Mr. Speaker, we don’t come up with excuses why we can’t do things. We are trying to do things. Our attitude of can-do is

sometimes inhibited by the availability of programs, who is in control of the dollars. For example, we have started to expand our policing services in the communities, working with the federal government in establishing two-man facilities, but some of their criteria is also putting some pressure on us on our existing operations. We continue to work on expansion, for example of policing services which then as well allows us to look at increased nursing in some of our other communities as well. There are a number of fronts where we are trying to expand our services into the communities, around infrastructure, around programming, but we are also hit up against the wall on what types of requirements are placed on us as to the level of service we can produce. But we have engaged in, for example, the policing end and will continue to do so to try to expand those services in working with the federal government in that key area. Thank you.

Mr. Speaker, again, this government approves dollars so we can approve programs and services for us in the Northwest Territories. As mentioned, the shop program in trying to expand that into our schools. We have K to 12 in the majority of our communities now. A lot of our schools don’t have the capacity to deliver that program. We can give them the money but they don’t have a shop. Again, that is the type of thing I am talking about by ensuring that they have the physical ability to deliver, not just the financial ability. Again, that is one of the areas I think we have to seriously look at. We talk about physical education and other things, putting more money into the Department of Education, giving them more resources and try to improve the quality of services in our communities. I want to ask the Premier again, in regards to realizing that we are looking at trying to improve programs and services but yet we do not have the physical structures to deliver shop programs and other programs in our communities because our schools were not designed that way. There is going to have to be some investment. I would like to ask the Premier if he would seriously look at the possibility of putting shop programs in our communities by way of additional expansion of our schools.

Mr. Speaker, I think the Member has used another example of where as governments were previous to ourselves and as we as the 16th Assembly have been working to expand

our services in the communities. Grade extensions is an example of that where we used to have the regional schools and the facilities of that nature. We have now reached back in the communities and that is one of the areas where parents have not even asked to send their students back to a regional facility because they feel that there are more opportunities at those facilities. The Member is right; schools were designed in a certain way because they didn’t have that level of programming.

Our challenge is, as we extend the grades, there is more demand for more of the courses and then to try to come up with the resources to do that. It would be an Assembly decision to expand to that level of programming in the communities. It means taking some dollars from another area of expenditures we are making now and reinvesting it. If that is the will of the Members of this Assembly, that is something we would have to look at and take up seriously. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Roland. Your final, short supplementary, Mr. Krutko.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I think it is the will of this House, but also the government has to. Where there is a will, there is a way. I believe there is a way if we can get the government on board. You guys are the ones that basically have the pen in hand. I think it is important that you find ways of ensuring these programs and services can be delivered and have the financial and physical capacity to do it. I would like to ask the Premier to seriously consider any financial decisions we make in this House. At the end of the day, it has to be able to be delivered in all communities in the Northwest Territories physically and practically. More importantly, the will has to be there for this government. Thank you.

Mr. Speaker, as we begin our next round of planning for business plans, all Members of this Assembly are involved in that planning and give direction to Ministers and departments as to what areas we should put more priority on. What it will come down to is, do we have the dollars to expand all of our services at a level that is expected in every one of our communities? For example, we have differences between our communities that are tax-based and some that are in the general taxation area. They have a level of services that are higher than some communities, because the individuals who choose to live in those communities pay a higher level of taxes so they can get that level of service.

We have started the work along the way with our general taxation area, giving them more authority and taxation authority so that they can, as well, go into that area. The problem is they stay in much smaller communities and they don’t have the population to support some of these bigger areas.

Our challenge overall, as Members are aware, is we have had to tighten our belts as a government. The future isn’t any different. We are going to have to continue to manage the growth of government and come up with the best value of investment we can. We are trying to do that even though we have had to tighten our belts as we invest some dollars. That is the challenge to this Assembly as a whole, not just as Cabinet. If we want to change that, then, as the Member said, if there is a will, there is a way.

The will has to come from this Assembly. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Roland. The honourable Member for Tu Nedhe, Mr. Beaulieu.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Today I talked about the need for a youth centre in Lutselk’e. The youth have spoken. Now we have to listen. I have questions for the Minister of Municipal and Community Affairs.

Mr. Speaker, I understand the youth centre movement has acquired an old house and will receive financial assistance from the band to do some minor renovations. The youth, this place is too small for their needs. Can the Minister advise me what the current MACA policy is with respect to youth centres in those communities which do not have municipal governments and has a First Nation government only? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Beaulieu. The honourable Minister of Municipal and Community Affairs, Mr. Robert McLeod.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I hope the youth of Tu Nedhe can appreciate the persistence their MLA has shown with bringing their youth issues forward all the time. As far as the policy goes, Mr. Speaker, I am not quite sure if we have a policy in place. What I do know, Mr. Speaker, is that a lot of the communities with the community capacity building money that was allocated to them a few years ago, have begun to invest that into youth centres, youth programs. A lot of the money went to the youth.

