Mr. Speaker, my riding is unique in Yellowknife in that it consists mainly of residential homes and apartment buildings with a few exceptions. There is the Catholic Church and the City of Yellowknife's water treatment plant as well as the NWT Geological Survey, Taiga lab, and Con Mine. And Mr. Speaker, there is one school, Sir John Franklin High School.
Sir John was first constructed in the 1960s with additional phases added and renovations carried out over the years. The building is also home to the Northern Arts and Cultural Centre, or NACC, one of the few theatrical arts spaces in our capital.
While operated by the Yellowknife School Board YK1, Sir John is unique as the board does not own the asset. Rather, Mr. Speaker, YK1 maintains and operates the school under agreements with the GNWT. This is likely due to the school being on the site of the former Akaitcho Hall residential school, further complicating issues.
When insurance costs escalated during the pandemic, an MOU was signed between the school boards and ECE for the GNWT to insure the schools, easing some of their financial burden. In return, the boards agreed to maintain the schools to GNWT standards. However, these standards are more stringent than their previous level of maintenance and it is costing them money. Since 2019 there has been a 30 to 40 percent increase in material costs to maintain the operations of YK1's buildings. Sir John has a chronic leaking pipe that became an emergency around Christmas and YK1 was left scrambling to find funds to pay for the patch job.
Mr. Speaker, $1 million in maintenance is required for this leaking pipe alone. Who is going to pay for that? Will YK1 have to take it out of their programming budget to fix this issue in a building they don't even own? Additionally, $100,000 in upgrades is required for Sir John's internal phone system, a safety issue when inoperable. But there aren't any funds to pay for this either. In total, YK1 needs $1.4 million for the maintenance of their schools. The ECE Minister said he would investigate this preCOVID but nothing has been done.
Mr. Speaker, we need to support our schools and ensure that all children in the NWT have safe spaces in which to learn and play. It is their right, and I hope that the department will help out our school boards with their ongoing maintenance woes. If left on their own, programs will be cut, and children will suffer. And Mr. Speaker, NWT children deserve better than that. Thank you.
Thank you, Member for Great Slave. Members' statements. Member for Kam Lake.
