Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Like my colleague Mr. Krutko I stand again in this House today begging. Mr. Krutko is begging for his gravel source; I’m begging for the renovation of our high school.
Anyone who has visited Hay River has seen our famous high school. The Diamond Jenness school was designed by Douglas Cardinal and constructed in 1972. That makes the school 36 years old, older than some Members of this Legislature. That makes it time for major renovations.
Students and teachers complain about the air quality. They are unable to control the extreme temperatures in the school. The heating system does not work well in the cold weather. The ventilation system does not circulate air in warm weather. The windows do not open at any time. The water pipes were soldered partly with lead. For safety reasons, water quality has to be checked on a regular basis. Most people refuse to use the school water fountains, because the water doesn’t get cold enough to drink, and when it first comes out, it’s a lovely orange colour. The hot water pipes are thin from corrosion and are constantly being repaired. The roof leaks, and there is likely mould growing in the walls. The administrative offices are in the wrong location and cannot control access. Classrooms are too small and don’t meet modern standards. Last year we had problems with the old asbestos insulation. These are just a few of the problems at this school. I could carry on listing the
problems for a long time. There is a very thick document of a technical review, which I have waved around this House before.
Major renovations to the school are very overdue. The renovation project first appeared in the capital plan in 2001. The capital plan indicated the renovation project would start in ’07–08 and finish in ’09–10. However, whenever this project gets within two years of its start date, the project slip-slides away. Last year the project was red flagged. We thought that was a good thing, but actually red flagging meant it showed up on the reduction list and disappeared again. This year the project shows up in the capital plan starting in 2010–11 with a small investment and really getting underway in ’11–12.
The government is proposing a very large capital budget this year. Hay River residents cannot understand why many other projects have been funded and this one gets delayed year after year. Tourism and parks projects get funded; huge numbers of transportation projects, highways and airports get funded. I do not understand why year after year the government rates these projects more important than renovating the Diamond Jenness Secondary School in my constituency.