Mahsi, Mr. Chair. With any planning process for infrastructure, we have to work with the college to identify the funds that may be available to them. Then we need to work out the logistics of it. I will get my director to elaborate on the process itself. Mahsi.
Thank you, Minister Lafferty. Mr. Devitt.
Mr. Chair, the initial planning is funded by the department to do the needs assessment. We’ve also worked very closely with the college to assess their spatial needs and develop guidelines working very closely with the college. Once we’ve identified what the needs are, then it does go through the government capital planning process and the first stage is the approval of a planning study, which would determine the scope of the project and take it through to schematic design. But that’s part of the government’s capital planning process. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Devitt. Mr. Hawkins.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. How much money is being dedicated under this fiscal year and the last two fiscal years towards a needs assessment for the Aurora College to be expanded into an independent campus? Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Hawkins. For that we’ll go to Minister Lafferty.
Mahsi, Mr. Chair. I would have to get my director to elaborate. He’s been involved in the process since we’ve been discussing the college for several years now. So I’ll get Mr. Devitt to elaborate.
Thank you, Minister Lafferty. Mr. Devitt.
We don’t have a specific budget for that, but department staff work very closely with Public Works and Services, which provides technical information and planning support. We work with our clients, including the college, to identify the needs and each year we update them. We’re now going through that process and we will take that information into the government’s capital planning process. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Devitt. Mr. Hawkins.
Is any budget being considered for this fiscal year on a needs assessment for Aurora College? Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Hawkins. Minister Lafferty.
Mahsi, Mr. Chair. I believe Mr. Devitt answered that. It’s not in the business planning cycle at this point. Mahsi.
Over the last six years I’ve heard the Minister say there’s planning, discussions, planning and discussions, and more planning and discussions on the Aurora College. So what type of planning money has been committed that I’ve heard over the last six years? I’m trying to get a sense here, I asked for the last two fiscal years as well. So we hear the same answer over and over again, but now I’m hearing zero money. So I’m left to conclude that there’s some anomaly in his answers as he keeps giving them to the House about how much money he’s talked about planning for all these years. So the anomaly is us, the one he’s created. So how much money has gone into the planning of an independent Aurora campus and where does it show up? Thank you.
Mahsi. Like every year, we go through these assessments with any infrastructure that’s available that’s before us. That’s how we invest our funding, working closely with the college, or if it is the schools then we have to work closely with the schools. If we need to hire a consultant to do that, engaging community members, then we expand in those areas. We don’t have the actual numbers before us, but over the years assessment does cost money and that’s what we do on an annual basis when the opportunity for infrastructure is before us. So those are areas that we have worked closely with the college and, as you know, we extended their lease agreement as well. So we are getting to the point where Public Works is working closely with them to identify options for how we can move forward on this because three years will be before us in due time. Now we’re on to a year already. So we need to re-evaluate those areas. Mahsi.
Thank you, Minister Lafferty. Mr. Hawkins, your time is up. Do you have any more questions? I have no one else on this page. However, Mr. Hawkins, if you’re going to continue I’d ask that if you have anything new to offer on this subject given the fact that we’ve had two cycles of questioning today, we had one cycle of questioning the previous Committee of the Whole day, so unless you have something very new to offer, please rephrase your questions to something new. Thank you.
Thanks, Mr. Chairman. The Minister just made note of documents. I’d like if maybe he could elaborate for the House which documents he’s referring to. That’s certainly a new question. What dollar amounts are associated with those documents? Thank you.
Mahsi. That information that Mr. Devitt referred to was a needs assessment. Those are some of the areas that are part of the process when we talk about the capital planning process. If I may, again, Mr. Devitt can elaborate on the process itself. Mahsi.
Thank you, Minister Lafferty. Mr. Devitt.
Two of some of the documents we prepared, one of them is the 10-year education plan for Yellowknife, which looks at the all the educational facilities, including the college. We’ve also worked with the college to develop guidelines, which we use to determine the needs of different campuses. So those are two of the documents. Then each year we go through a process of looking at technical and planning information and identifying or updating the needs of the college and the education authorities.
Thank you, Mr. Devitt. Mr. Hawkins.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Are there any technical or planning documents on the needs assessments of the college that are being anticipated for this fiscal year that are specific to the college itself? Furthermore, what has the department developed, and how much money have they spent in the past two fiscal years to that end?
A lot of the work has been, or most of the work has been, done by government staff both in the department and Public Works. I believe at one point the guidelines were part of the work was contracted out, but I need to confirm that.
Back to the technical plans and needs assessments specific to the college over the last, including this, year for the plan going forward as well as the past two fiscal years. What is the department able to share as to the work developed and foreseen for the planning portion of the capital planning of the Aurora College?
Thank you, Mr. Hawkins. Mr. Lafferty.
