Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, during the review of the 1992-93 capital estimates the committee recommended that all free standing libraries be deferred until a policy is in place to integrate them with schools or other suitable facilities. The purpose of this was to try to save money and the Pond Inlet library was specifically mentioned by this committee.

The government's response to the committee's recommendations was that plans for specific community libraries will have to be developed to take into account the needs and priorities of community residents and existing and planned community facilities. In other words, cost is no object. This seems to be a blatant disregard for the public purse.

Interestingly the budget for the Pond Inlet library has still not been integrated with the school's budget and the project substantiation sheet gives no assurance that it will be integrated. In the interim the project has grown from $655,000 to $708,000 with no substantiation for the increase. We were expecting a decrease. Mr. Chairman, the committee will expect to see a decrease in the total cost of this project after it has been completed.

Mr. Chairman, with regard to Our Lady of Good Hope church, during the review of the 1992-93 capital estimates, when asked for the justification for spending $251,000 on renovations to Our Lady of Good Hope church, the Minister indicated it was cost-shared with the federal government contributing $100,000. It is the committee's current understanding that there is no agreement with the federal government and they have not contributed any funding to this project yet.

During the review of the 1993-94 capital estimates, the department again indicated that the federal government was contributing $150,000, although it was not shown as recovery on the project substantiation sheet. Most recently, the Minister has now indicated that the federal government will not contribute anything to the territorial government to offset our cost, but will, or may provide the owners of the property an additional $150,000 for the remainder of the conservation work and $50,000 for cost overruns.

The committee will expect to see a full summary of all federal grants or contributions received or receivable for the Fort Good Hope church renovations compared to the amounts promised. At least $100,000 was indicated by the Minister during the review 1992-93 capital estimates. In addition all capital costs recoveries should be disclosed in the capital estimates where substantiated.

Mr. Chairman, in our review of the capital budget, we were concerned that the Arctic College adult education centres appear to be very costly. By calculation of construction cost per square foot for the Pangnirtung and Rankin Inlet adult education centres, the standing committee was able to identify areas that appear out of line with the industry standards that should be expected. Specifically the Pangnirtung adult education centre is budgeted to cost $326 per square foot, and the Rankin Inlet adult education centre is budgeted to cost $319 per square foot to construct. As demonstrated by the Arctic Bay hamlet office these costs are excessive. The committee has commented on several occasions about government standards which are unreasonably high. It is our expectation that the government will take action to ensure that government standards are reasonable, and that costs are brought closer to those experienced by the private sector.

Mr. Chairman, we found in the past that this department has had a history of poor planning. During our review this year Members noted on several occasions that the Department of Education had a poor history. For example, schools have been built, and they are no sooner opened than they need an addition to accommodate higher- than-planned student enrolment. Recent reports indicate almost no growth for the high school population in Yellowknife. If this planning is not correct then the department will always be playing catch up.