Floyd Roland

Yes, Mr. Chairman.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I have three documents for tabling today.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, as a result of the Member’s work and questions earlier in this House, I have already contacted the Department of Human Resources that deals with pay and benefits section. They are trying to make contact with the Tlicho Community Services Agency and their CEO and we will begin that process as soon as we can set up an appropriate time to get together. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, the process we would follow when it’s an owned asset of our own, whether it’s a school or a health centre or a warehouse, if it is an owned asset we would go down the process of looking at it and we continue to do that, is just replace it with our own capital dollars and continue to own it. The government at one time reviewed the possibilities and actually sold off a number of its owned assets and looked at leasing more space. That’s something we continue to do as we review each situation, is do we do this. Ultimately, what we would have to decide is...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I move, seconded by the honourable Member for Yellowknife South, that Bill 1, Supplementary Appropriation Act, No. 4, 2005-2006, be read for the third time. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the Member has raised a significant point. In operations, the Tlicho Government, as he stated, has difficulty from time to time dealing with the daily changing plans of individuals and our elders in trying to accommodate those.

On a larger scale, the Government of the Northwest Territories and our system has even greater difficulty making those small changes. That is why we need to try to arrange a plan that would work for both parties and is a little more difficult than initially stated. One of the other areas we could look at is possibly our contract...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the agreements that we have signed as a government to honour our commitments is something we take seriously. We will continue to work with the Tlicho Government and the agency to provide the services that are necessary through that agreement. There are a number of issues, of course, in our operating environment that have to be taken into consideration by all parties. I understand where the Member is coming from with the work with the elders, respecting the arrangements that were made in the past with them, and I have committed that we will try to work...

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, ultimately we need to find space. Spaces where we’re occupied at this time we would lose the opportunity to use that space. Going out for a tender at this time we still wouldn’t have a building in place for more than a year to complete what’s required. I suggest we’d be lucky to get it completed and people moved in in two years if we were to pull something off the shelf and just say we need so much square footage office space. There is some office space, there’s a learning centre. So there’s different types of spaces here that are required, but...

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, I think we can find in the past where we have, through this process, established capital programs whether it be renovation or replacement because of timelines and urgency if we had a failure in a facility would come through this process. Why can’t we go for office space leases at this point? We would need the authority of this House. We can’t just go out for space at this time for a lease. Right now we’re in an owned facility and to change that direction, again, the department would have to bring it forward and get that approval through the process...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I don't have the detail as to who we actually were in discussions with. I know we monitored the situation and other CRTC hearings for those types of decisions that would have impact on the service providers in the Northwest Territories. I can get that information for the Member and provide it later. Thank you.