This is page numbers 6517 – 6558 of the Hansard for the 17th Assembly, 5th Session. The original version can be accessed on the Legislative Assembly's website or by contacting the Legislative Assembly Library. The word of the day was need.

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Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters

Robert Bouchard

Robert Bouchard Hay River North

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. There’s one other. Princess Alexandra is the other one. I’m not sure if he has that on the list there somewhere.

Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters

Stewart

Sorry about that. It is an older school but it was renovated in 2002, so it’s about 13 years since the last renovation there.

Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters

Robert Bouchard

Robert Bouchard Hay River North

I didn’t catch the last part of Mr.

Stewart’s comments. Sorry.

Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters

Stewart

The renovation at Princess Alexandra was 2002.

Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters

September 29th, 2015

Robert Bouchard

Robert Bouchard Hay River North

You mentioned Ecole Boreale, and I mentioned to the Minister under general comments, and I’m just wondering about the development and the planning that we’re doing with the French schools in both Yellowknife and Hay River. We know that we’re in a situation that we’ve been told that we have to spend money. We’ve been told that we don’t have to spend as much money, but we know we’re going to have to spend money eventually in the whole system.

Are we just burying our head in the sand and ignoring this issue or are we somewhere down the

line, even if it’s four or five years down the line, putting some sort of dollar figure to those two schools as far as their requirements for expansion, requirements for gymnasiums?

Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters

The Chair

The Chair Robert Bouchard

Thank you, Mr. Bouchard. Minister Lafferty.

Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters

Jackson Lafferty

Jackson Lafferty Monfwi

Mahsi, Mr. Chair. This particular school, Ecole Boreale, has been in the works for quite some time now, even going through court proceedings and so forth. We’re not ignoring that issue. We are talking to the appropriate parties. Obviously, we need to be prepared of what the outcome will be with the court case. We don’t know what the outcome will be, so we’re trying to stay in close contact with the parties on how we can move forward in the meantime.

My deputy may have been involved to some degree on the discussion with the school board, and if there have been any steps taken he can elaborate more, but I believe we are just currently waiting for the court outcome. At the same time, we are in discussions with the school board.

Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters

The Chair

The Chair Daryl Dolynny

Thank you, Minister Lafferty. Mr. Stewart.

Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters

Stewart

Thank you, Mr. Chair. As the Minister said, as the Member would know, there was an appeal of the court order. The Francophone representatives have indicated that they are appealing to the Supreme Court of Canada, and we’re waiting to hear from the Supreme Court as to whether they’re going to take up that case or not. The Francophone Association suggested to us that we should wait until we get that answer back before we proceed from there, and we agreed with that p

roposal that we’ll hold off on starting anything until

we hear whether the Supreme Court is going to take the appeal or not.

Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters

The Chair

The Chair Daryl Dolynny

Thank you, Mr. Stewart. Mr. Bouchard.

Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters

Robert Bouchard

Robert Bouchard Hay River North

I guess I have this question for Education, as well as all the other Members, and some of the other Members will ask some of the same questions. I know we’ve had meetings with the Parent Action Committee how they can make it move forward, the Ecole Boreale process, but is the department looking at ways like private partnership agreements? I know education probably hasn’t been the keenest area in to do this, but if a proposal comes forward with some private funding to put in 10 percent or 20 percent of the cost, are we looking to do that and would that move the process forward in putting it on the capital budget?

Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters

The Chair

The Chair Robert Bouchard

Thank you, Mr. Bouchard. Minister Lafferty.

Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters

Jackson Lafferty

Jackson Lafferty Monfwi

Mahsi, Mr. Chair. Over the years we’ve been following the process when it comes to capital infrastructure, but just

recently there’s been some interest from community, whether it be the business arm wanting to provide some opportunity for us. Those are just the recent discussions that we are currently having and potential prospects of either building new schools or the college and so forth. Those are discussions that, as a Cabinet, we need to have. Anything we do goes against our borrowing limit so we have to be mindful of that.

My department is working very closely with PWS as well. Anything we do, PWS would have to be involved. I hear where the Member is coming from and we have been exploring those areas as well.

Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters

The Chair

The Chair Daryl Dolynny

Thank you, Minister Lafferty. Continuing on with questioning, I have Mr. Hawkins.

Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters

Robert Hawkins

Robert Hawkins Yellowknife Centre

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. As the time and certainly the clock of the day is running out, I’m going to be really brief and then I’ll report progress from thereon in.

The issue I wanted to highlight and say is that I’m very excited to see that the two schools have made the capital plan this year, and I think that couldn’t have been done without the great work of all Members on this particular side of the House. I know that each Member was very gracious on supporting that these two plans, one for Mildred Hall and one for Sissons, got on the books. I know it was raised by many of my colleagues over the years and it has taken its time, but it’s one of those challenges, getting your project on the books. I know it doesn’t mean immediately that there will be a new school built or a new renovation. You have to start with a plan. I have even talked to the school board about it. In order to be able to know what we’re dealing with, we have to start with a plan. That’s the way you do business.

