Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. On my most recent visit to Nahanni Butte I had the opportunity to tour the new gymnasium once again. The community is quite pleased with the building as it provides students and the community with a gymnasium for physical education and all community activities.
Regretfully, we have not yet had the official opening. Unfortunately, there are serious outstanding construction deficiencies that prevent full use of the gymnasium and negatively affect the comfort of the users.
One of the major problems is the gymnasium floor. Its installation was done by rolling out and gluing down synthetic flooring. Since then, moisture has seeped in and dissolved the glue, causing the floor to lift. There are large bubbles on the surface of the gym floor. It is not much good for indoor sports and it could easily lead to accidents.
There are a number of other deficiencies. Light diffusers need to be replaced and there is water seepage in one of the back rooms. The ventilation system in the gym is so noisy that you can’t carry on a conversation. As well, there’s an acoustic problem. The building easily echoes, Mr. Speaker.
It seems that Nahanni Butte has been plagued with delays in completion of government projects. I recently expressed my concern with the deferral of the improvements to the winter access road, and last spring spoke to delays in completion of home renovations.
In this case, the end of the warranty period of the school construction project is coming up. I urge the Minister of Public Works and Services to review this matter and ensure that deficiencies that are the responsibility of the contractor are corrected. Then the students and community can enjoy the safe and comfortable environment they deserve. Then we would be deserving of a full opening ceremony for the community’s dream: the Nahanni Butte gymnasium. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Menicoche. The honourable Member for Kam Lake, Mr. Ramsay.
