Next on the list I have Mr. Yakeleya.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, I want to ask in terms of the funding for the high school career and technology studies upgrades of the CTS facilities and equipment in terms of how this is working out for our communities in accessing these dollars here. I want to ask the Minister in terms of a brief update as to this project here in terms of getting funding into our communities with the stated dollars.

Deputy minister of Education, Mr. Daniels.

I look forward to seeing this money roll out to the communities where this money was intended in terms of the upgrades for the trades. So, Mr. Chair, I want to ask the Minister in terms of some of the communities or some for the boards that may be somewhat…Is this a first come, first served basis or is that money allocated to different regions or is it going to be whoever gets the proposal into the Minister within the time frame? Certainly there will be some interesting proposals to entertain this project here in terms of getting the trades into our communities. I look forward to seeing what type of projects are going to be there. So is this going to be allocated or is this first come, first served basis in terms of the request for money?

Minister of Finance.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. This is a $400,000 a year program over three years. It’s going to be merit-based. The maximum any school can obtain is $100,000 per year for the three years. It is strictly for capital. So last year the work was done for a needs assessment in trying to see where the needs would be. Now the actual requests for proposal have gone out. There is a list that we would be happy to share with committee that lays out all the criteria that would maybe help clarify the issue for the Members how this program is intended to work and what the criteria is. Thank you.

Mr. Chair, I want to say certainly the communities will look forward to this type of funding. Certainly this type of government and the Minister has been listening to this side of the table here in terms of what challenges we have to deal with in our small communities in terms of bringing the trades or specialized training into our communities that they have longed for for many years. It’s certainly good on this government here and this Minister to get this on the go and to see what results we will have in our communities.

I wanted to ask the Minister also in terms of the schools in our region. I know the issue of vandalism has been quite a topic in one of my communities and especially with an asset such as a school here and that we wanted to look at some solutions along with the leadership in the communities in terms of keeping our assets in a safe manner for the schools here. Is there any type of funding or capital dollars looking at adding a security system in our schools that the schools can apply for, rather than taking out of their own budget in terms of the education boards; that the government can offer to have security systems in some of our schools? That seems to be attracting a lot of attention of some of

the community members that are vandalizing our school here.

As Minister Michael McLeod noted late last week in the House, vandalism across the government costs about $5 million a year, which is an enormous amount of money for 42,000, so it is a significant issue. We all know the unfortunate circumstances of fires and vandalism and destruction of property, some of it often brand new. So the discussion about is there some type of security requirements that should be built in are ones that Education, I am sure, could have with the various divisional boards. They look at how to cope with this, especially when you have a brand new asset that’s worth $9 million or $10 million or whatever it may be, that there may be some attempts. So I understand in communities where they have tried this, it becomes almost an art form to figure out how to beat the security system and continue to engage in vandalism.

So I think security is one thing. I think there are some other fundamental issues at the community level that communities have to try to come to grips with so they don’t destroy the very hard-fought resources that are put in their communities. Thank you.

Certainly I agree with the Minister in terms of the comments he had to offer this afternoon, Mr. Chair. I would guess I was hoping to see if there was some type of interim solution to having some type of security system in one of our schools in Sahtu to deter further vandalism in one of the schools that I represent, and that the community or the educational board can apply to this government to put in an interim security system. I know it’s going to require a lot more discussion. Certainly as a community as a whole, we have to sit down and look at the whole issue and find out why certain things are happening in this community that attracts vandalism especially into a school. So I know what the future suggestions are. However, is there something within the capital that we can direct the educational boards to possibly look for an interim solution? It certainly can help us with vandalism in one of my communities. Thank you.

Education, Culture and Employment stands ready to work with the divisional boards in all the regions as they do on an ongoing basis with a lot of issues, but with this particular one to look at what’s the best way forward, especially to protect assets where the paint is barely dry on the new structure. Thank you.

Thank you. Certainly I would look forward to conveying this message here to our boards and our leadership in the specific community in my region in terms of how we go forward in terms of securing our school in not having vandalism coming into the classrooms or the

school. So I thank the Minister and I want to leave it at that in terms of my comments. I don’t require a response.

Thank you, Mr. Yakeleya. Moving on, Mr. Ramsay.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Just a couple more things. I have been here since 2003 and I have raised this issue in the past and I raise it again today. I believe the Government of the Northwest Territories has to come forward with some kind of policy that no school, anywhere in any community in the Northwest Territories, can be constructed without a gymnasium. The reason I raise this again is Ecole Allain St-Cyr here in Yellowknife was built without a gymnasium and I just believe, you know, you’re given the statistics of childhood obesity and the inactivity of children. For us to build a school anywhere or to put money into any school anywhere, I am talking about any community in the Northwest Territories without a gymnasium in it is wrong. I think that’s something I would like to see the government come forward with a policy on in constructing new schools; they will not be constructed unless they include a gymnasium. I would like to get the Minister’s response to that, Mr. Chairman. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Ramsay. Minister of ECE, Minister Lafferty.

Mahsi, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, those are the things that we can certainly…We are open to those ideas and I guess just in the recent years, we’ve built schools without gymnasiums, but with other departments such as MACA in partnership with the communities, we’ve attached gymnasiums to the schools. So, certainly, this will be a discussion on an ongoing forward basis. So I appreciate Members responding to this area. I think it’s key that we have to have this discussion. Mahsi, Mr. Chair.

I do understand. I know the Minister knows how important it is to have a gymnasium included in the original construction of a school, because if you add any component to a facility after the fact, it always costs more money to add something on. If it’s incorporated into the early stages and into the design, it can be done in a more cost-effective manner. So I do look forward to further discussions with the government on including gymnasiums in any new school construction in the Northwest Territories. I think that’s a step in the right direction.

One other area -- and I started to talked to it under another page -- but on the Inuvik school, I just wanted to get an idea of what the fixed price is, because there’s been numbers ranging anywhere from $95 million to $115 million. What exactly is that fixed price and can the Minister share that with us today in this forum? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Ramsay. Minister Miltenberger.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. We can share this information, but I can just indicate the consultant’s design and inspection: $6.485 million; Public Works expenditures -- travel, commissioning, insurance, small contracts, course of construction: $700,000; relocating client expenditures, relocating existing building and furnishing and move in: $1.845 million; Dowland Construction Limited contract, phase two: $92.3 million; drainage and site preparation: $2.335 million; and, there’s an $11.7 million contingency, for a total of $115.365 million.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. That’s good to hear from the Minister. On the construction component, the $92.3 million, that price is a fixed price and will not exceed $92.3 million. Am I correct in that assumption? Thank you.

Yes, Mr. Chairman.

Thank you, Minister. Mr. Abernethy.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I just want to follow up on another line item in this particular section, the capital infrastructure for community libraries. I understand that’s multi-year funding. Can you confirm that for me, please?

Thank you, Mr. Abernethy. Minister Miltenberger.