As far as if we have a policy and doing the youth centres in the community, again I will go back to an argument that I continue to make that it is a community decision with the capital infrastructure dollars that we allocate to them. Thank you.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the Minister for that response. The youth and the community need this government to support the initiative. There is not enough money in the capacity building for them to divert to build a full functioning youth centre for the community. Will the Minister commit to working with me and the community of Lutselk’e, getting the wheels in motion for a proper, adequate youth centre for the community? Thank you.

Mr. Speaker, yes, I will commit to working with the Member but I will also commit that the department will work with the community to identify their capital needs to see where they could fit the youth centre into their capital infrastructure program. Thank you.

Mr. Speaker, as mentioned, the youth are able to acquire a facility to have a makeshift youth centre and you got some assistance from the band. Will the Minister commit to providing some funding from the department to assist the youth in getting the current and temporary youth centre up and running? Thank you.

Mr. Speaker, the money that is allocated for youth centres across the Northwest Territories has doubled in this current budget to $500,000 from $250,000 last year. If the community of Lutselk’e requires funding for their community, like all of the communities, they would have to put in an application and then the money is divvied up by the number of applications they got. Last year, for example, all of the youth centres got exactly the same amount of funding. I am sure that is the way the program will work again this year. I would encourage the community of Lutselk’e to put an application in for the youth centre funding, and then the department will look at it from there. Thank you very much.

Thank you, Mr. McLeod. Final supplementary, Mr. Beaulieu.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I have a proposal from the youth worker in Lutselk’e. I am pleased to hear the Minister would be looking at the possibility of looking at some capital for the upcoming business plan review. Will the Minister use that proposal once we have the numbers in place, during the business plan review? Thank you.

Mr. Speaker, in response to the question yesterday, I quoted the amount of money that a community was getting for capital infrastructure. Lutselk’e is another prime example of a band community that, once they form a corporation, will be able to get two years’ worth of capital funding. As soon as that is done and I think it works out to $1.6 million for the community. As far as the proposal goes, I would be willing to take that proposal, bring it to the department so when they go to work with the community of Lutselk’e to decide on how they are going to spend that $1.6 million, they can look at the proposal that the community brought forward. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. McLeod. The honourable Member for Kam Lake, Mr. Ramsay.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I have some questions today for the Minister of Transportation again pertaining to the Deh Cho Bridge project. Again, I am at a loss as to understand how or why a government could sign a concession agreement on $160 million project without a firm design on that bridge. Even though --

and I mentioned in my Member’s statement numerous times over the past five years and questions to the former Premier and former Ministers and many other Cabinet Ministers over the years -- all have said the design was coming, it was being finalized, here we are $40 million into the project. There are piers in the water and there is still no design, Mr. Speaker. I would like to ask the Minister how it is that the government could sign onto a $160 million project without a firm design on a bridge like this? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Ramsay. The honourable Minister of Transportation, Mr. Michael McLeod.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. This question was raised yesterday. At the time I indicated that we would all agree that the best case scenario would have the project sign off the design right up front. That was not the situation. Time and capacity didn’t allow the final design as it requires very rigorous testing to be done on it. So all parties agreed that that would be done as we move forward. That is currently the situation. There has been, up to now, two reviews on the design completed. This is the final review. It is going to be done by a very competent firm that the Bridge Corporation has hired. We expect them to have the results by sometime this summer or in the fall.

Mr. Speaker, the Member is right. We have spent close to $40 million which represents just about 25 percent of the project. We are 25 percent completed. As we move forward, we expect to spend another 25 percent of the budget this coming summer. By the end of December, we expect to have 50 percent of the project done. Thank you.

Mr. Speaker, going forward, I am just wondering, because there is no firm design today, what our financial liability and risk exposure is in this project going forward without a design, Mr. Speaker, whether the Minister could comment on that. Thank you.

Mr. Speaker, the Member keeps indicating there is no design. There is a design. There has been a design for a number of months and over the last couple of years it has been worked on. It requires a final sign-off and we are expecting those results to come back. That will indicate whether there requires major or minor changes or everything is fine. Until we see those numbers, it is pretty hard to make the comment. I know the Member is expecting for us to indicate that maybe it would cost more, but we don’t have anything to point to that at this time. Thank you.

Mr. Speaker, is there anything written in a contract or agreement with the Deh Cho Bridge Corporation that would have seen the Deh Cho Bridge Corporation complete the design work prior to us having already sunk $40 million into the

project, Mr. Speaker? Was there a date assigned to the completion of that design work? Thank you.