highlight the schools in Yellowknife. Particularly Sissons is one that keeps getting docked and put on the backburner, yet there’s obviously a very high need in that area. I’d appreciate knowing what the plan is for when that will finally be addressed. That’s been...

Thank you. That was the information I was looking for. I appreciate that response. If I could get just a plain language description of what sort of planning is being funded for the proposed fiscal year and the next fiscal year. I know that hospitals are particularly challenging, complex and demanding, and if I could get just a brief description of what sort of planning is being done over the next fiscal year. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I appreciate that from the Minister, and I think it would be great if it was just routine practice from now on that we include a member from the public.

My last question, Mr. Speaker. I see the Minister is bringing it forward to submit in the House and, again, I’m hoping this is standard practice but I’d like to confirm. Will the committee have an opportunity to review and comment on this report so that the Minister can consider their input before it is tabled in the House? Mahsi.

Just to confirm that, obviously there are some health concerns and so on there. Can the Minister confirm that that work will finish up fairly quickly and take care of that problem?

I appreciate the Minister’s response there. The previous Minister of ECE did indeed commit to including the upgrading in this review, so I’m assuming that it will be done.

The second one I would like to confirm is happening is there’s a well-known deficit and need for veterinarians in the Northwest Territories. The Sahtu has a particularly unique and fortunate agreement, I think with the support of Environment and Natural Resources, if I recall, with the University of Saskatchewan in Saskatoon to occasionally bring up veterinarians. Most of the NWT suffers from a great lack and there are a few...

I appreciate that information from the Minister. That’s a pretty short timeframe given our financial situation, I guess. It might challenge us, but I guess I’m just hoping that we will be hearing about a long-term plan to get something in place for Aurora College Yellowknife Campus and we need to be very explicit in our thinking to be able to achieve that plan.

Yes, I’d appreciate the information on the schools. I know K’alemi Dene School, for example, in Ndilo is a pellet one. I think we renovated St. Joe’s and I think there are four or five in Hay River being done this year, maybe some in...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I noticed the Minister focused on the one negative of the Nunavut side of things. The income may be different but, of course, one would hope that over time a family’s income rises rather than goes down, in which case it would actually be a benefit in allowing them a little adjustment time.

The Minister has heard me cite the commonly heard case of people refusing work to avoid radical increases in rents. In carrying out the Shelter Policy review, can the Minister give information on what other more flexible models are being examined? What options are available for...

Thank you, Madam Chair. I want to support my colleagues Mr. Hawkins and Ms. Bisaro in raising this issue in seeking some focus, as the Minister has offered towards moving forward on the Sissons School maintenance deficit and renovations are clearly required.

I’m wondering where we’re at with pellet boilers with our schools. How many schools do we have in the Northwest Territories and how many of them are now using wood pellet heat and are there opportunities for additional movement in that direction? Maybe that’s something the Minister could provide at a later date.

I guess with my last point I...

I appreciate the response from the Minister. I will look forward to the results there. It’s my understanding that under the current funding arrangements, local housing organizations who do not meet their rent recovery targets lose operating funds equivalent to the amount of uncollected rents. This is a very retrograde approach, because whether they collect rent or not, their costs of providing housing don’t go down. It only digs a pit of debt, and I realize there’s a balance here. Can the Minister say whether the options being considered in the Shelter Policy review include the possibility of...