Jane Groenewegen

The letter of award that we’re talking about includes money that is yet to be voted on in this appropriation bill that’s before us right now. I’d like to ask Minister Miltenberger if he could clarify that. As far as I know, we haven’t voted on the Department of Education, Culture and Employment appropriation yet for this next phase of the Inuvik schools replacement, yet the letter of award includes that.

Let’s just suppose for a minute that it is legally binding. Isn’t there anything that comes from the FMB or from the Cabinet that would indicate a record of decision that would allow PWS to...

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. The wish of the committee today is to continue with the Northwest Territories Capital Estimates ’09–10 and carry on where we left off yesterday on the Department of Education, Culture and Employment. Thank you.

With respect to this negotiated contract, we have learned that a letter of award…. Well, first of all, when I asked the Minister of Education, he said the contract had been awarded. Then we found out that the contract had been awarded but it was just a letter of intent and that the actual contract had yet to be signed. I said: is it legally binding? They said: no; in fact we have secured a legal opinion to the contrary — that, in fact, the letter to Dowland Contracting is a legally binding document.

I would like to know on whose authority the deputy minister of Public Works was acting under in...

Mr. Chairman, I move that we report progress.

Motion carried.

Mr. Speaker, my questions today are about the negotiated contract for the construction of the replacement of the two schools in Inuvik. There are land claims in place with respect to negotiated contracts in various regions in the Northwest Territories. In the Inuvik region those land claims extend to include the interests of the Gwich’in people. I would like to know if the Cabinet, when negotiating this contract, requested a legal opinion on any obligation they may have to the Gwich’in for a negotiated contract of this nature in Inuvik.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. The Minister of Finance has kindly offered to provide some additional information on this matter before us right now, so I have a motion, if it could be distributed.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I’d appreciate that.

Thanks, Mr. Chairman. There’s been a precedent set in some communities that when a facility like a school is being built, where there is community interest, additional things can be added into that. I’d be interested in seeing what the terms of reference were for the consultant that was hired to do the program review and if I could get a copy of that.

Also, I’d like to know if any other — since we’re delayed anyway — community groups would have been consulted. I mentioned a trades centre. There may be also some interest in a daycare centre being built in the school; that was something that was...

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I’ve been asking questions about the Diamond Jenness Secondary School renovation. I’ve been told that it was pushed back because they’re doing a program review to ensure they have the right configuration and enough space and so on, probably to address numerous issues.

One of the programs in the school that there’s been a lot of uptake on and a lot of interest in has been the pre-trades shop area. A while back there was a committee formed in Hay River to look at developing some kind of a trade training centre for Hay River.

My question is: can I get a bit more detail on...

I just want to say that I know there are a lot of pressures on our capital budget and there are priorities. I don’t want to make it sound like we’re thinking that the needs of the Legislative Assembly are greater than other people’s, but literally, there is such a dip in that driveway out there that I scold my daughter when she’s picking me up, because she bottoms out our little car there in that hole. It scares me. It scrapes right on the bottom.

When the Speaker refers to this proposal being turned down at the authority level, just to be clear, is he talking about a committee of deputy...