Thank you, Mr. Aumond. Mrs. Groenewegen.

Thank you. Those are all the questions I have for now.

Thank you, Mrs. Groenewegen. Any further questions? Mr. Krutko.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Mr. Aumond mentioned there is going to be swing space. What’s the use of that space? Is that for future expansions or so when people move out of other facilities, they’ve got a place to stay? Is that what this is?

Thank you, Mr. Krutko. Mr. Aumond.

A number of months ago we had a similar discussion in regard to the Department of Environment, where they moved out to Shell Lake and were in the facility where they were renting space, yet they had the department check to see exactly what is the vacancy rate in Inuvik of retail space.

Mr. Chairman, there are quite a few facilities in Inuvik that aren’t really operating at their full capacity. I know that there are offices that are underutilized in Inuvik. I’m wondering: as a department have we done due diligence by way of finding those other facilities that could be reformatted so that the departments that you mentioned could be considered within facilities in the Inuvik rental market that are already there?

Thank you, Mr. Krutko. Minister Miltenberger.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Public Works has done the analysis and evaluation and has put forward this option as the best one to proceed with.

Mr. Chairman, in regard to an option being the best one, I believe we had the same battle going back to the 13th Assembly regarding the Lahm Ridge Tower. That asset had been sold off, because the government said they had no use for that facility. They got rid of it, and the battle over that thing…. Also look at the capital cost of the Perry Building. That thing’s been a cash cow ever since we built it. I think the cost of maintenance, renovations, upkeep and whatnot, taking into consideration all those long term costs…. Has the government thought that in some cases we should maybe allow the private sector to provide these things and also to stimulate that economy in those deprived areas in the Northwest Territories?

I would like to again ask the Minister: have you done due diligence to ensure that the private sector is not going to be put in a situation where they make a major capital investment and then find out that government seepage by way of staff and programs, leeched to each office in government facilities, will have an impact on that market in Inuvik? Inuvik isn’t that healthy right now, especially with the whole pipeline in the next couple of years,

which could have a major impact on that economy. So have you looked at doing due diligence? The present regime has basically made capital investments by way of buying into that market not knowing exactly what the implications of this is going to be on that sector.

Mr. Chairman, once again, the assessment was done. The staff in the Perry Building are some of the folks that are going to be relocated, because the condition of the building made it beyond use. There’s a balance that we try to look at as we move forward in communities so that we respect some of the concerns raised by the Member. In this case the approach determined as the best was to redo the building.

Can the Minister release the report he mentioned in regard to due diligence that was done by the department so we can see for ourselves exactly what the contents of that report are and what the findings are by way of the effect it will have on to the private sector in Inuvik?

Mr. Chairman, I’ll commit to pulling together a package of information for committee.

Can we get that information before we conclude this department?

Mr. Chairman, we’ll get that work done as quickly as we can. Considering the fact that we’re currently before committee, we’ll endeavour to have that done by tomorrow.

With that, I’d suggest that we defer this department until we receive that information.

Mrs. Groenewegen.

The combined storage building and the office building is 47,000 square feet. The rationale I’m hearing for it is that the space that some of the government offices are in right now is old. I want to know more about what that entails, because in my community not government employees but students are in a building that’s old, and I can’t even get air quality reports, although I’ve asked for them repeatedly. I can’t get the asbestos report for that school, although I’ve asked for it repeatedly. PWS has not provided that.

To hear about an investment of this type for a building of this size because government employees are in a space that’s old doesn’t cut it for me. Until we get information to the questions that Mr. Krutko has asked and until we have a chance to discuss this further in terms of it being a priority in our capital budget over health centres, water treatment, schools…. Until we can get a

sense of the priority that’s being placed on this particular project, I would agree with Mr. Krutko’s request that we defer consideration of the capital expenditures for Public Works and Services until we have that information in hand.

Thank you, Mrs. Groenewegen. Before we move forward and decide whether we’re going to defer this, I’ll go to Mr. Aumond and let him answer your other questions. Thank you, Mrs. Groenewegen. Minister Miltenberger.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. We’ll just restate the commitment that by tomorrow we’ll pull together a package of information for committee that will hopefully capture and be able to address the questions that have been raised.

Thank you, Minister Miltenberger. Mr. Bromley.