Returns to oral questions. Mr. Patterson

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. This is a return to a question asked by Mr. Lewis on June 25, sewage lift station, City of Yellowknife. For the 1992-93 fiscal year, the City of Yellowknife had requested capital funding of approximately one million dollars for the construction of a sewage lift station in the Frame Lake South area of the city. It was not possible for the Government of the Northwest Territories to accommodate this particular item in the 1992-93 capital plan. The city has gone ahead and financed the project out of other funding sources because It regarded the project as urgent and seeks recovery of the funding from the GNWT in future years. The department recognizes the importance of the project to the overall system of water and sanitation infrastructure in the city, and undertook to reflect the project funding in the 1993-94 capital plan.

There are six electrical inspectors in the NWT. The distribution of inspectors is: one electrical inspector in Inuvik to inspect all of the Inuvik Region; one electrical inspector in Iqaluit to inspect all of the Baffin Region; one electrical inspector in Hay River to perform inspections south of Great Slave Lake; two electrical inspectors in Yellowknife, as well as the chief inspector. One of the two electrical inspectors is designated as the elevator inspector for the entire NWT; however, approximately 20 per cent of his time is devoted to general inspections in the Kitikmeot and Keewatin Regions, as well as electrical inspections in and around the Yellowknife area and in other regions as required.

There has been no decrease in the numbers of inspectors in the electrical/elevator safety section of the safety division over the past year.

Thank you.

Returns to oral questions. Mr. Whitford.

Returns to oral questions. Item 5, oral questions. Mr. Gargan.

Mr. Allooloo.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It is a territorial average.

Supplementary, Mr. Gargan.

Could the Minister provide me with the Elizabeth Ward School average since 1986?

Mr. Allooloo.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Yes.

Mr. Dent.

Mr. Pollard.

Mr. Speaker, approximately, yes.

Supplementary, Mr. Dent.

Mr. Pollard.

Mr. Speaker, when I say "approximately" - - I receive the daily sales figures from Expo, each day by fax, but the other accounting, the salaries, the other expenses that Expo incurs, takes longer to come because it is sent over through the finance section of Economic Development and Tourism, so that is why I say "approximately." I know from the daily sales figures, and I know approximately what they are expending, but it is the same kind of numbers as May, maybe improving slightly.

With regard to whether I know what the potential loss is there, I am very well aware of the potential loss, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, we went into it knowing that if we did not go into it and did not proceed with the fair, that the loss would be a minimum of $2.5 million not counting liabilities and potential court cases. We are,iIn fact, more than $2.5 million at the present time. I am well aware of that, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, will I go to Expo - I have a very busy schedule, Mr. Speaker - if it is absolutely necessary. I will advise the House, though, that I have dispatched one of the staff from Economic Development and Tourism, Mr. Kit Spence, who was an architect of this particular fair. Mr. Spence has met with myself and all the directors who are involved in the various aspects of the exposition. He has taken their concerns into consideration and has taken the verbal report that we received from Mr. Nerysoo into consideration. I have instructed Mr. Spence to go there to try to resolve some of those problems and report back to the deputy minister, and hence to myself, as soon as possible. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you. Supplementary, Mr. Dent.