I just want to stress how grateful I am to the government for supporting these two initiatives. I am sincerely grateful for the extra push I got from all the Yellowknife colleagues and certainly community colleagues as we all collectively got behind these initiatives. I would be remiss to say that the Sir John project of fixing the sewer line is obviously key. They’ve had troubles for a number of years on that piece of infrastructure and I’m glad ECE is there. I certainly look forward to the good work they’ll do going forward on these two initiatives and we’ll see where it takes us. When the timing is appropriate, we will address the challenges at Mildred Hall and Sissons. Like I said earlier, w

e need a plan and that’s what this is going

to do. I can assure you the two schools are very excited to know that their schools haven’t been forgotten.

The last point I wanted to say is one of the challenges we’ve always had with schools is you have to hit the magic number. My argument is I don’t necessarily think that shouldn’t apply, but it

shouldn’t apply in every circumstance. What happens here is if your school is 10 students short of meeting that next level of getting your renovation, what we do at the same time is ignore the asset as a whole. One of the initiatives we worry about with capital investment is saying we have to protect the asset. Obviously, we protect people and resources and the asset. By letting schools get old, deteriorated and say if you only need 10 more students we would do a renovation, we have to stress about the other opportunities there within, which is to say the asset always has to be well maintained and safe. I’m not talking about safety when it comes to dangers, but I am saying safe in the context of how it’s used.

I just want to say thank you to the department for helping us as well. Again, Members came when this problem needed to be faced and they got behind it. So, thank you to everyone.

I just wanted to provide some comments. At this time I move that we report progress.

---Carried

Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters

The Chair

The Chair Daryl Dolynny

Thank you, Mr. Hawkins. I would like to thank our guests today. Mr. Lovely, Mr. Stewart, thanks for joining us and, of course, the Minister for joining us as well. If I can get the Sergeant-at-Arms to escort our witnesses out of the Chamber, I will now rise and report progress. Thank you, committee.

Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters

The Speaker

The Speaker Jackie Jacobson

Item 21, report of Committee of the Whole. Mr. Dolynny.

Report of Committee of the Whole
Report of Committee of the Whole

Daryl Dolynny

Daryl Dolynny Range Lake

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, your committee has been considering Tabled Document 281-17(5), Northwest Territories Capital Estimates, 2016-2017, and would like to report progress. Mr. Speaker, I move that the report of Committee of the Whole be concurred with. Thank you.

Report of Committee of the Whole
Report of Committee of the Whole

The Speaker

The Speaker Jackie Jacobson

Thank you, Mr. Dolynny. Do I have a seconder? Mr. Ramsay.

---Carried

Item 22, third reading of bills. Mr. Clerk, orders of the day.

Orders of the Day
Orders of the Day

Principal Clerk, Committees And Public Affairs (Mr. Ball)

Orders of the day for Thursday, October 1, 2015, at 1:30 p.m.:

1. Prayer

2.

Ministers’ Statements

3.

Members’ Statements

4. Returns to Oral Questions

5. Recognition of Visitors in the Gallery

6. Acknowledgements

7. Oral Questions

8. Written Questions

9. Returns to Written Questions

10. Replies to Opening Address

11. Petitions

12. Reports of Standing and Special Committees

13. Reports of Committees on the Review of Bills

14. Tabling of Documents

15. Notices of Motion

16. Notices of Motion for First Reading of Bills

17. Motions

18. First Reading of Bills

- Bill 48, An Act to Amend the Mental Health Act

- Bill 68, An Act to Amend the Child and Family Services Act, No. 2

19. Second Reading of Bills

20. Consideration in Committee of the Whole of

Bills and Other Matters

- Bill 45, An Act to Amend the Workers’ Compensation Act

- Bill 49, An Act to Amend the Deh Cho Bridge Act

- Bill 56, Miscellaneous Statute Law Amendment Act, 2015

- Bill 59, Estate Administration Law Amendment Act

- Bill 60, An Act to Amend the Motor Vehicles Act, No. 2

- Bill 61, An Act to Amend the Public Airports Act

- Bill 62, An Act to Amend the Coroners Act

- Bill 63, An Act to Amend the Victims of Crime Act

- Bill 64, An Act to Amend the Co-operative Associations Act

- Bill 65, An Act to Amend the Safety Act

- Minister’s Statement 221-17(5), Sessional Statement

- Tabled Document 281-17(5), Capital Estimates, 2016-2017

21. Report of Committee of the Whole

22. Third Reading of Bills

23. Orders of the Day

Orders of the Day
Orders of the Day

The Speaker

The Speaker Jackie Jacobson

Thank

you,

Mr.

Clerk.

Accordingly, this House stands adjourned until Thursday, October 1st , at 1:30 p.m.

---ADJOURNMENT

The House adjourned at 6:01 p.m.