Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. I was speaking about decentralization earlier and I’d like to ask the Minister of Public Works and Services about when was the last time they had assessed Fort Simpson for suitability for offices and housing availability to help plan for our continued decentralization plans. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Menicoche. The Minister of Public Works and Services, Mr. Beaulieu.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I don’t have the date of the last time those evaluations occurred. However, I’m advised recently that the Department of Public Works and Services has had discussions about Nogha Enterprises about possibly creating some office space in Fort Simpson. Thank you.
Thank you very much. Certainly, I’m glad the Minister is aware that his officials know about the plans for Nogha Enterprises to build a 20,000 square foot office building.
Will the Minister continue to direct his officials to meet with Nogha Enterprises now that they’ve been in contact to see if they can be a part of that plan for future office needs? Thank you.
Yes. We have been advised by Nogha Enterprises in discussions that they will be submitting some information to us on the description of their project and that there would be a discussion continued between Public Works and Services and Nogha Enterprises in Fort Simpson. Thank you.
Thank you very much. I just want to ask the Minister about the long-term plans for further decentralization into Fort Simpson. Thank you.
First, if there’s an evaluation being done for office space in Fort Simpson, we know there’s going to be some housing needs before the decision is made on which positions are decentralized to Fort Simpson. My understanding is the overall discussion of all the decentralized positions will continue beyond the plan that we currently have. My understanding is we have decentralized 150 positions and there will be more discussions and further phases, and Fort Simpson would most likely be part of that discussion. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Beaulieu. Final, short supplementary, Mr. Menicoche.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I am pleased that the Minister will be travelling with me this spring to Fort Simpson. Will he make time to meet with Nogha Enterprises on their plans for their new building?
I would just like to also add that the Housing Corporation will be building duplexes in Fort Simpson. There are three duplexes now slated for Fort Simpson and for all of the Nahendeh there will be eight duplexes being built for future decentralized positions. These are market positions and this is what we will be looking at. When these houses go on the market, that will be an opportunity for positions that will be decentralized to use those houses for accommodations. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Beaulieu. The honourable Member for Range Lake, Mr. Dolynny.
