Thank you, Madam Speaker. I would just indicate that the fire at the Pangnirtung print shop occurred approximately at 12:30 pm today. The call was
The building, as we all know, is owned by the local arts and crafts cooperative, but is insured solely by the Government of the Northwest Territories. The fire department response was apparently very good. However, although the building is still standing, it is what you might say a total write-off. The preliminary estimates of losses are in the half a million dollar range. As we are advised that the loss includes the originals of every print ever made at the shop, it is possible that final losses may be much, much higher.
The print shop did not have a sprinkler system. The attached weave shop, a fairly new building, suffered only smoke damage and the assistant deputy fire marshal from Iqaluit, Ken Sheridan, will be flying into Pangnirtung on the first available scheduled flight, which is tomorrow morning. He will be coordinating the investigation, which will include the RCMP and a representative of the Government of the Northwest Territories risk management division from the Department of Finance. Thank you, Madam Speaker.