Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Earlier today I was asking about Moose Kerr School, so I have questions for the Minister of Education. As I mentioned, the school is 45 years old and built around the time that asbestos was used in many of the buildings.
I’d like to ask the Minister, has the school been tested for asbestos? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Blake. Minister of Education, Culture and Employment, Mr. Lafferty.
Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. We work closely with PWS when it comes to these assets in the communities such as schools. There is scheduled regular maintenance and upgrades to the educational facilities, so they remain in good standing. We have to be up to code on all schools. So if there is such an asbestos issue, then we would be proactive and work on it with PWS and put in mitigating measures to deal with that.
At this point, it hasn’t been brought to my attention if it is an issue, but those are just some of the areas we are working closely on with PWS. Mahsi.
As I mentioned, the school is 45 years old. So I’d like to ask the Minister, at what point do these schools or any other buildings get replaced? Thank you.
This particular school was built and constructed in 1969. Again, there was a major, major retrofit in 1999 and since 2008, 2012 we’ve spent well over $2 million upgrading this facility. So we are on top of the renovation.
But at the same time, first on a typical capital planning cycle, Moose Kerr School will be scheduled for replacement or renovation in 2019. That is the overall plan and this is 20 years from the date of the last major renovation. Mahsi.
I see that the Minister has said that this building is due for replacement in 2019. So I’d like to ask the Minister, is the school on the red flag list? Thank you.
As I mentioned earlier, it is scheduled for replacement or renovation in 2019. This is an area that we need to work on the Member. We’ll continue to work with the DEA pertaining to that.
When the time is close, we’ll definitely work towards that as part of the capital planning process. Mahsi.
Thank you, Mr. Lafferty. Final, short supplementary, Mr. Blake.
It has been identified over the last couple of years here that we need to do things differently. One thing we’re lacking in our small communities is quality education like automotives and carpentry and welding, those kinds of facilities in our schools. I’d like to ask the Minister, will he ensure that that building is replaced and have those facilities at hand? Thank you.
Those are discussions that we will be having through the education renewal innovation. As you know, one of the pillars is to focus on small communities. The discussions we’re going to be having today until we develop the action plan with the work of the DEAs and the Aboriginal leadership, this is an area that will be targeted, the small community schools. By this summer we should have a clear idea of which communities we’ll be working closely with pertaining to these schools, what kind of programs should be delivered, upgrading and enhancing our programming. It will be part of the education renewal innovation process when we develop the action plan.
Thank you, Mr. Lafferty. The Member for Sahtu, Mr. Yakeleya.
