Michael Miltenberger

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the Joint Leadership Council already has that within their mandate. In the terms of reference we agreed to, as I just indicated in the last two responses, to formalize that process and that’s how we intend to move forward, that it’s comprised of all the board chairs and they are at the table and doing an effective job, in my opinion. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to recognize two key people of the Yellowknife Seniors' Society; the president, Ms. Sandra Taylor and, of course, Ms. Vivian Squires, the new executive director, who are with us today in the audience. Thank you.

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Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As Minister, I always maintain in this portfolio the ultimate responsibility and I can’t give that up, but I am working very closely with the Joint Leadership Council. In fact, we spent most of the day last week meeting with the folks at Stanton to talk about our relationship and how we’re going to better move forward collectively and provide the governance oversight that’s required to do that job effectively when you consider the size of Stanton and that it’s a territorial resource with an $80 million budget and 500 staff. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, all the capital projects we bring forward are very good on their merit and we’ve been working hard on recognizing, as the Member has pointed out, that there is a need here. We are competing for scarce resources, as the Members all know. But we are bringing it forward, along with a number of other initiatives and we will be making…We have, I believe, made a very good case. The factors are going to be looked at like the capital fund that’s available, the cost of the project as it’s been initially laid out. But we are moving on this and it is on our agenda...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to take a moment to acknowledge the contributions that persons with disabilities provide to our communities. This year, Disability Awareness Week is recognized in the NWT from May 28th until June 3rd. The theme for this year is Living, Working and Educating Together - Include People with Disabilities.

Disability can affect all of us directly or indirectly at any point in our lives. The onus of responsibility is upon us all to include people with disabilities in every aspect of life. The important message that comes with this is that we focus on people's...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, what was initially proposed by YACCS was both that we would cover the O and M, as well YACCS would take out the loan and we would just cover off the monthly mortgage payments. Mr. Speaker, this issue has been on the table for some time now. There’s been funds, as the Member indicated, committed to this and the direction from Cabinet was to put this into the current business planning process that is now underway in the capital planning process and that has been done. Work has been done on the model and the initial cost estimates which we have received....

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, work is underway as we meet in this House. Business plans, both on the O and M side and the capital side are being worked on. There will be formal review by committee members in the coming months and formally, as well, in the fall. Over the next three or four months the work on the business plans is going to continue and it will go through the normal process of committee review and discussion, as well as initial review by Cabinet. So that process is going to unfold here over the next three or four months. Thank you.

I am, Mr. Speaker, and on May 26th I wrote to the chair of the Social Programs committee to give her the latest information that we had available. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I’ve had a number of discussions with the Minister for Public Works and Services, and we’ve made sure that the lines of communication are operating as they should be and we’ve rectified whatever missteps there may have been and we are carrying on. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the intent is still to relocate the program. The initial intent was to renovate work done by some experts in this field that came back with a report that indicated that for the same price they could build new. As Minister, I thought I was obligated under good sense and good management to at least take a look at the options since they indicated it would add 20 to 30 years to the life expectancy of the building. So those are the steps we are taking at this point to see in fact to ask for the estimates for either demolition and construction new, or just...