Mangilaluk school, page 21. In regards to can I have an update from this Minister in regards to a finished timeline? And I have other questions with that. Thank you, Madam Chair.
Thank you. Minister of Finance.
Thank you, Madam Chair. Madam Chair, this project I certainly share some frustration with respect to the progress on this project. There seemingly has been a number of challenges over the last couple of years. And that's certainly led to a negative outlook by the community, which quite frankly saddens me more to think that the children there or the students there would think that they are not the priority of anyone in elected office. I can say at this point, while we have been assured that there be certain completions here for September, including not the least of which be a gym space, the trade space. Unfortunately, with the evacuations, this caused some site delays. You know, Yellowknife unfortunately or I don't know. It just is what it is. It still is a hub for supplies, a hub for contractors. And as such, there's now we've now been provided with a revised completion schedule. It's been amended to say that so as I think was already communicated, the total completion date would be in August of 2024, but in addition to that, we are expecting that the gym and other facilities that were previously expected for this school year are now we're looking at middle of this fall. Thank you, Madam Chair.
Thank you. Member for Nunakput.
Thank you, Madam Chair. Just give you a little bit of history. April, when we left the House, my mayor of Tuk called me. He was asking me to take the lead on it in regards to it. So I sourced out the land. I sourced out the trailers. I sourced everything out. Did all that work for our government. Had a commitment in this House for two trailers. I tried to get four but I only got two.
And all of a sudden when it's time to purchase the trailers for the community because we're they're looking at adult ed taking away from the community. They were at the time. They were going to take away the gym hamlet chambers, the one church in the community and one classroom at the adult ed. I don't know where that's at right now because we don't know. So that's the first time it ever happened to me in the Legislative Assembly since I was first elected in 2007 the first time, the first go around, that any Minister that promised me something that fell through. I'm really disappointed. I brought them, both Ministers into the community, to see where we're at of getting trailers. So basically, we came in. We said we'd work towards it. Then all of a sudden, we're making good headway, then it all stops. We have problems with the contractor having not enough people working on the school. Now they're making a tunnel in from the school into the gym to where they're going to have kids going to school in a construction site. So anywhere else that we've done schools we did one here in Yellowknife. They had eight or ten portables brought in from the south sitting here that are going into another project in Behchoko. I know that. What's the difference between Tuk, Behchoko, and Yellowknife for that project? Tell me. Just for getting proper safety of students in my riding. To me, this is a total fail. I'm thankful for the school. I'm very thankful because the first time I ever brought this project up was in '07 because I had 38 staff using one bathroom. And now the school looks beautiful. We had a tour with the Ministers and that, it's going to be a beautiful school. But at the end of the day, though, it's the safety of the kids that are my concern. It's the safety of my leadership back home. We had meetings. Why aren't we able to get these portables into the community? Even two of them. Why? Thank you, Madam Chair.
Thank you. Minister of Finance.
Thank you, Madam Chair. Madam Chair, this has been a difficult contract with the contractor that was in place. There have been some steps taken over the summer, I understand, to try to bring greater oversight to the delivery of the project. And the last update that I had also received just before the evacuations was that that had in fact brought about some changes, namely in the form of well, greater oversight from the project management team, a new project manager on top of that, and as such greater confidence that the promises made around a September date for the gym and the trade facility would, in fact, be achieved. Madam Chair, I was not at that time anticipating the evacuation or the magnitude of what that would do to a number of projects, including this one. And frankly, I wouldn't have necessarily expected that this one would be impacted by it. But unfortunately, it was. And that is where that project stands.
Infrastructure and ECE have did analyze whether or not having portables would be feasible. Both came back in the end indicating that existing portables had already places where they were destined to and that the idea of putting in these portables as was being contemplated or described as not deemed feasible by infrastructure for a number of reasons. So that's where that ended. And, again, as I said, yes, I'm also disappointed that the expectation we had for the September delivery is now not going to be met. But we are we'll certainly for the time we have left been watching to see that they can meet their revised timelines. Thank you.
Thank you. Member for Nunakput.
Thank you, Madam Chair. Well, that I wouldn't say in the House that like, it's a lie. I had this company sorted out, lined up for them. I went out. I did all the groundwork for them. It would have took six weeks for these portables to be built. And I had them ready for August 15th coming into Tuk if we followed the plan.
Tell me where the money went in regards to being told I'm allowed to have two trailers in the community, not four, on the floor of the House? It's in Hansard. I want these trailers. I want safety of the youth in my community of Mangilaluk School deserve no less than here, no less than anywhere across our territory, and it's all been done. All the homework was done by me and my office seeking the land, seeking the trailers, the company out of Lethbridge. I did all the groundwork. All they had to do was sign and they fell short on that. So tell me, are we allowed to get these four trailers now? And don't burn the clock because I only got two minutes and 30 seconds. Thank you.
Thank you. Minister.
Madam Chair, there's nothing in this capital plan for additional portables. Thank you.
Member for Nunakput.
