I think the most youth we send out for treatment in one fiscal year would be five. Youth treatment is an interesting thing because most youth treatment isn’t voluntary, it would be youth treatment that’s forced upon the youth to go for treatment. Very few youth at their age would admit that they have an addiction issue or would need some treatment. They don’t recognize that until much later in life. Most youth that are treated are actually forced to go to treatment. We do that approximately, like I said, to a maximum of about five per year. We really have to determine the value of money for this type of situation.
There is some cost to treating youth in the South, we recognize that; a very high cost. We know that because we go for supps when we do the youth treatment money. I would say that we would look at something, possibly, but the likelihood of us having a full facility to treat that few people, we probably would not do it. We may set up a program that can go into another facility.
Thank you, Mr. Beaulieu. Final supplementary, Mrs. Groenewegen.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’d like to get a few parents in the Northwest Territories who are struggling with teenagers that are involved with drugs and alcohol and I’d like them to weigh in on the subject. That we only have five youth in the Northwest Territories every year that volunteer to go for treatment? I know we can’t force them, but there is, if you just look at our statistics, we have got to recognize as a government that there is a need to make something available. Maybe if there was something available, maybe they would come. Maybe there would be interventions by families that say, look, we need to address these situations. If the government does not see the way clear, could we put out some kind of a call to a non-government organization that is involved in this type of work that might like to see the need in the Northwest Territories and participate in meeting that need by looking again at such a valuable piece of infrastructure, in my opinion?
I think part of our business is to try to… We are looking at having an actual youth treatment program. An example of something we looked at was having a summer program in, say, Nats’ejee K’eh. If that was the facility we chose to continue to fund, then maybe having one program per year where we would treat youth.
Youth – I think I was not clear – are usually court ordered or forced to go to treatment by their parents. There are very, very few that ever volunteer. That’s anywhere in the country. There are very few youth that actually volunteer to go to treatment.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Can the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment provide the following information on how the $1.8 million allocated for the Aboriginal Student Achievement Initiative is being distributed?
How the funding is distributed to the regions;
A breakdown of funding being distributed to each of the 33 NWT communities;
Funding actually allocated to the Aboriginal Student Achievement committee initiatives; and
Funding being spent by the department on their own campaign on the Aboriginal Student Achievement Initiative.
Thank you, Mr. Moses. The honourable Member for Inuvik Twin Lakes, Mr. Robert McLeod.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I seek unanimous consent to return to item 5, recognition of visitors in the gallery.
---Unanimous consent granted.
Item 5, recognition of visitors in the gallery. The honourable Member for Inuvik Twin Lakes, Mr. Robert McLeod.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’d like to recognize a good constituent of Inuvik Twin Lakes, Mr. Willard Hagen.
Thank you, Mr. McLeod. The honourable Member for Thebacha, Mr. Miltenberger.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’d like to thank my colleague for going back to this number. As well, I’d like to recognize, actually, Mr. Willard Hagen, chair of the Mackenzie Valley Land and Water Board, as well as Richard Edjericon, chair of the Mackenzie Valley Environmental Impact Review Board. Thank you for coming and spending time in the Assembly.
Thank you, Mr. Miltenberger. The honourable Member for Weledeh, Mr. Bromley.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’d also like to recognize Mr. Richard Edjericon, a resident of Weledeh.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I wish to table the following document, entitled Additional Information for GNWT Response to Committee Report 1-17(3) to Review the NWT Information and Privacy Commissioner’s 2010-2011 Annual Report.
Thank you, Mr. Abernethy. Item 15, notices of motion. Item 16, notices of motion for first reading of bills. Item 17, motions. Item 18, first reading of bills. Item 19, second reading of bills. Item 20, consideration in Committee of the Whole of bills and other matters: Tabled Document 64-17(3), Northwest Territories Capital Estimates 2013-2014; Bill 2, Miscellaneous Statute Law Amendment Act, 2012; and Bill 8, An Act to Amend the Securities Act, with Mrs. Groenewegen in the chair.
I’d like to call Committee of the Whole to order. What’s the wish of the committee? Mr. Menicoche.
Thank you, Mr. Menicoche. Is committee agreed?
Agreed.
Thank you. We will commence then with a break. Thank you.
---SHORT RECESS
…Works and Services. I would like to ask Minister Abernethy if he would like to bring witnesses into the Chamber.
Yes please, Madam Chair.