Mahsi, Mr. Chairman. We’ll share what information we can possibly share. We need to engage the college as well. Some of the information may not be satisfied for us to share with the public, but we’ll have to engage them. There is a lot of information being shared between the two departments. With that we can go back to the standing committee and share some information that could be made available.
Thank you, Mr. Lafferty. Mr. Hawkins.
I’m not on the standing committee, so I will go to the Minister for his thoughts on that regard.
We can share it with the Members.
What planning position of development, technical information, planning documents, or needs assessment has the Aurora College provided to the department on their own initiative?
This is an area that we obviously don’t have the information detail before us. We’re leaning towards the capital planning. We are again working close with the college, the Board of Governors, to identify the needs, the needs assessment. We will provide that information to the Members once we engage the college. We will provide that information in due time. Unless my director has some detailed information which I may not have in front of me, I will allow Mr. Devitt.
Thank you, Mr. Lafferty. Mr. Devitt.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. The 10-year education facility plan for Yellowknife is on the department website. That is available to the public.
Thank you, Mr. Devitt. Mr. Hawkins.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. The question was, what did Aurora College put forward as a capital planning initiative to the department on their own initiative? Now, we’ve heard the Minister and certainly Mr. Devitt talk about the technical planning the department does through its needs assessment. What initiative for the planning process has been put forward by the college so that we know where it goes into the system so that could be rolled forward? What was the college’s initiative?
Thank you, Mr. Hawkins. Mr. Lafferty.
Mahsi, Mr. Chairman. We did over time receive correspondence from the college. Just recently we received one that showed an expression of interest on the campus itself. That is an area that we are currently exploring within our department. We will be going through the capital planning process, and it will be addressed at that level too.
Speaking in general to capital planning, that is, what type of correspondence has the Minister received? If you could speak to the general nature thereof as to the intent of what the request was or move forward to the initiative. The nature of the general request needs to be built into the capital planning process, so if the Minister can speak to the nature and how often this request has come forward.
Again, as indicated, we just received the letter from the college that is showing expression of interest. That’s all it lays out. Now our department and the college need to sit down and discuss that, the interest, and where we’re going to go with that. Although we speak in general terms, we are talking about capital planning process. We will get there when the time comes. Now we are going to have my department meet with the college.
Maybe the Minister could elaborate what expression of interest means.
There is an interest to have a facility in Yellowknife. That has been brought up on numerous occasions in this House, and we are working towards that.
Okay, so that we’re clear on the record, the Minister has a letter of correspondence from the college expressing an interest on developing an independent campus in Yellowknife. Is that correct?
The letter expresses an interest in a college campus. That’s as far as it went. Like I said, we need to get into more detail, which wasn’t provided.
Is this the only request of this type of nature – and I’m trying to speak in general terms, that is – that the department has received? Or have they received other requests of a similar nature in the past couple of years?
There have been other private sectors, as well, just showing an interest in how they can get involved, providing some options. Just preliminary discussions with potential industries or private sectors, I should say. It is the college that has been showing interest, as well, so we will be meeting with them. I’m sure they have been meeting with various private sectors as well. That detailed information will be brought to our attention.
I go back to my last question: Is this the first time they’ve received some type of expression of interest on this particular topic about expanding the college? Find whatever wording that makes someone feel comfortable, whether it’s independent campus or stand-alone or whatever the phrase may be, but is this the first time or, as I said, has there been other expressions of interest in the last few years since this Minister has been Minister of the department?
I’m not referring to private sectors who’ve expressed interest. I’m talking about the campus itself or the college itself. Has there been any other requests of this general nature, and, if so, what and when?
Mr. Hawkins, I believe that question was already asked and already answered. Do you have another question?
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I respectfully say that he started going on to private sector requests. He didn’t answer that. The only time he said he got a letter was from the college recently that’s an expression of interest. That’s when I asked what does that mean. Then I asked him about, is this the only time this type of request went in. The record will state that he started talking about private sector requests being involved. He didn’t answer the question, which had to do with, has Aurora College sent letters in the past in the last few years to that. I would say that I didn’t get a clear answer on the record.
Thank you, Mr. Hawkins, for clarifying. We’ll go to Mr. Lafferty.
Mahsi, Mr. Chairman. When we’re talking about capital planning projects, which we are, the planning process itself, we reach out to the college. We reach out to the school boards and identify what their needs are. In general terms, yes, we are getting feedback from them.
What I’m referring to was just recent because they know the capital planning project is coming up. In usual terms they show interest. So they showed interest in writing to us, and now we’re going to meet with them to discuss the capital planning project that will be before us with the college campus, stand-alone, and it has been a debate in this House and a lot of interest around Yellowknife citizens. These kinds of requests do come up, and we deal with them on a case-by-case basis.
