Masi, Mr. Speaker. [Translation] As I spoke in my Member's statement earlier, when Chief Jully Bruneau asked for a school, that was about 50 years ago. Again, today, I ask about Education, Culture and Employment that is under education [End of translation] ...for a new school in our community of Behchoko. I would like to ask questions to the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment about his capital plans for a community school. The first question I have for the Minister is: what criteria does his department use for deciding whether to build a new school or simply rehabilitate an existing building? Masi, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Member for Monfwi. Minister of Education, Culture and Employment.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. That's a technical question. What happens is that there is an evaluation of the school done, the structure of it, and a determination made of whether or not it would be more cost effective to retrofit the school or rebuild it. When I say "retrofit," I don't mean just patch it up. I know that the Member said that in his statement, "patch it up." The school I went to, the school that my father went to, is 50 years old. It just got a retrofit, and it looks brand new. It's not just a patch job here and there; it's a full-on renovation. That determination is made on whether the school can safely be retrofitted or not. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Just moving on, my next questions is about feasibility. What has the Minister's done to determine the feasibility of replacing Chief Jimmy Bruneau School with a new modern school today?
There was a technical evaluation done on Chief Jimmy Bruneau. It's a big school, and part of it is still good. What the technical evaluation showed is that the bones of the school are in great shape. There is part of it, the residence, which can't be retrofitted, and there is work to be done on the bus garage. Other than that, the Department of Infrastructure has looked into it, and the technical evaluation says that the school is in good shape and would last another few decades, I believe, with a retrofit.
In the next few decades, it will be a 100-year-old school. This is not acceptable. The school is deteriorating. We may not see it on the surface, but it is. The maintenance crew obviously has been telling us, as well, but I'll move on to my next question because this is a question from my leadership and my community members of Behchoko. The education department has no problem promising to replace J.H. Sissons in Yellowknife with a brand new school. Why is Chief Jimmy Bruneau School, which is five years older, not receiving the same treatment or consideration?
Just like people, the age of buildings isn't always necessarily the best indicator of what kind of shape their in. J.H. Sissons was in a shape where it needed to be replaced, whereas Chief Jimmy Bruneau is in much better condition. The Member is correct that there have been conversations with the Tlicho government. He accompanied me to Edzo, and we sat in the school and spoke with the Tlicho leadership. They made very clear what their preference would be. I made some commitments to them, and I followed through on those commitments. I am almost at the point where I am going to be reaching back out to the leadership.
Thank you, Minister. Oral questions. Member for Monfwi.
Masi, Mr. Speaker. Obviously, my leadership has demanded a new school. I am glad that the Minister is following through with that. This is a very serious issue that is before us, a 50-plus-years-old school. It requires, obviously, demand from the school that they replace it with a new school. The next question I have to the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment, obviously, is a decision. Which of the two options, school replacement or renovation of the existing school, is the Minister leaning towards? This is a question from my leadership, Mr. Speaker. Masi.
Like I just said, I travelled with the Member to Edzo, and we sat in the school and had a conversation with the leadership. I am going to go back to the leadership, and we are going to have a discussion. I don't think that it's appropriate to have that discussion here on the floor of the House before I speak with the leadership. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Minister. Oral questions. Member for Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh.
