Merci, Monsieur le President. My questions are for the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment. I mentioned in my statement that I've lost track of how many studies, reports, and proposals I've seen regarding the inadequate and sad state of the 46yearold territorial museum building. Can the Minister tell us what the current plans are for replacing, expanding, and/or renovating the space occupied by the NWT archives and museum? Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Member for Frame Lake. Minister responsible for Education, Culture and Employment.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And, of course, we are currently deliberating the capital budget in Committee of the Whole, so I don't want to go too much into that because that document is properly before committee of the House. But I can say that ECE has taken undertaken work to explore the renovation or replacement of the Prince of Wales Northern Heritage Centre and, in particular, as the Member mentions, the need for archival space. So there has been a comprehensive planning study, the development of estimates to explore various options ranging from replacing the entire museum to pursuing more targeted upgrades, including and focused specifically on the archival space. There's been a schematic design for a standalone archives building with a class D estimate. Given what I've seen on class D estimates, I don't put too much stock into what that says because prices have been changing, you know, daily. They seem to be going up. But with all that said, we understand better than anyone that there is an issue and that we do need to pursue upgrades in order to meet our legal obligations, and there have been upgrades proposed. There were upgrades that we were hoping can start in the upcoming year. And ECE will be pursuing a standalone archive building in the future capital planning process, likely in the 20252026 fiscal year. Thank you.
Merci, Monsieur le President. I want to thank the Minister for that. I'm excited about a new archives building, and I can hardly wait for the opening. The Archives Act, though, appears to have not gone through any kind of substantive review in over 40 years. To say it is outdated and does not establish a proper framework for archival heritage would be an understatement. Can the Minister explain why the Archives Act has not been updated and whether there are any plans to do so? Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And I don't want the Member to get ahead of himself. Proposing that a new building be built and having a grand opening are two very different things. So we'll see what happens in the future.
Every year the government proposes a slate of legislation that they would like to see proceed. About half of that legislation actually makes its way through an Assembly and is passed. So I can't speak for previous years, but there's been a number of pieces of legislation and the priorities of the Assembly have dictated what has made its way through and what hasn't. And, unfortunately, despite recognizing the need to update the Archives Act, it has not been updated. But, once again, in the next government, ECE will bring this forward as a piece of legislation that needs to be dealt with. Thank you.
Merci, Monsieur le President. I want to thank the Minister for that and, of course, when he comes back, I'm going to be happy to help him with the ribbon cutting and getting the Archives Act drafted up and ready to go. So in my statement, though, I mentioned that very significant archival records on the history of the political development of the Northwest Territories are stored in a totally inadequate government warehouse. We're kind of lucky it didn't burn down this summer. So can the Minister tell us how long these records have been stored there and whether there are any plans for proper archival storage and preservation of this important historical legacy of the Northwest Territories? Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I understand that it was back in the sometime in the 90s, I'm not sure exactly when, when the archives, they started storing archives off site. And as I mentioned, there are some minor upgrades planned for next year. Hopefully, the Member will support funding for those upgrades. And those would include, at the offsite space, minor space improvements, fencing, so secure access to the documents. New racking so there you know, more stable storage. As well as some temperature and humidity control improvements where possible. So given the situation and the needs, ECE is moving forward with attempts to better preserve these documents. Thank you.
Thank you, Minister. Final supplementary. Member for Frame Lake.
Merci, Monsieur le President. I want to thank the Minister. The current Archives Act places the burden on the territorial archivist for the safekeeping of our documentary heritage. There's a lot of that's a lot of responsibility on one person who clearly doesn't have the resources to carry out this important work. That would be a stretch for anyone to conclude that GNWT is taking proper care of our archival records.
Can the Minister tell us whether there has been any advice received on whether the GNWT is in compliance with the Archives Act, and can he share that with us? Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And, of course, legal opinions aren't shared on the floor of the House. But I will say that the territorial archivist, boy, I would feel for them if they were alone. But in addition, there's two senior archivists, two digital record archivists, an archive and library technician, and an audiovisual archivist. Given all that, though, I know they're still quite busy. And that team knows better than anyone that we do need to upgrade our facilities and work on the act because, you know, the things that need to be stored under the act are part of the issue, actually. So this has been an issue since I took this role. There have been advancements made. You know, government doesn't move as quick as any of us would like, and this is one of those situations. But this is we are marching forward, and there is progress. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Minister. Oral questions. Member for Inuvik Twin Lakes.
