David Krutko

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My question is directed to the Minister of Education since it is Education Week and our theme day on education has just been rolled out here. I think it’s important that there was a government policy made back in the 12th Assembly to implement K to 12 in all communities in the Northwest Territories. Mr. Speaker, some 16 years later we still haven’t fully implemented the policy, in which there’s communities that still don’t have high schools such as the community I represent in Tsiigehtchic. I know that the Beaufort communities are in the same boat.

I think, Mr. Speaker...

Mr. Chairman, in regards to chargebacks, again, with the advancement in telehealth and telemedicine and the possibility of improving health care services in our communities, I think it is important that we have either technicians on the ground or technicians working within the different departments to ensure that we are able to enhance that program and deliver on it, because from what we have seen in communities I have been in in the health centres, in Fort Liard and elsewhere, and talking to the nursing staff that had new equipment brought in, it really improves the delivery of health care...

Thank you. It’s good to develop curriculum and whatnot and put it into the schools, but we have to make it mandatory that people will actually take the course, learn the course and get credits for those courses. What I’d like to know is will those courses, regardless if it’s Northern Studies, Aboriginal studies, that it be mandatory in all high schools in the Northwest Territories? Thank you.

I’d like to thank the Minister for that. As government we are putting a lot of money into government retrofits and conversions in regard to public buildings regardless if we’re talking about schools or government facilities in our communities. I think if we’re talking about expanding outwards into the communities, this again is another area that I feel the department of petroleum products can expand in, and more importantly, look at alternative types of fuels and materials. I’d just like to ask the Minister in regard to doing this type of initiative, is it going to be done in-house or are we...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My questions are for the Minister of Education in regards to my Member’s statement in regards to the importance of developing curriculum for the students in the Northwest Territories. It is something that is meaningful to the students. Like I mentioned, the Beaufort-Delta Divisional Board of Education along with the Gwich’in and Inuvialuit have developed language curriculum to deliver in the schools in the Beaufort-Delta. That is one way I believe we can develop curriculum that is useful to the students, and more importantly, preserve their language and culture. Mr...

I seek unanimous consent to go back to 7-22, petroleum products.

I’d just like to ask the Minister how do you get an operational cost of a facility that hasn’t been operating? So we’ve got office buildings in Inuvik, you’re talking about building one in Yellowknife. So technically you can’t have the operational costs unless you functionally operate the facility to know what your actual costs are. So do you know what the actual costs to operate those facilities are, based on occupancy and usage of heat and power?

If it’s anything like the Laing Building that we own, as a government, I think the more experience of the amount of money that’s been put into the renovations and mid-term retrofits and everything else, you’re talking in the millions of dollars in regard to the cost of a facility that we operate. So as part of this general office space that we are requiring to own outright, do we have an idea of what the lifecycle costs of those facilities are in operational costs and mid-term retrofits?

Paper sounds good. Chop down a few more trees.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Can I get a breakdown in regard to the number of affirmative action candidates in those 61 positions, what level they’re at, and more importantly, how many disabled and women do we have in that department and what level? Thank you.