Well, that's good to know, Mr. Chairman, because I still think that there is readily available land which is already zoned for the purposes of a building like this in Fort Simpson in a very prime location and I think that answer says that there is at least a small window of opportunity to have some more discussion on this. I think that's what we should do. I mean, what you have to do is show a plan and maybe your plan is that everybody's moving out anyway. Because you're going to move into leased premises. I haven't given up on that idea that that could be provided and delivered by a private developer much more quickly than the Minister probably anticipates. Yesterday he mentioned something like two to four years. I think that's if the government was building and I think that if they had a sense of what they wanted and could consult with the community quickly enough they could come up with something much more quickly than that.
I guess, Mr. Chairman, I'm just...I don't mind spending money. I don't mind investing money. But I hate wasting money. You know, when this need has come to our attention for something in Fort Simpson, I by no means begrudge the folks of Fort Simpson and the surrounding area good quality facilities that meet their need. That's not what this is about. What I have a problem with is putting $3.5 million into a building because of poor planning that ultimately could, unless we just did a renovation of that building and those upgrades meet the code, are incorporated into, are considered just the first phase of a renovation program, then I guess it wouldn't be to the same degree of loss, but I'm not prepared to, from what I know, make a determination as to whether or not that's a good investment.
But if we're going to spend $3.5 million to increase or extend the life of a building by two to four years and then tear that building down, I'm embarrassed, and I think the whole government should be embarrassed by such a plan. I thought earlier today I could sit down and say $3.5 million equals this and this and this to put this in perspective, but we all know we don't need to do that. Three-point-five million dollars is a lot of money and it equates to a lot of infrastructure on the ground, or a lot of government positions, or a lot of assistants in our classrooms and our education system. I mean, it's quite unthinkable that we could waste this kind of money. So I will be letting other Members speak to this, obviously, but I'm going to put forward a motion to delete this and ask PWS and the Department of Education to come back with an alternative plan. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.