Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I just want to recognize my colleague from Tulita and Kelsi Taylor, two Pages here. I forgot to say that. I want to ask the Minister of Education questions on the Colville Lake School. I want to ask the Minister where within his department, how soon could the people in Colville Lake look at the possibility, amongst the many other projects that we have in the Northwest Territories, that they can look at maybe a planning or discussions on building a new school for Colville Lake.
Thank you, Mr. Yakeleya. The honourable Minister responsible for Education, Culture and Employment, Mr. Lafferty.
Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. The Colville Lake School has been addressed in the House on numerous occasions. It all depends on the allocation of students. We currently have, as the Member has indicated, 55 students. It’s allowable up to 62 students. At the same time the Member is asking when we can discuss this. The opportunity would be when we’re going through the capital planning process. We put forward any requests on capital infrastructure if it’s a real critical need for the Northwest Territories. We compile those capital planning and then decide from there which is the most priority for the Northwest Territories. There will be opportunity to do that during this Legislative Assembly.
In the Colville Lake School it’s very difficult for the teachers to give the best attention to the students. Where in the capital planning process that the Minister can see that the Colville Lake students can have a chance to say yes, we could possibly get some planning studies done to put us on the capital planning projects to have a new school. Where?
This is an opportunity. We’re listening to the Member. We need to go through the process of selecting those individual capital projects that are important to the Northwest Territories. If we have a capacity of 62 and we have 55 students in there, that’s an area we’re also looking at. We’re closely monitoring those schools, Colville school and Trout Lake and other schools that have been brought to our attention. We’re going to work with that as part of the planning process for capital planning. Discussion will take place as to which priorities we should focus on. That is the process that we need to follow within the GNWT.
I want to ask the Minister who in this government would need to be convinced when you go to Colville Lake. I challenge any Member here to bring their students to Colville Lake, attend the school in Colville Lake, and see if that will help them get a new school. There are four classrooms in one building. There’s no privacy. Even though that number is there the Minister is rattling off, doesn’t quite fit the people in Colville Lake. Who within the longest system needs to tell the Minister that we need a new school in Colville Lake? This is not acceptable. Who do we need to convince?
The process itself is through the divisional education council, through the superintendent working with the principals and delivering that through the chairperson on to my attention as part of the process itself, then putting it into the system as well. Compiling with all the other capital projects. It is this Assembly that decides on those capital projects and we’ll continue to push that forward. The most critical needs in the Northwest Territories.
Thank you, Mr. Lafferty. Final, short supplementary, Mr. Yakeleya.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The people in Colville Lake want to know – at some point they were told that they were going to get a new school – why was that bumped from the capital planning project and they brought in the portable building. Why was that bumped in Colville Lake and they missed out on having a new school?
I don’t have any information on why, but we should focus on as we move forward. If this is part of the capital planning project, then we should pursue it and that will be a discussion that we will be having in this House as well.
Thank you, Mr. Lafferty. The honourable Member for Inuvik Boot Lake, Mr. Moses.
