Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My question is to the Minister of Public Works. I want to talk about ?ehtseo Ayha School and I know Public Works does the maintenance of that school and does some work there. My questions are going to be directed to him.
I want to ask the Minister, the leadership this morning spoke to me from Deline and they said the school pilings underneath the school… They weren’t too sure what the status was on it. Is it sinking? Is it being fixed? They were very concerned because of the number of children that are going to school and the parents that are sending their kids to this institution to get an education. They want to know what the status is of these pilings that were being put under the ?ehtseo Ayha School.
Thank you, Mr. Yakeleya. The honourable Minister of Public Works and Services, Mr. Glen Abernethy.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Piling remediation work has been completed. It was completed in September 2008 and it provides a permanent foundation solution for the school. Remedial work is certified by an engineer and it has been given a life of 25 years. So the pilings under the school are good for 25 years.
That’s good news for the people in Deline, because they were complaining that nobody from PWS has actually talked to the leadership and said, this is the status of your pilings.
I want to ask the Minister if this is something that Public Works has neglected, or if it is something that they are looking to see that they need to talk to the communities on these projects.
I do appreciate the Minister taking the lead on another subject, fixing those toilets up in Colville Lake. The community of Deline wanted to know why Public Works hasn’t talked to them on these pilings. For them it’s still an outstanding issue that needs to be talked about.
I can’t say. The foundation work was done in 2008. I will commit right now to having staff from the Department of Public Works and Services contact the leadership in Deline and set up a meeting where they can come and talk to them about the work that has been done in that particular school.
Over $1.64 million in maintenance and other activities has taken place. We do have some work scheduled for 2013-2014. We are planning to do some envelope work and some roof work. I understand there are some concerns about the roof and we’ll have some work done there.
I’ll commit right now to having staff from Public Works and Services go in and meet with your leadership to talk about the work that’s been done, show them how the pilings were done, explain the assessments and the life of those pilings, but also talk about the work that’s going to be done on the school, which is obviously an important building and an important centre for the community of Deline.
The people from Deline hearing this will be very pleased with what the Minister is saying is coming into the school.
They have also talked about the roof as being paper thin and leaking. They are scared, because all the children are being sent there, and the safety and integrity of the school... The school is built over a riverbed; the riverbed is underneath the school. The elders have told them, don’t build a school here. However, the government of the day refused to listen at the time and that’s where they built the school. That’s why the elders are saying that in partnership we need to have this government here listen to the people of our communities. I look forward to the Minister’s commitment to having the people talk about some of the work that needs to get done.
Will the Minister look at an overall assessment of the ?ehtseo Ayha School and report that back to Deline on the integrity and safety of the school?
As I’ve already indicated, for 2013-2014 Public Works and Services is planning to do an envelope upgrade and roof replacement under the Deferred Maintenance Program on that school, as well as some energy efficiency work and upgrades to the GNWT’s energy priorities investment funding. These improvements will obviously help control costs in the school and whatnot.
Based on the facility condition and program requirements, Education, Culture and Employment has identified the need for major upgrading of the Grandfather Ayha School starting in 2018-2019, so that is on the books and is something that Education will be pursuing.
Thank you, Mr. Abernethy. Final supplementary, Mr. Yakeleya.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Would the department look at a comparison if the community would like a new school versus a major upgrade, which at this time makes more sense as to the community coming to a partnership maybe and looking at a new school or, rather, doing the major upgrade? I know the community really does want to look at a new school and I know the financial restrictions that we have. Can the department be open to looking at a partnership if they want to look at a new school for Deline?
That’s a discussion that’s going to need to be had. Fiscal year 2018-2019 is a little ways off and it will have to be a discussion between Education, Culture and Employment, the community and the builder, in this case Public Works and Services. I imagine and I expect those conversations will take place.
Thank you, Mr. Abernethy. The honourable Member for Mackenzie Delta, Mr. Blake.
