Debates of March 24, 2004 (day 7)

Thank you, Mr. Dent. Mr. Allen.

Thank you. I'm raising a question there, Mr. Chairman, under the glossary of the buildings and works. I'm going to ask again, just to repeat for the benefit of the Minister, would the department now consider that since the Blueberry Patch is beyond economical repair, if they would consider engaging under a long-term lease agreement with some private developers who can provide adequate and affordable student housing for the Aurora Campus? Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

Thank you, Mr. Allen. Mr. Dent.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I guess I have to be cautious about agreeing with the Member that we just spent $200,000 on buildings that were beyond economic repair, so I am not going to agree to that. We are not saying that.

In the longer term, there does need to be something to address the housing issue in Inuvik and I have met with the Chair of the college board and we’ve talked about the solutions to the housing issue in all three communities, Smith, Yellowknife and Inuvik. The all have housing issues. I have told him I am prepared to consider innovative solutions, and I have encouraged the college board to take a look at alternatives that might be open to us in dealing with the housing situation in all three communities.

Thank you, Mr. Dent. We can go to college programs on page 9-26 and 9-27. Mr. Allen.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Just to confirm my source of information to the Minister, Mr. Chairman, this point was raised to me by the campus directors in Inuvik in one of my sojourns into Inuvik in the last several months. This is just for information purposes, Mr. Chairman, that it was raised to me by the director of Inuvik campus. This is just for the Minister’s information. That is my comment. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

Thank you, Mr. Allen. Mr. Hawkins.

---Interjection

Thank you for your confidence, Mr. Zoe. Wait until we get to MACA.

---Laughter

Mr. Chairman, if the Minister would honour us with the regional breakout of the total regional college contributions. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

Thank you, Mr. Hawkins. Mr. Dent.

Mr. Chairman, I would have to ask the college board to give us a breakdown if they could. We don’t fund them by regions. We don’t track it that way. We fund the college and the board, and the board, like a school board in Yellowknife, for instance, spends their money as they see fit. They don’t tell us how much they are going spend to at each campus they have.

Thank you, Mr. Dent. Mr. Hawkins.

Can I have the Minister supply it to me later?

Thank you, Mr. Hawkins. Mr. Dent.

Certainly, Mr. Chairman.

Details?

Agreed.

College funding allocation.

Agreed.

Page 9-28, detail of work performed on behalf of others.

Agreed.

Mr. Yakeleya.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. On page 9-28, on the Sahtu implementation of $20,000. Could the Minister give us a quick look into that item? Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

Thank you, Mr. Yakeleya. Mr. Dent.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. The explanation there that is written in the book is pretty much what it is. For instance, under the terms of the agreement if we need to do some consultation, we receive the funding from the federal government in order to undertake that.

Thank you, Mr. Dent. Details?

Agreed.

Page 9-29.

Agreed.

Page 9-30.

Agreed.

Detail of work performed on behalf of others, continued, total department, $10.114 million.

Agreed.

Page 9-31, revenues, recoveries and transfer payments.

Agreed.

Now can we go back to page 9-7, Education, Culture and Employment, department summary, operations expense, total operation expense, $913.705 million. Let’s try that again, $213.705 million.

Agreed.

Now can you go to infrastructure acquisition, CAP-17, Education, Culture and Employment, advanced education and careers, total advanced education and careers, $3.749 million. Mr. Ramsay.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I know it’s getting late. I will keep my comments brief. I know folks want to get out of here for the evening. We need a new school in Yellowknife. By the government’s own standards, that bears true. Like I mentioned, at Ecole St. Joseph’s, that’s a school in my riding, they are conducting programs with special needs students in broom closets and I think it is unacceptable. I believe the enrolment at St. Patrick High School is full. I believe YK 2 needs a new school and I think it’s incumbent on the government to ensure that land availability is available to make this happen. I am not sure of the process, because I am new to this whole system, of how to get a new school for Yellowknife on the five-year capital plan, but I would like the Minister to know that that is a big interest to me in getting a new school in the city and something I will bring up quite often. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Ramsay. Mr. Dent.

Mr. Chairman, I am always pleased when I can be responsive and passionate and…

---Laughter

…I would like to point out that I have already responded to the Member that there is a new school for Yellowknife in the plan with construction starting in 2006-07. We have already identified in the five-year plan the need for the school. We now have to work with all the boards in Yellowknife to discuss the school and figure out where and how it’s going to go. The school itself is in the books. There hasn’t been any decision yet as to which school board is going to get it at this point, but we are going to have to have that discussion fairly soon.

Thank you, Mr. Dent. Mr. Ramsay.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Thank you, Mr. Minister.

Mr. Yakeleya.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I am going to ask the question again and do my job before I call it a night, about the Norman Wells museum. I see it in the books here and I would like to somehow communicate to the community. They indicated to me that they were in the books somehow and all of a sudden it disappeared and they are scratching their heads and wondering why. I want to see about this issue in terms of getting this back on the books for Norman Wells. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

Thank you, Mr. Yakeleya. Mr. Dent.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. There is $27,000 in the budget, as the Member has noted, and it’s based on application. So it isn’t a lot of money. Part of the problem is the cash situation the government finds itself, but that’s available to museums in the North to apply for. It will be assessed as we get the applications as to how we can spend that money.

Thank you, Mr. Dent. Mr. Yakeleya.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. The last comment is the museums in the Northwest Territories are an asset to our people and knowledge for our kids. I suppose the museums in what they are doing and I think museums should be in all the regions because there’s a lot of knowledge for our children to visit, and I was taken aback when I went to visit the museum in Norman Wells and saw a lot of good things that I didn’t take notice of before. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Those are my comments.

Thank you, Mr. Yakeleya. Mr. Dent.

I take the Member’s comments and would agree with him that museums are an important aspect of life in the North.