Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. I want to start off saying how impressed I was with Public Works and Services, Mr. Aumond and his staff, in getting us to this stage. I think they are to be thanked for the work they’ve done.
For a lot of the reasons that have already been discussed by my colleagues here today, there are some challenges whenever you look at changing the way you do things. I think there will be some growing pains as we go through this new process.
However, I do believe and am of the opinion that we will get better tendering results and we’ll reduce the amount of carry-overs that we have from year to year. I think those are two primary objectives that we need to keep in mind.
I also agree that the evaluation that other Members have talked about is important. It’s an important piece of the puzzle as we move forward. We should always be trying to do things better.
I’m a big fan of the standardized design from community to community. I think oftentimes things get off the rails. We go with Cadillac versions; we go with overspec’d buildings; we go with whatever the list of people we talk to wants in a building. It’s nice if you have you money, but I think in today’s day and age and with the cost of construction in the Northwest Territories, standardized designs…. Some people might not like it, but I think the utility of the buildings that we build and the designs that we use should be standardized. We should get more for the capital dollars that we have. Again, I’m very supportive of standardized designs.
Just a couple of observations. I agree with some of the comments, too, about the unbalanced capital dollars in various ridings. Specifically, I’ll point to a few ridings, Nunakput for one. Mackenzie Delta and Tu Nedhe are scarce in capital dollars over the next four years, whereas ridings in Inuvik, Fort Smith and, to a lesser extent, Yellowknife are receiving the bulk of the capital dollars. I’m very grateful, believe me, that a project like St. Joseph school is off the ground and being done. That was a very
necessary move by the government to get that renovation program going, and I’m very thankful for that. I’m also thankful for the movement on the Kam Lake bypass road. Those are two issues that I’ve been bringing to the table and fighting for.
I do understand and appreciate where some of my colleagues are coming from when there isn’t a balance on capital spending in the territory. I think going forward we need to try to ensure that we get a balance on that capital spending so that all communities can share equally in what dollars we do have. There are competing priorities and demands in every one of our communities that we represent, so looking at that would be a good start.
I always wondered how a school in Inuvik could cost us $120 million. We just built one in Tulita that was $24
million. The retrofit that’s happening
currently at St. Joseph’s is a major retrofit; it’s about $32 million. Why is a school costing us that much money? I don’t understand how it started off at $84 million and then went to $90 million and now is over $110
million, and even earlier today the
Minister didn’t know how much it cost. We really need to get a handle on it. The school needs to get built in Inuvik, but can somebody explain to me why it costs $120 million to build a school there?
Again, I think the issue that Mrs. Groenewegen brought up about consulting people in the construction industry is a good one. I think we have been waiting for a meeting. We’re looking forward to getting together with those folks in the construction industry, the architects, the engineers, anybody that has any insight into how the government operates and gets capital projects started and built in the territory. Any feedback we can get from people, we’re willing to take.
I know Public Works and Services, like I said, has done a yeoman’s job in getting us to this stage. It’s going to be a process that’s different to people, but I think it’s one that is workable and one I’m willing to support for the time being. I look forward to an evaluation sometime down the road, Mr. Chairman.