Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Another area of concern for the committee is one that has been noted in other departments and government wide and has to do with prior commitments. During the review of the 1992-93 capital estimates the committee was told by the Minister of Finance that prior capital commitments would be honoured in the capital budget. The committee was also advised that commitments had been made to the community of Fort Smith to renovate the J.B. Tyrrell Elementary School, and for the community of Hay River to renovate the Diamond Jenness High School. As a result the committee recommended that these renovations should proceed. The government responded that these renovations had the least priority unless safety is an issue and so these projects have been delayed to 1995-96. Mr. Chairman, we do not think this is right.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Our next area of concern has to do with Arctic College training equipment. The five-year capital plan budgets $2.2 million for mobile equipment for the heavy equipment training program. Most Members on the committee noted that students coming out of the program would wind up working for municipalities and very seldom see new equipment. It does not seem to make a lot of sense to have the students trained on brand new equipment when they are going to have to go out and make do with much

older equipment in the municipalities. We thought that perhaps the students should be trained on older equipment.

Therefore, I move, that this committee recommend that Arctic College purchase more of the older equipment from the Department of Municipal and Community Affairs, (or communities) that require renovations, as an alternative to purchasing brand new equipment.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Our next area of concern has to do with an overall policy for museums, churches and other historical buildings. During the review of the 1992-93 capital estimates the committee recommended development of a policy integrating museum development in the N.W.T. I would like to point out, Mr. Chairman, that we were not the first Standing Committee on Finance to do this. The policy it was also recommended to this House by the Standing Committee on Finance prior the current one. Apparently we were advised that this strategy is now due for completion by the department in this current fiscal year. Concerns are constantly raised by Members about the confusion over treatment of historical buildings, churches, tourist projects, and other things with a similar theme. These should all be dealt with in the strategy under development. In the meantime further capital projects should be delayed pending completion of the strategy and substantiation of the costs and benefits. It is difficult for the committee to prioritize items which may be in the capital plan without having an overall strategy from the department.

Therefore, I move, that this committee recommend that the Department of Education, Culture and Employment Programs develop a policy covering museums, churches and other historical buildings to ensure consistency, fairness and equity in the application of standards and criteria for such infrastructure between communities.