I feel that this is a good place for capital for daycares. I think that the students that are starting kindergarten that have gone through daycare and have been in some preschool programs that run usually out of daycares come into the school quite advanced and ready to take on kindergarten when the kindergarten age comes around and they go into the schools and so on. Because of the importance of this to education, if the daycares were to be somehow incorporated into the envelope of the schools in these communities, would the department consider looking at capital costs of providing daycares to the communities?

The current and existing daycares and child care facilities are run by not-for-profit organizations or private sectors. So we don’t own those buildings. That’s part of the reason why we haven’t gotten into capital projects for that specific area. We’ve made some changes to our programming. It does reflect on some of the mortgage payments. Just thinking or changing our policies to reflect on the cost of operating, we do have some or have made some changes at that level when it comes to O and M and try and be creative and innovative. There have been some changes on the mortgage payment for daycare facilities. That’s the area that we continue to improve on.

I’m just recognizing what the tangible assets are, I guess, capital assets or something that the GNWT has ownership of. If the GNWT does not have ownership of the daycare buildings, is the department in any sort of position to do infrastructure contributions to the communities to upgrade or build new daycares in the communities?

I don’t have the numbers right now, but we do have a vast variety of child cares and daycares in the Northwest Territories. When it comes to infrastructure, they will fall under that as well. There are quite a few. We’re talking millions, not a couple hundred thousand. I think we need to be very careful on approaching this particular area. We have discussed it in the past, but, like I said, with O and

M we can be somewhat flexible in making those changes.

I understand where the Member is coming from and I need to work with that with possibly through the O and M, what else can we improve on so we can strengthen or provide more of the improved programming dollars or O and M dollars to the facilities that the Member is alluding to. I’ll leave it at that. O and M is definitely an area that we can look at for improvements.

Just shifting gears for a minute; high school career and technology studies. I was wondering if there’s a plan to put high school career and technology studies into all high schools.

Thank you, Mr. Beaulieu. I’m assuming that’s restricted to the capital aspects of it as well. Mr. Beaulieu.

Sorry, Mr. Chairman. All schools that have high school students. That’s what I meant. Just to clarify.

The way the process works is that usually the school boards provide us applications on their needs. If CTS is required, or for upgrade, then there is funding available for that. I believe it’s upwards of $400,000. Those are numbers that we work with. It’s all based on the application from the school boards on their needs.

That’s good. I know the CTS is going to be opening a shop, I think, after so many years of having a shop in Fort Resolution. Deninu School closed and we’re having an opening in November. Also, I guess because I’m aware that my concern has been trying to find space and include some sort of a career technology studies for the high school students in Lutselk’e. With the information that the Minister has provided me, I will contact the schools and proceed that way.

Thank you, Mr. Beaulieu. Next we have the long-delayed question from Ms. Bisaro.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I’ll try not to do such a long preamble since I kind of did it once already. I’m referencing a couple of schools in Yellowknife, particularly Mildred Hall School and J.H. Sissons School. Mildred Hall has fairly recently had a renovation but it wasn’t all completed. Sissons is long overdue. Well, I shouldn’t say overdue, but certainly due for a renovation, and I believe it was a priority on the department’s list for renovations as much as six or eight months ago. I’m dismayed to see that neither of these two schools have any... There are no plans in the capital budget for either of these schools and no plans in future years either. I’d like to know from the Minister where both of these projects are. How urgent is J.H. Sissons School renovation and

addition, and where on the timeline is the finishing of Mildred Hall School?

Thank you, Ms. Bisaro. Mr. Lafferty.

Mahsi, Mr. Chairman. For J.H. Sissons School there was a request that’s been brought forward on Public Works and Services to complete an updated 2002 technical status evaluation. This review was completed in September 2010. Although the building does require renovation, there are no immediate health or safety issues identified at this time. This could be part of next year’s capital plan as we move forward. That’s part of the reason why it wasn’t part of this, along with other pressing urgencies of other projects. I’ll get Mr. Daniels to address Mildred Hall and maybe if he wants to elaborate more on J.H. Sissons as well.

Thank you, Mr. Lafferty. Mr. Daniels.

Mr. Chairman, I will talk about Mildred Hall first. I appreciate and I am thankful to hear that Mildred Hall is going to be considered at some point in time. I look at the capital needs assessment that we received a little while ago and note that there is no money indicated for Mildred Hall until the fiscal year 2013-14, which is a fairly long time down the road. I would hope that the finishing of those renovations is going to be before that.

With regards to Sissons, the Minister mentioned a technical study was just recently completed and did an analysis of one of the things he mentioned was safety of the facility. I guess there is no urgent need to do renovations at that school, because I think the Yellowknife Public School Board has done an extremely good job of keeping up on the various schools and their system. They do an excellent job of maintenance and upkeep of the schools.

I need to reference the safety issue. All schools in the NWT now have a lockdown procedure in case of any kind of an emergency. Sissons, due to its open school concept, is unable to be put into a

lockdown situation. Certainly Mr. Abernethy has expressed this before and I would agree with him, that then creates, in my mind, a safety issue for the students and the staff of J.H. Sissons School. If there ever was an incident within that school where a lockdown is required, they cannot be put into a safe situation. Where is the issue of an inability to do a lockdown in a school? Where does that sit on the list of safety issues and the list of priority issues for a building? Thank you.

Thank you, Ms. Bisaro. Mr. Daniels.

Mr. Chairman, I appreciate that it is going to be discussed with YK1, but I really don’t understand how solving the issue of a lockdown can be accomplished when you have no doors on classrooms. It really, to me, is not a safety issue that can be accommodated. If it is a bomb issue, you could move the kids out of the school, but if it is an issue of a gunman in the school, you can’t move them out. It is a safety issue.

I guess I just want to stress to the Minister and to the department that Sissons should be higher on the priority list than it seems to be. I would certainly hope to see it in next year’s capital plan. There is the beginning of planning study money for studies, et cetera, and that we do have this particular project on the books next year. That is all I have. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

Thank you, Ms. Bisaro. Committee, we are on page 8-7, education and culture. Mr. Jacobson.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Just in regard to the capital plan for Mangilaluk School in Tuk, we have planning monies ahead for this coming year. I am just wondering -- I guess it was two years ago now in the House when we put Tuk on the five-year capital plan -- why is it not showing in the capital plan under renovation and why is it showing as a study? Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

Thank you, Mr. Jacobson. Mr. Daniels.

Just in regard to that comment that Mr. Daniels made, the capital plan for Mangilaluk School, Mr. Chairman, there is no shop, proper home economics room, storage office space. There are teachers crammed up probably 60 inches in a tiny little room that they are trying to do their papers and whatever they have to for their planning day for the students. Again, there is one washroom that they share out of 20 people. That is just not right. Ms. Bisaro said in regards to safety; I would say that is dirty. With that being said, on the capital plan, I know it is in there, allotted as a study. We have enough studies that have been going on. The small communities need this for our students. We are tired of waiting. Somebody, YK1 wants something. They are ready to say, okay, we will get the materials that are needed. Why aren’t they doing this for the communities as well?