Debates of October 13, 2005 (day 9)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, for the second day in a row I rise to speak about the Samuel Hearne Secondary School. Today I want to talk about the students’ perspective and some of the things that they are saying. A few students have said that they don’t mind using the college for classrooms because it prepares them for life after high school. One student wonders why the pilings were not repaired over the two-month summer break. She thinks the school should be knocked down and replaced before it knocks itself down. One young lady in her final year is worried whether her younger brother and sister will have a safe and healthy learning environment.

Mr. Speaker, the high school years should be some of the best young people have growing up before they head out into the real world. We have let our students down because we’re not keeping the school safe, because people responsible for safety were not doing their job. The same people are still working and making decisions today.

Mr. Speaker, this situation is ridiculous. With all the construction going on around these students, many of them should have their trades tickets by now. Mr. Speaker, I’ll say again that this government has let our students down. They should be enjoying their youth in a normal school, not worrying about whether it’s going to fall down around them. I want to see this government live up to its obligation to fix the situation as soon as possible and make sure this never happens again in Inuvik or any other NWT community. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

---Applause