Jane Groenewegen

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. With respect to the fire marshal’s report and the deficiencies that need to be corrected in the building to bring it up to code which constitute this over $3.5 million, have you had any discussion with the fire marshal as to the absolute outside limit date on occupancy and the undertaking of those corrections? Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I have two questions, then, as a result of that. No, I have three questions actually. How many units is this complex going to consist of, are they for seniors, and is the NWT Housing Corporation supplying the land on which these units are going to be built from this RFP? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Well, I will look forward to seeing that. I think we are allowed to ask hypothetical questions in Committee of the Whole. If you were building a building just for your government client departments, would these amounts remain consistent? Are they just taking up large amounts because they are in an old building with big rooms or under the standards of space that would be allowable to them, how does that compare with what they have now versus what they would mean under PWS standards for allowable sizes for offices and common areas, et cetera? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the Department of Transportation awards fixed-price contracts containing a specific scope of work to be performed for the construction of winter roads for resupply to northern communities. This was an unusual year this past year in terms of weather and conditions for winter and ice road construction. These are circumstances beyond the control of the Minister or the contractor. A bad year such as this past season makes the work of contractors potentially very costly and difficult.

The contractor has the option of ending the contract and pulling their...

I just have a few comments and I will conclude with my motion. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Thank you for the numbers, but as Mr. Ramsay said, there are 838 square metres unaccounted for. That’s kind of embarrassing. At least I would be embarrassed. You are saying that’s a burned out section of the building, but it doesn’t say…Okay. It says total building, vacant space, GNWT space, NGOs. If you add all that up, there is 838 square metres missing. Now if you say it’s a burned out section of the building someplace, that’s great, but say “burned out section of the building, 838 square metres.”...

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. When we left here last night, we had a few questions that we were looking for some answers to. Some of the ones that come to mind I wanted to know. I wanted to know the existing square footage of the Deh Cho Hall, the amount of that square footage which is now occupied by client departments of the GNWT and the amount of square footage occupied by non-government organizations who are co-habitants with government departments. That’s my first question. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. With respect to the fire marshal’s report and the deficiencies that need to be corrected in the building to bring it up to code which constitute this over $3.5 million, have you had any discussion with the fire marshal as to the absolute outside limit date on occupancy and the undertaking of those corrections? Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. From that answer it sounds like we haven’t decided what type of facility we’re at, so I’d like to know where we’re at in terms of the RFP. How far away are we on the RFP? And the other thing is, how can you have a transparent, competitive process that the Minister is talking about in regard to the RFP if he already knows that the seniors are going to own the facility? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Well, I will look forward to seeing that. I think we are allowed to ask hypothetical questions in Committee of the Whole. If you were building a building just for your government client departments, would these amounts remain consistent? Are they just taking up large amounts because they are in an old building with big rooms or under the standards of space that would be allowable to them, how does that compare with what they have now versus what they would mean under PWS standards for allowable sizes for offices and common areas, et cetera? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Just in follow-up to the Minister of the NWT Housing Corporation, I had a couple of questions that flow from the questions that I asked before. So when the Minister says that the social housing need is there in Hay River for seniors, is he effectively talking about the replacement of the Riverview Lodge, which now accommodates I believe 12 or 14 seniors who are in social seniors' housing? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.