Jackson Lafferty

Mahsi, Mr. Chair. What the Member has brought up are a lot of points that obviously have been brought to our attention as well. Due to the fact we are investing just over $6.5 million in capital projects, there may not be much out of a $125 million budget, but at the same time we spend well over $290 million over a five-year period when it comes to schools and different educational assets in the Northwest Territories.

Yes, we need to focus on the small communities, as the Member alluded to, small community schools. We’ve done that. There is Lutselk’e school, there is Charles Tetcho School...

Mahsi, Mr. Chair. As you see as part of the capital planning process, we’ve identified some funds, as the Member alluded to, for renovations to Trout Lake school, Charles Tetcho School as part of the renovation to the existing building space to be provided with adequate instructional space.

There have been several discussions that have taken place. As Minister responsible for Education and Mr. Beaulieu, who is responsible for Public Works and Services, and MLA Menicoche did visit the community along with the Dehcho Divisional Education Council and my senior staff to review the shortcomings of...

Mahsi, Mr. Chairman. I have with me Dana Heide, associate deputy minister with the Department of Education, Culture and Employment; and Tammy Allison, manager, capital planning, Education, Culture and Employment.

Mahsi, Mr. Chair. As part of the process, obviously, it needs a needs assessment and also needs analysis from the communities when it comes to major renovations or retrofits of schools or educational infrastructure. Those are areas that we’ll be focusing and putting that forward as part of the capital planning process. This year we have done that. We’re going to do the same next year, as well, and the following years. What we’re hearing from the Members is focusing on those most needed. I can assure the Members that this will be my push again next year with the peer review, the committee that...

Mahsi, Mr. Chair. Obviously, my department has been working with Deh Gah Got’ie school and also the Head Start programming. When we first introduced Junior Kindergarten in that community, my department has been actively engaged with conversation with the organization because we wanted to make it work. There is a morning program and there is an afternoon program that I believe has been agreed to and currently it’s working but, mind you, there is always areas of improvement. We are very closely monitoring that, not only that but the other 22 communities as well. Obviously, we want to work...

Mahsi, Mr. Chair. Based on, obviously, the capital planning cycle, Moose Kerr School is identified for renovations or replacement in approximately 2019, as the Member has indicated. It’s based on the year of the school, whether it was the year it was built or the year it was retrofitted and 20 years from the date of the last major renovation. So we’re at that point. In 2019 we want to seriously look at Moose Kerr School in the Member’s riding. Thank you.

Mahsi, Mr. Chair. Yes, the budget has been talked about this afternoon, the $6.5 million that is there before us and we are working with it. Once it’s approved by this Assembly, we will move along with renovating those schools as highlighted.

Costs to the French schools that the Member alluded to is not there yet. We have some figures that were brought to our attention, but that figure could change once the court decision happens. So, we are currently waiting for that to happen so we can prepare ourselves as the Department of Education, Culture and Employment. Not only that, but working with...

Mahsi, Mr. Chair. Our overall goal as a department is obviously to look after our schools throughout the Northwest Territories, the 49 schools. Some are very much deteriorating and some are fairly new. Now our overall emphasis is to focus on those schools that are badly in need, whether it be a renovation or a retrofit. So we will continue to push that forward during the capital planning process on an annual basis.

Over the years, obviously, the Members have supported us at that level, so we’ll continue to push that forward.

The $400,000 for the JK, that’s just some of the upgrades that we...

Mahsi, Mr. Chair. Most definitely part of the planning study obviously would engage community leadership, community members. They need to be involved along the way. We are looking at the long term, up to 10 years ahead. The classification status is still yet to be identified. As I indicated, this is a planning study that is just currently underway in 2014-15. Whether it is classification C or D, E, that will be identified at that time.

The Building Canada Fund, I was just asking my staff if we ever accessed that kind of funding, and to my knowledge we haven’t identified an area where we can...

Mahsi, Mr. Chair. We are currently dealing with the college when it comes to the community learning centres. We’ve heard from some of the communities. I believe there are 23 communities with community learning centres and 10 without, so those are the communities that we hear from. We’ve been dealing with the college at that level.

The Member alluded to a needs assessment at the community level. What we’re doing now is, obviously my department is overseeing the needs assessment and feasibility study 2014-15, and the Member is asking if it will be captured as part of using our existing...