Charles Dent

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. By the time the tenders came in, were evaluated, by the time Public Works embarked on the process of negotiation -- they thought there might be some room for movement there -- we had lost the opportunity to make the award of a contract then to meet this year’s shipping. So we will work to ensure that we can make the decision on the project soon enough this year that we’ll be able to make the winter road this winter.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The project went out to tender, and it wasn’t just to put in a gym, it was to provide a bit of an expansion to the school to allow for the community to have high school courses offered in the community. When the bids came in, they were so much over budget that we couldn’t proceed. There were some attempts to find ways to reduce the cost of the budget and they weren’t successful. So at this point, MACA, ECE and the Department of Public Works are examining what the options might be. We remain committed to the project and we’re looking for what we can do to ensure...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Department of Education, Culture and Employment is responsible for licensing all scientific research that takes place in the Northwest Territories. So through that licensing process, we would expect that we would gain an understanding of the scientific research that’s taking place. Part of the licensing process requires that the scientists who are applying for the licence commit to reporting back on what information they have found. We also expect, as part of the application process, that they will advise us of how they are going to involve the local communities and...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. At this point, I have, by way of letter to YK 1, indicated what I think should happen in this circumstance. As discussed between Ms. Lee and myself yesterday, perhaps the next step, if we’re unable to reach resolution there, would be to ensure that there is a better understanding among the public of what the recommendations are and what they mean. So we may have to look at some mechanism for a public meeting to allow stakeholders in Yellowknife to get all of the information.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Well, it seems like the Member has adopted one point of view and that is the only way that things can move because that is the only proposal that I have heard. I still think that we have options that we can consider. I have suggested some in my letter. We have enough space in this community. I am prepared to, if necessary, make sure that we have a broader discussion among stakeholders. I hope that those stakeholders will then talk to the boards. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Member may have noted my answers to Mr. Ramsay earlier today. This has not been going on for just a week, two weeks, a month, or even a year. It has been going on far longer than that. There have been a number of discussions with the goal of trying to resolve this with this situation. There has not been a collaborative solution yet, so I am trying to force some action with my recommendations with YK 1. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’ll certainly take that recommendation under advisement. We’ll take a look at where we’ve got the resources and whether or not we can afford to do that. The staff at the ARI has recently been ramped up in order to accommodate the increased numbers of requests for research that we’ve been receiving over the past couple of years. So we’re hoping that we’re going to have the staff on hand to be able to handle the workload that we see coming over the next 18 months as IPY rolls out, but we may have to look at, as the Member suggests, increasing. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. That’s a good question. Because we don’t have a university in the North which is sponsoring the researchers who are coming to the North, we don’t have a lot of control, or awareness even, of what is being proposed for International Polar Year. Much of the research is going to be done in cooperation with scientists who work in the Department of Environment and Natural Resources. So by working in concert, we’re hoping with them, with ENR and the southern scientists, we’ll be able to ensure that there is a clear understanding that we want traditional knowledge to be...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’d say right now that plan B is to make sure the parents have all of the information and then I’m hoping that they would be prepared to put some pressure on the boards to ensure that they are acting in the most appropriate way. That, to me, is plan B. For us to go beyond dealing with the boards and actually deal with the public is a step beyond what would be in the normal course of business. So at this point, that’s plan B, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As the Member is aware, the issue about school space was first raised by school boards when we met with them right after the last election. So it has been something that all the Yellowknife Members have been involved in for almost four years now.

The issues of or the manner in which it’s been handled was, first of all, after the first couple of meetings there didn’t seem to be any easy way to move forward, so I put together a committee that involved all of the stakeholders in education in Yellowknife. That committee met and over the course of a number of months...