Thank you, Mr. Bell. Supplementary, Mr. Braden.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. One of the aspects of enhanced policing -- and the Minister quite appropriately said we are looking for services across the NWT -- is the provision in the NWT of a specially trained dog in the area of drug detection that would be based in Yellowknife and would be available for increased enforcement. Can the Minister advise whether this is part of the business plan and part of the service we can expect to see on site here in the Northwest Territories? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Braden. Mr. Bell.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I believe the drug dog the Member is speaking of, a full-profile German Shepard dog trained in drug detection, has already been deployed in the Northwest Territories. The Member is correct; it is based in Yellowknife, but that dog will be used right across the entire territory. I believe that is currently already in place. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Bell. Supplementary, Mr. Braden.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, one of the welcome pieces of information that we got when we visited the RCMP detachment a few weeks ago was that there is going to be much more involvement of the Victims Services Program in the whole policing regime. Are we able to handle, through this Victims Services Program, our current workload, and what's our capacity to handle what is likely to be an increased workload for the Victims Services Program? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Braden. Mr. Bell.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We do have victims assistance committees that we felt needed additional help. We brought on new members. I believe there are two new members appointed to the Victims Assistance Committee, and I believe that's the committee the Member is speaking of. Now we are up to full membership. There have been a few meetings and proposals put forward that will speak to additional funding through the victims assistance fund. I know there is an amount of money that's available through that fund. I don't have the number in front of me, but I know that money is being accessed. We are also working on being able to deliver the latest annual report that should be out currently. I do agree that this is a priority that is becoming more and more important. We are recognizing the value of this committee and these efforts and valuing the entire system more. I think you can certainly look forward to more of a heightened profile for this aspect of the system. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Bell. Final supplementary, Mr. Braden.

Mr. Speaker, the RMCP is demonstrating quite a refreshing attitude toward being more connected with the community in the delivery of community priorities for policing. I wonder if the department has been looking at the Police Advisory Committee model that just started

here as a way of potentially assisting other communities in the NWT to have a better connection with policing in their community. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Braden. Mr. Bell.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I think the model the Member is referring is certainly a good one. It is something we are reviewing. I know the RCMP is very much in favour of having as much community involvement as possible and I think that enables them to do a much better job. The closer they are able to work with this community and all communities across the North, obviously the more effective they are going to be. So this is a direction that we are continuing to move toward. I think policing is getting much more progressive, in my opinion, and I think there are a number of good initiatives underway. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Bell. Item 7, oral questions. The honourable Member for Inuvik Twin Lakes, Mr. McLeod.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, in my statement, I talked about the students' perspective and the whole thing going on with Samuel Hearne. One of the comments the students made was they were wondering if there was a backup plan or why there was no backup plan. So my question today is for the Minister of Education, Mr. Dent. I would like to ask Mr. Dent if there are backup plans in each community in case something happens to the school. If not, why not? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. McLeod. The honourable Minister of Education, Culture and Employment, Mr. Dent.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, in fact there haven't been formal backup plans for a school that burned down or ceased to be available to us for each community. We have relied on the local communities to respond, depending on what the situation is. For instance, often a problem with a school might be limited to a small section, so you may need to replace a classroom or two. It's not often that a whole school is in need of replacement.

Having gone through the situation in Inuvik now a few times unexpectedly, we are going to work with our colleagues at the DECs to ensure that some thought is given to having backup plans in all communities. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Dent. Supplementary, Mr. McLeod.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and thanks to the Minister for that. So the Minister is saying that he is working with the DECs and he has instructed his department to come up with backup plans in each community. Is that correct? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. McLeod. Mr. Dent.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Yes, we will be working with our colleagues at the DECs to make sure that there is some thought given to what would happen in the event that a school was not available, and so that there would be some form of backup planning in all communities.

Thank you, Mr. Dent. Item 7, oral questions. The honourable Member for Nunakput, Mr. Pokiak.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I'd just like to follow up with my colleague Mr. McLeod's statement yesterday regarding Samuel Hearne Secondary School. I'm speaking particularly about the collapse and repair of the foyer and the repairs that are going on right now on the pilings. Can the Minister of Public Works indicate to this side of the House whether there are any further deficiencies identified at Samuel Hearne Secondary School? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Pokiak. The honourable Minister of Public Works and Services, Mr. Roland.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, we have been doing the work necessary to bring this facility back online. We've had a structural engineer look at it. We have a plan together to repair the issues that have caused it to close this year. The concern was about lateral bracing. Because the foundation was in such poor shape, there was concern it would not withstand an earthquake event that may happen. Inuvik is considered to be in an active area or active zone for earthquakes, so that was one of the main considerations taken. The work has been ongoing and is almost complete in that section. One of the other areas we're working on is also repairing some of the piles underneath the facility this year, and further repairs to the piling program will be done next summer. The other area is some of the structural issues around the gymnasium, and those are being looked at, and we feel that that work can be done again to meet the timelines we've set to have the school back in operation prior to the school returning after the Christmas break.