Wendy Bisaro

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and thank you, Mr. Premier. I appreciate that some things are long term. I am particularly concerned, as I said, about the six to eight month period that’s upcoming. I hear that there are a couple of things there.

The Premier mentioned the increase in the subsidy for seniors for their home heating fuel. I have to state that I disagree that a subsidy is going to have an impact on the cost of living. The fuel is still going to cost the same amount of money whether there’s a subsidy for me as a senior or not. I’d like to say to the Premier that I think we have a...

I thank the Premier for his comments. I didn’t really hear an answer — I guess I’m looking for a philosophical discussion here, but I didn’t really hear an answer — as to how the fuel subsidy will reduce the cost of living overall.

The cost of a litre of fuel is the cost of a litre of fuel, whether it’s subsidized or otherwise. A subsidy will simply reduce the bill to the building owner for heating that particular building. In my mind the only way to reduce the actual cost of living for the homeowner is to use an alternative or cheaper source of heat. I’d like to know if the Premier agrees with...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’d like to use my Member’s statement today to comment on some of the remarks I’ve heard the Premier make over the last little while.

In his sessional statement at the beginning of this month the Premier mentioned that we must manage government expenditures. Thank goodness that’s still a focus. We absolutely must pursue the goal of matching expenditures to our revenue.

The Premier went on to mention some actions the government might take to manage our expenditures — identifying areas for financial improvement and reinvesting our dollars wisely, for example. I agree that...

Thanks for the explanation. To the time required to develop and design.... So we have an educational program at the end of this year. We know what the technical upgrades and requirements are. What is the time period to get to a working design that can be used for determining construction?

Okay. Thanks for that answer. We approved $800,000 for this particular project in the ’08–09 capital budget; February, I think, we approved it. My understanding was that was planning money. So if we’re going to have an educational program done at the end of this month — I think that’s what the Minister said — I wonder when planning for renovations can take place. If the educational program is there, we know what’s required in terms of the technical requirements, building envelope, upgrades and so on. When do we expect that planning is going to start to develop some sort of drawings for this...

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I’d like to return to a discussion of the delayed, deferred school project in Hay River. I’d like to follow up on some of Mr. Bromley’s questions that he listed and a few of my own.

I know this project’s been delayed. I have heard that the education program — or lack of one or the need to plan for one — is the reason for delay, but is that the only reason that this project was delayed two years?

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I want to make a number of comments relative to this motion.

Unlike other Members, I do feel that we’ve received adequate substantiation for this project. From what I hear periodically, this project has been around for quite some time, although it hasn’t been in place as a capital project. But there’s been a need for office space in Inuvik for longer than the last year and a half, from what I’m given to understand.

One of the strong factors for me is that if we build the building ourselves, we will save, give or take, $38 million over the 20 year life of this particular...

I understand the difficulty in giving me a time frame. Can I get a rough idea of whether it’s between three months and three years, or three months and one year? I won’t hold you to it, but an estimate would be helpful.

I guess I just have one last question. Mr. Bromley sort of alluded to the fact that there’s a bit of a discrepancy here, and I’m having the same difficulty. In the capital budget for ’08–09 we approved $800,000 for this current year, and it earmarked $15 million for this project in ’09–10. Now that $15 million is gone, and there is nothing for that particular school project in the ’09–10 budget. I’m having difficulty understanding how — I think it was February we passed the capital budget — in February of this year we expected, I would presume, construction with a $15 million tag to start in...

Thank you for the answer. I guess that leads nicely into my next question. How long does it generally take to develop an education program, and when was this one first started?