Thank you, Mr. Abernethy. Does the committee agree?
Agreed.
Thank you. I’d like to ask the Sergeant-at-Arms if he would please escort the witnesses into the Chamber.
Minister Abernethy, for the record, could you please introduce your witness?
Thank you, Madam Chair. With me today is Paul Guy, the deputy minister of Public Works and Services.
Thank you, Minister Abernethy. Members, if you would please now turn to page 5-2, which is the activity summary, which we will stand down until we’ve dealt with the detail. Department summary, then. Turn, please, to page 5-4, Public Works and Services, activity summary, asset management, infrastructure investment summary, total infrastructure investment summary, $19.2 million.
Agreed.
Agreed. Thank you. No questions? Mr. Dolynny.
Thank you, Madam Chair. Regarding in the assets management, and I’m hoping we’re on 5-5. Are we there, Madam Chair?
We’re on 5-4 right now, oh, and 5-5. Sure.
Yes. Okay. Thank you, Madam Chair. Part of the project listing there includes the 6,000 square metre general purpose office building that’s being constructed in Yellowknife. We know that work is underway and I believe that this project is being spread out over a number of capital budgets over the next number of years. Could we maybe get an update as to what the total cost is projected upon completion? I’m talking a full, whole asset of this project when this project will come to full completion date. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Dolynny. Minister Abernethy.
Thank you, Madam Chair. The completion date is April 2015, and we expect to start moving people in shortly thereafter. The project is gone out for RFP, a contractor has been selected and the contract has been awarded. Total contract construction costs, including all design and tenant improvements, is $25.143 million, which works out to about a square foot cost of about $378.66 per square foot. Keeping in mind that this does include tenant improvements and specific stuff for whichever departments happen to be going in there. If you take out the tenant improvements, the total cost is around $20.019 million, which is $301.49 a square foot.
I appreciate the Minister’s detailed numbers here. The question I have here with, I guess, fair market value for what I believe is a Class A space building. Going rate within the territory capital is in the $450 per square foot range. How is the Minister and department coming in at substantially lower, almost 25 percent below what Class A grade per square foot is being done in today’s market?
I’m not sure where that particular number of the market comes from, or the GNWT’s construction. We build a wide variety of types of buildings. Speciality buildings have different costs than other more generalized buildings. I do have to say that this building is being built to a high standard. We have certain codes within the GNWT that we, as a government, have already accepted as far as building practices, efficiencies. This is going to be a state-of-the-art building. We have gone out for an open competition. We have gone to the market and these are the prices that have come in. We are confident that we are going to get a building that is worth what we pay.
Those numbers are coming from recent construction in the downtown sector from reputable companies for that $450.
I guess the next question I have has to do with remediation or site preparation for that building. There was a demolition. There was a take-down and site preparation. Does this amount of money for that remediation, was that added into the costs of this project or was this separated out as an operational cost? Thank you, Madam Chair.
We got the property where the new building is going to be located. It was an empty lot. We did have to tear down a building in the adjacent lot to make the lot that will take up the entire building. The destruction or demolition of the Tapwe Building, I believe it is called, is included in this entire budget cost. The demolition of the church that was there previously, that wasn’t a government cost. We…(inaudible)…
From what I can gather, a portion of that lot was decommissioned or under remediation, and that amount of money for that demolition will be included in the whole component cost of that project as we move forward for capital depreciation and amortization.
Madam Chair, we own the lot that the Tapwe Building was on previously. We are using that property and the property that we obtained where there used to be an old church. We obtained those properties, so we are responsible for, and the price of taking down the Tapwe Building, decommissioning it, disposing of it, is included in this budget.
Will this demolition, remediation work, site preparation, a portion that the Government of the Northwest Territories was responsible for, will this amount be part of the whole component cost and will be capitalized and amortized accordingly?
Madam Chair, all costs related to the construction of this building, including the demolition of the Tapwe Building and the site remediation, are included in the budget.
I will take that as a yes from the Minister. Thank you. I have no further questions.
Thank you. Any further questions on page 5-4, asset management, infrastructure investment summary, total infrastructure investment summary, $19.2 million? Mr. Bromley.
Thank you, Madam Chair. I wanted to ask, first of all, with respect to the 6,000 square metre general purpose office building, what the heating options are for the building. I know there is interest in the community energy system for which there still is some uncertainty. I understand there are options for sharing heat with other government buildings. Can I just get a summary on where we are at with those options? Thank you.
