Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As I indicated, the new health centre definitely has some issues and some questions. My questions today will be for the Minister of Public Works and Services.
The question is: What is the department doing to address the office space that is not currently planned for the new facility?
Thank you, Mr. Bouchard. The Minister of Public Works, Mr. Beaulieu.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We are evaluating the needs of the staff for office space at this time when the people from the old centre go to the new health centre. We recognize that there are approximately…well, at this time exactly 57 people that would have to be housed outside of the new health centre, so we are looking at all of the possibilities including refurbishing the clinic, which will be moving to the health centre, to accommodate some of the staff in there and maintaining the current lease that we do have that accommodates 11 staff members. We’re looking at a location for another 23 staff and probably also some contingency space. We haven’t made a final determination on how we’re going to do that at this time.
The Minister indicated the refurbishing of the current medical clinic. I guess my concerns and questions are: Do we have an estimated cost of what that refurbishing is to an older building, and would those dollars be better spent adding to the new facility so that we have office space right in the location as opposed to renovating an old building?
It would be around $785,000 to get that clinic tenant improvements to accommodate the staff at this time. We will be doing a cost comparative analysis to determine whether or not leased space purchased from the private industry would be more feasible. Hay River has very good rates, so that is something that when we go in to needing office space in Hay River we do do a comparison to actually going into the market and getting leased space as opposed to producing our own space through capital because the rates are very good in Hay River.
Obviously, the fall of 2015 is when the new facility is going to be established. I guess the question is: When will the general plan for this office space be released and the report completed so that we actually have a plan in place before the close of the fall of 2015?
We’re going to complete the move into the new health centre. The individuals that are currently housed in the H.H. Williams will remain there until the spring of 2016. Prior to that date, we will be placing them outside of H.H. Williams and then the Department of Health and Social Services would then have an opportunity to determine whether or not the H.H. Williams is surplus to the government.
Thank you, Mr. Beaulieu. Final, short supplementary, Mr. Bouchard.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I guess the question is about that renovation and the $785,000. Would that not be better spent to be invested into a newer building, into a newer facility, along with some of the costs associated that we currently have in leasing? Is the department looking at that as an option as well?
Certainly, we are looking at that. The clinic itself is a good building. Whether or not it will be used for health, it most likely would be feasible for the government to retain as office space, but for this purpose and at this moment we are looking at the possibility of housing the individuals that are moving from H.H. Williams outside of the refurbished clinic as well.
Thank you, Mr. Beaulieu. The Member for Deh Cho, Mr. Nadli.
