Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I wore a different tie than John is wearing. Mr. Chairman, with each school or each addition that is planned, there is an accompanying O and M resource that is identified at the time and is added to our O and M base at the time of the construction of the new facilities. Generally, the O and M base would be transferred to Public Works and Services.

Right now, we do some of our operations and maintenance through vote 4/5 arrangements, which means that we basically transfer the funds to the boards -- and when we go to our O and M budget, you'll see that -- and then Public Works bills the boards back for the services that they provide for utilities and maintenance services. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

Member for Inuvik, Mr. Chairman. That's the Member for Mackenzie Delta there.

---Laughter

Thanks for that information, but if that's the case, if that money is allocated to boards, then can I assume the boards have some discretion on who they can use to maintain their buildings?

Mr. Chairman, no. There is no discretion. The only ones that have those responsibilities right now are YK No. 1, YK No. 2 and Chief Jimmy Bruneau school.

Mr. Koe.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Many of our existing schools are aged. Many in the Delta, in the Beaufort and even in Inuvik are almost as old or older than I am. These buildings are in varying conditions. There were some concerns this summer that arose about the conditions of some of the schools, in terms of safety. The flooring, roofs and foundations were in varying degrees of deterioration. Who is responsible for looking after buildings, assessing them and making recommendations on conditions? Are there ongoing evaluations and studies of these buildings?

Thank you, Mr. Koe. Mr. Minister.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Generally, major renovations fall within the responsibility of the department and any ongoing renovations, like roof replacement, is the responsibility of Public Works.

Mr. Koe.

Thank you. In Inuvik, the majority of the buildings are on pilings, as I mentioned. The Samuel Hearne school was built in 1957 and was opened in 1958. It is 39 years old, if my math is right. There have been studies done on pilings, and for some of the pilings, the logs weren't treated appropriately. There is rotting of the piles at ground level. I was just wondering if any evaluations have been done regarding school pilings in Inuvik?

Thank you, Mr. Koe. Mr. Minister.

Thank you. In those cases, any identification and ongoing maintenance is generally the responsibility of the Department of Public Works and Services.

Thank you, Mr. Minister. Mr. Koe.

I hope, in the overall government studies of the Department of Public Works and Services and their maintenance people, that if they contract this type of work, they don't forget to check the foundations of schools and buildings. I know it is a key concern. I believe that in Mr. Minister's communities, the condition of the schools is under question.

Another area I would like to get some clarification about is the area of regional libraries and the provision of libraries. There has been a program to provide funding for regional libraries, including regional resource centres, so that there is a central location to provide books and other material libraries provide. Has the program, as some of us know it, changed or is it changing?

Mr. Nerysoo.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Yes. We have to review it to consider the new technologies that are available to us. Now we're able to provide better equipment and access to information in our smaller communities to the point where they're able to access more information, whether it is through computer CD-ROM or video exchange, or accessing information other than from our regional libraries. I think that has to be considered in our new initiatives.

Thank you, Mr. Minister. Mr. Koe.

This is something that interests me. In a community such as Inuvik, there seems to be a proliferation of libraries and resource centres. There is Arctic College, a science centre, two schools, a community library, Delta House has a resource centre and Education, Culture and Employment has a resource centre. To me, it would make sense to have an evaluation of these to look at amalgamating resources. Again, it is all government-funded.

I know there is a project for a library in Inuvik and I appreciate that, but we provide a lot of the same services to the same clients, and Inuvik being a regional centre, we are providing service to the communities. To me, it makes sense to make an evaluation. We also have to move on that because I'm aware of studies looking at other facilities like Grollier Hall, for example. We also have to look at the schools, because of grade extensions and impacts on schools and the tremendous growth of Arctic College in terms of its classroom needs. We already know it is too small right now. There is a lot of work to do.

I know the department is considering it, but my concern is the coordination of all of this in the community of Inuvik. Whatever happens in Inuvik has tremendous impact on all the communities. I just wanted to state my concerns. I hope the department will take them into consideration in the work they are doing. Mahsi.

Thank you, Mr. Koe. Mr. Nerysoo.

I think the comments that the honourable Member has made are very positive and we will take note of them.

Thank you, Mr. Minister. General comments or general questions, please. Mr. Arvaluk.

I think we'll be getting into all this detail once we go line by line, so I don't want to sort of stop the flow of comments. Maybe you can keep that in mind. We'll be getting to it eventually. Mr. Arvaluk.