Total department, not previously authorized, $63,000.

Page 16, Legislative Assembly, capital investment expenditures, Office of the Clerk, not previously authorized, $61,000.

Total department, not previously authorized, $61,000.

Page 17, Executive, capital investment expenditures, Executive offices, Commissioner's office, not previously authorized, $200,000. Mrs. Groenewegen.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, I understand that this expenditure is for renovations to new office space. The Department of Justice is in need of the office space currently occupied by the Commissioner's office on the sixth floor of the Courthouse building. So the plan would be to rework what is currently the Commissioner's office into additional offices for Justice and that the Commissioner's office would be relocated to a different location and that the $200,000 would be required for the renovations.

Mr. Chairman, in our discussions about this particular expenditure we were wondering about the advisability of spending that kind of money on an office renovation where you would also be required to pay rent probably for a long time, you would be investing a significant amount of money and then paying rent on the space as well for a long period of time. It is not uncommon in other jurisdictions to have a Lieutenant-Governor's or Commissioner's residence with working space contained within the residence. The residence which is currently used for the Commissioner of the Northwest Territories on Matonabee drive is not a very large home and it is not a home very conducive to entertaining dignitaries, officials, ambassadors, those types of people who come to visit in the Northwest Territories.

So, I was wondering if it would be more advantageous to look at what could be realized from the sale of the existing Commissioner's residence. The land immediately adjacent to the current Commissioner's residence is a large piece of residential property which is owned by the Government of the Northwest Territories and was intended to be used for the Commissioner's residence at some point in time but was never developed. So, this government already owns the land. There is the equity in the existing residence and the market right now is quite good. And there is also the $200,000 for renovations, plus whatever the on-going operations and maintenance is for the rent for that office. As I said, it is not an uncommon practice to have the working space of a position like this contained within the residence. So, I would like to see the option explored of combining these sums of money and looking at a better Commissioner's residence, one that is more conducive to the type of official functions that would fall within the responsibilities of a Commissioner.

So, if that were the case then it would be necessary to re-profile this $200,000 for renovations and look at new construction, a new development, instead. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

Thank you, Mrs. Groenewegen. Minister Handley.

Mr. Chairman, I do not disagree with what the Member is saying in principle. I think it could be done. It would, however, mean some delay because we could not begin it and have something as quickly as we could by renovating an office and making that adjustment. So there would be a delay in it and I suspect that we are probably talking about considerably more money if you are going to build or buy a building that is going to be suitable for this kind of purpose. You are probably looking at $400,000 to buy it, plus renovate, because you still have to do the other half. You still have to spend the $200,000 or so to renovate the space currently occupied by the Commissioner for Justice's needs.

Thank you, Minister Handley. Mrs. Groenewegen.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, I would like to suggest that this would actually save money, because here is where you are going to get the money for the new residence. You are going to sell the existing residence. So, let us say you are going to get between $300,000 and $400,000 for that. You are going to save the $200,000 for the renovations. Now we are up to $600,000. You already own the land where it could be built, which is probably worth at least another $100,000. It is a large lot on the corner of Matonabee Street and Gitzel Street, I believe. So now, how much rent are you going to pay over the course of the next five or ten years? Add that all together and you are probably talking $1 million that you already have into this. I am just saying, would that be more advantageous an expenditure than spending $200,000 on somebody else's building and then paying the rent on top of that. I am saying you are already in for $1 million. Thank you.

Thank you, Mrs. Groenewegen. Minister Handley.

Mr. Chairman, certainly from my perspective we will look at it. I would like to ask if the Minister of Justice has any concerns if we were to go with this approach because the main implication to me... if the argument can be made that it is not going to cost us more money... then the main implication is just going to be the delay in doing the renovations on the Justice building.

Thank you, Minister Handley. The Minister responsible for Justice, Minister Allen, do you have any comments?

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I am not going to speak directly because this specific allocation or request has been made through the Executive, but in respect of the Justice department's needs, we certainly do require immediate office space as we have assumed a number of different portfolios over the years. So, certainly from our own perspective, timing is an issue. We need to house many of our staff as it is growing through a number of changes. So, certainly I want to see that we proceed with the renovations so that we may be able to get housing for some our own staff with the agreement that we would assume the Commissioner's space in its current location. Thank you.

Thank you, Minister Allen. Mrs. Groenewegen.

Thank you, Mrs. Groenewegen. Minister Handley.

Mr. Chairman, we are willing to look at it. It is, to me personally, I think it is not a bad idea, it is a good idea. We have not had time to talk about it in Cabinet, so I cannot speak for all of Cabinet but, if it can be shown that it is not going to cost a lot more money and we have the land available already, then it is not bad, particularly if the Commissioner was in agreement to go into some sort of temporary quarters for a period of time until this could be done.

Thank you, Minister Handley. Mrs. Groenewegen.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. The question that I asked the Minister is, is the Minister familiar with the inventoried land that I am talking about that is at the corner of Matonabee Street and Gitzel Street? It is a large, treed parcel. It would be a nice curb appeal for a Commissioner's residence. On a corner like that you could have a circle drive. You could have something that looks more like a Commissioner's residence than what we have now, which looks like every other house on the street. Is he familiar with that lot? Thank you.

Thank you, Mrs. Groenewegen. Minister Handley.