Michael Miltenberger

Mr. Chairman, the issue of if the negotiations…. Where the negotiated contract exceeds the mandate that has been given, then there is requirement to come back to FMB for further approval.

The normal ratio or mix for leased and then owned assets usually is about 60-40. You have 40 per cent where you own it — you have your core business and you control the space — and you have the rest of your portfolio on the lease side. In Inuvik we have 93 per cent leased, 7 per cent that we own. The 7 per cent that we own is 30 to 40 years old and in a state of decrepitude, as the Minister of Public Works has articulated clearly. We have a portfolio in Inuvik that is overbalanced and limits our ability to have our core services in buildings we own and control. It’s an issue, which is one of...

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I’ll refer that question to Minister Bob McLeod.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. The Members have the plan. If there are going to be things moved around or moved up because it’s in everybody’s interest, then we are going to have to try to make the adjustments to make that happen.

Minister McLeod indicated that by the time all the program reviews are done with Education and all the other design work is done, what is currently budgeted for the project may not be…. The figure may change. At this point the commitment is that we’ll make every effort, as we’ve done with other schools like the one in Yellowknife. If it proves up, then we can move this...

Mr. Chairman, if the Member is unable to find the information, I’ll make sure he gets a copy.

Mr. Chairman, the issue is of the letter of support for the negotiated contract being either agreed to or not by Cabinet. Once that decision is made, the issue of conflict, as far as I understand from what our system tells us, is no longer an issue. In this case Premier Roland — Minister Roland at the time — had written a letter of support. He declared conflict when the issue came before Cabinet and was not in the room when the decision was made that already was signed off, as we just discussed, by Premier Handley. After that, this goes into the capital process. The negotiated contract process...

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. What was received were some unsolicited proposals that were brought forward and examined, which is where we get the information indicated — a premium of about $38 million. There was no formal request.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Once again, given the program content of the question, I’ll refer that question to Minister Bob McLeod.

The Member is asking me to speculate on hypotheticals, but the Minister of Public Works and Services indicated that if it all goes well — and we hit every step and everything is done on time — there could be an opportunity to do things at an accelerated rate.

Mr. Chairman, those subcontractors would be working for the general contractor. They are not our subcontractors. I’d like to ask Minister McLeod if he’d like to add further.