Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman the Member raises a number of good points about why it would be good to try to keep a facility in the community as long as possible.
In this day and age, the cost of replacing facilities is very expensive. Part of the problems we run into though, is the age of the facility and the code that buildings were built to back when, in this particular case, the building was built in 1957. The code requirements at that time were much different that they are in today's environment. In fact, there has been a technical status evaluation done on that facility and the Member should be receiving a copy of that in the very near future; I believe something went out today. The information that we have is that the fire marshal inspected the building back in May 2002 and along with some immediate corrective action, we were told that without major upgrades to the facility to meet the code requirements that are in place, we would not be able to use the facility beyond 2006. That is why the Department of Education, Culture and Employment along with Public Works and Services have started to have a number of meetings to discuss the options that are out there for the Department of Education, Culture and Employment when it comes to space that they will be requiring.
Again, I believe the most recent estimates for renovation of that facility run in the neighbourhood of approximately $17 million. For a new facility we would be looking at about $19 million, so we have been meeting with Education, Culture and Employment around the requirements they will need for space. It is their facility, we have been supporting them from Public Works and Services' side on a technical side, along with securing the space that they will require to run their programs. Thank you.