Why? I was promised in the House in the Legislative Assembly during a regular sitting day by the Minister of the day, which is sitting across from me, saying we're allowed to have two, two portables, not four, could do two. We had everything sorted out. Why aren't why is that money not in place to get them done? And it's shameful. They all I always say they got a Minister's directive not to be told they could put it down. Why didn't they pull that trigger when they had the chance? What is going on here is not right, and they know it. They got to look at themselves in the mirror. I got to answer to my leadership back home that's asking me what's happened. We were so close. They came to the community. And now all they did is let them hear what they want to hear on this project. I want those two trailers. Find it somewhere in regards to this money. When it's stuff like this, it's so hard to find money. When it's other things, it's not a problem. Yeah, bring it forward, we'll pass it again. Another $100 million, $120 million we're looking for. So Madam Chair, I want these guys to find the money in regards to Mangilaluk School and two portables for Tuktoyaktuk by the end of the week. Thank you.
Thank you, Member for Nunakput. Did you have any further questions for the Minister?
Two trailers, Madam Chair. So make it happen. Thank you.
All right. Member for Kam Lake.
Thank you very much, Madam Chair. And thank you to my colleague from Nunakput for painting a picture, you know, life on the ground in Tuk.
We as the Standing Committee of Social Development had the opportunity to be hosted in the community of Tuktoyaktuk by the Member in June of this year. And what we saw was a school gymnasium that was not useable by community members because it was literally the entire gym was covered in a tarp in order to protect the work that was going on underneath it. But that meant that kids weren't allowed to use it. My perspective on this project is different because I serve a lot of the contractors that are doing some of the work on it from down here. And so my experience with this goes back to the beginning of this Assembly. This is a project that was awarded by government before we were all here. And it's still not done. We this it was awarded in the 19th Assembly. There were delays, yes, with COVID, but there were issues with this that were raised to myself that were then raised to the Minister of Infrastructure years ago. And I'm sitting here looking at an email right now that says to me, you know, staff from infrastructure were travelling to the community of Tuktoyaktuk almost exactly a year ago. And things haven't changed. Things the school is still not done. And when we were there in June, one of the saddest piece of that was what was portrayed to the committee as far as how this has had an impact on the attendance of schools in the community.
And a lot of times when especially when you're younger, gym is your favorite it's your favorite class. It's what excites kids. You know, math isn't exciting for everybody, but gym generally is. It's also an area that communities use in order to bring communities together and that has been removed from the community of Tuktoyaktuk who has just experienced a tremendously challenging year. And so having a school out of play for, you know and a project like this on the books and having a school kind of taken apart for years and years and years, we're not just talking about, you know, a delay to contractors; we're talking about a complete shift and a complete change to the fabric of a community. And that's a huge, huge deal. And so, you know, the Minister responded to the Member's questions in regards to schedule, but I'd like to know what was the initial budget for this, what has been spent to date, and of this money that is in this capital budget, what portion of that is specifically for Mangilaluk School in Tuk? Thank you.
Thank you, Member. Minister of Finance.
Thank you, Madam Chair. So, Madam Chair, I do have, I believe, the project here of $36 million. This was it was from prior years. We still have $2.5 million is what we're asking for the current plan that's before the House right now. This was a major renovation. This was intended to be, you know, really a place that has a mezzanine area, the gym viewing, a gym a new gym with, say, all bells and whistles, a career and technology building. It was meant to be the kind of flagship place that students want to go to school. It was something Madam Chair, I don't think anyone disagrees with the importance of this, and it is not lost on me that the Beaufort Delta has had a number of challenges in the last few years in particular, and it is a region that I am concerned for those students. So it is not lost on anyone, and it is not lost on the government.
We are unfortunately relying on a contractor who it became apparent was not able to complete this on the timeline that we had hoped. And when meetings were being held this summer, we were given further assurances and steps were taken and in line with those assurances to demonstrate that the good faith would be acted upon. As I said, project management was changed, and oversight was provided, and things seemed to be going well. The evacuations did lead to some delays. I don't have the details of it, but I can certainly get that. And right now, as I I don't think I had the date in front of me before, but we are looking at a date in November at this point to have what was previously promised at those meetings in the summer that I was at. That included the completion of the gym, the and the CTS, or the trades space. So looking there at November the 1st. Thank you, Madam Chair.
Thank you. Member for Kam Lake.
Thank you very much, Madam Chair. So this project, the Mangilaluk School, will be done November 1st, 2023, in its entirety? Can that be confirmed, please.
Thank you. Minister of Finance.
Thank you, Madam Chair. No, as I said earlier, Madam Chair, the overall completion date for the total project is August of 2024. The revised gym completion date because when we recognize, again, discussing with community leadership at the behest of the Member from the region was really looking at that as a priority for the community for the reasons that the Member's already mentioned and so the revised gym completion date, which was supposed to be ready for the school year, is now, I've been given, November the 1st. Thank you.
Thank you. Member for Kam Lake.
