Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, today I would like to talk about the condition of the Mezi Community School in Whati. It is one of the older schools in our region.
So, Mr. Speaker, this school is no longer adequate to meet the needs of the community, and I would like to see something done about that. The Mezi School in Whati was originally built to serve elementary school children. It was not built to accommodate high school students however that is what it is doing now. So the school is even home to Aurora College programming which is taking up needed classroom space. Currently, the school is already too small to accommodate the number of students attending. The population of Whati has increased over the years which means there are even more students that will need to attend Mezi School.
Mr. Speaker, a safe, modern, and proper learning environment is essential for our students. Schools are also central pieces of infrastructure for community activities. Everyone benefits from having a healthy and adequate school. This school -- Mr. Speaker, this school is in dire need of retrofitting, and the cost of this work will continue to increase the longer this is put off. I would like to draw this to the attention of the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment, and I will have questions later on today. Thank you.
Thank you, Member from the Sahtu. Colleagues, I would like to recognize the presence of Grand Chief Jackson Lafferty, a Member of the Assembly from 2005 to 2021, former Minister, Speaker of the Legislative Assembly in the 18th Assembly, personal confidante, friend and advisor. Welcome to the House, Mr. Jackson.
As well sometimes we get some special guests that come back that used to work for us and come back to be here today. So Danalee Mager, her daughter Poppy, come to see her son Ben who is one of our pages. So welcome back home, young lady. We can't wait to have you come back, and we miss you. Thank you.
Members' statements. Member from Yellowknife North.