Yeah, thank you very much, Madam Chair. Madam Chair, just quickly, then, so if the students are still going to be without the completion of the school for another school year, what is the interim solution from this government for yet another school year? What is the interim solution of what they're going to do with kids? I know that my colleague mentioned portables. And we've heard that on the floor of this House numerous times. And so is that an option that they're looking at for this school year?
Thank you, Madam Chair. Madam Chair, I understand that early access to this gym and a school, rather, at this point as quickly as possible it does remain a priority, which is why it is given the new November 1st date. And in the interim, there's been a phasing of some temporary classrooms that are adjusted in order to continue instruction. Thank you, Madam Chair.
Thank you. Member for Kam Lake.
Thank you very much, Madam Chair. Madam Chair, given the conversation we've just had now about the importance of schools in communities, the fact that we heard, you know, even during the Premier's Member's statement about how this has truly been an Assembly where we have gone from crisis to crisis to crisis, what is the intent, then, of the Department of Infrastructure what are their intentions of how to keep these very important projects moving on time and moving to a state of completion? Because to get a project like this done in five years is not timely. It's not realistic for a community to not have a school for five years or to not have access to a gym for extended periods of time. Like, these are projects that we need to make sure are moving along on time, on budget, and in a realistic amount of time. Thank you, Madam Chair.
Thank you. Minister.
Madam Chair, that is a huge question. It's a huge question that comes in light of the fact that, you know, again, this was this was a difficult few years, and we have some projects where people work in communities for safety reasons didn't want teams come into their communities. Then we had other projects where they were not able to go into those communities. And we've had then some other projects where the supply chain has utterly disrupted our schedules and then significantly impacted on the costs.
So I'm not sure that in at the end of those three years of that nature is necessarily the right moment to provide some simple answer to say well, okay, we'll just you know, we'll do better next time. We have to do better. I can say, Madam Chair, that there was less carryovers over the last year that in terms of the proportionality of the total budget and then what was actually being spent. That has seen some improvement. We do have a more manageable project, which not only does it mean that we'll spend more of the budget; it also means that we are now having to prioritize the projects that are actually going to get done and then be able to better monitor them. So hopefully those two things combined with hopefully less crisis over the next few years we'll see significant improvements across the board. Thank you.
Thank you. Are there any further questions under the junior kindergarten to grade 12 school services? Seeing none.
Department of Education, Culture and Employment, junior kindergarten to grade 12 school services, infrastructure investment, $3,100,000. Does committee agree?
Agreed.
Thank you. Members, please turn now to the departmental summary found on page 17. Department of Education, Culture and Employment, 20242025 Capital Estimates, $3,590,000. Does committee agree?
Agreed.
Does committee agree that consideration of Department of Education, Culture and Employment is now complete? Thank you.
Agreed.
Committee, we will now consider the Department of Environment and Climate Change, which begins on page 23.
Sergeantatarms. Minister, would you please introduce your witness.
Thank you, Madam Chair. Madam Chair, I still have the deputy Minister of Finance with me, and I'm now joined by Dr. Erin Kelly who is the deputy minister for Environment and Climate Change.
Welcome. Committee, we will now consider the Department of Environment and Climate Change, which begins on page 23. We will defer the departmental totals and review the estimates by activity summary beginning on page 25, with environmental management monitoring and climate change, with information items on page 26. Is there any questions from Members? Member for Frame Lake.
Yeah, thanks, Madam Chair. So I see that there's it looks like there's a new air quality monitoring trailer in Norman Wells and something called a gas chromatograph which, I guess, can be used to identify the gases that make up samples. But I'm just kind of curious what's our monitoring air quality monitoring network look like now, and are we contemplating any changes as a result of the horrendous fire season we had? Thanks, Madam Chair.
Thank you. Minister.
Thank you, Madam Chair. I wouldn't be in a position to speak to what might be coming down the pipes here. I turn it to Dr. Kelly, please.
Dr. Kelly.
Thank you, Madam Chair. The network is already set up to assess for mostly particulate matter associated with forest fires. So we will be maintaining it the way that it is right now. And this air quality monitoring trailer is because the one that's there is past its useful life. Thank you, Madam Chair.
Thank you. Member for Frame Lake.
Thanks, Madam Chair. Yeah, I realize I'm probably straying a bit here, but are there any plans, then, to expand the network in the future as a result of the fires and what we've learned or maybe not learned? Thanks.
Thank you. Minister.
Madam Chair, I'm going to go on a limb here based on all of the information I've seen over the last few weeks is that we're not ready to necessarily make concrete plans in response to the current wildfire season and that the afteraction reviews that have been spoken about already in the House are, you know, underway but certainly far from complete. So that question will have to probably wait until that process is complete. Thank you.
Thank you. Member for Frame Lake.
Yeah, okay. I don't want to go any further on this, but I'm probably going to have some questions tomorrow in the House about this afteraction review because I think there's an RFP about it right now. Thank you.
