Actually, this is one example that I can say yes, that money does fix all issues because, if you do have enough money, you can actually make sure that your house is suitable and adequate. So, yes, but it does come down to having the right financial capital to be able to make those changes.

Masi. Oral questions. Member for Frame Lake.

Masi. Minister of Education, Culture and Employment.

Thank you Mr. Speaker. On March 31st, we did send a letter to Minister Joly in regards to work that needs to be done on all schools throughout the Northwest Territories. We are working with Heritage Canada, putting together an application, actually, for Heritage Canada's complementary funding and education program which supports the construction and expansion of community space and education institutions.

As I mentioned, we did write a letter. I wrote Minister Joly in looking at possible funding supports that are available to minority language education, and later this week officials from both our departments will be sitting down discussing some of the matters moving forward and, hopefully, that we can looking at having a more formal meeting to discuss some of the issues here, in the Northwest Territories, specifically also on the expansion of Ecole Allain St-Cyr. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I do appreciate the response from the Minister, and I did give him a heads-up because I've been requested to sort of follow up on this matter by the Commission. The Commission, itself, has undertaken efforts to persuade federal officials, including the Heritage Canada Minister to provide additional funds for the expansion of Ecole Allain St-Cyr, but the response from the federal Minister was that CSFT and all the commissions scolaires need to go back to GNWT and get them to make the request for additional funding. So we're sort of running around here. I understand from the Minister that he's starting to pursue this. This is great. I think it's an issue where top-level leadership could make a difference.

Will the Minister commit to contacting federal Minister of Heritage Joly personally to discuss this issue and press the NWT's case and follow up by seeking a meeting with Minister Joly on his next visit to Ottawa?

Yes, we did send a letter to initially start the discussions. We have been keeping regular meetings with the Federation franco-tenoise. Most recently on Friday, we had a really good dialogue. As I mentioned, we are putting that application together and making sure that, as a department, we're taking the responsibility to make sure that we can look at the expansion of Ecole Allain St-Cyr.

As I mentioned, we have officials from both departments that are going to set up a meeting on Friday, and we'll move it from there to see what our next steps are. I'm hoping that next time I am in Ottawa that we have a more formal meeting to address not only some of the infrastructure needs within Yellowknife but throughout the whole Northwest Territories, as well.

I appreciate the response from the Minister, and I'll keep pushing him to directly contact the federal Minister of Heritage. But the sad fact is, Mr. Speaker, that students are actually leaving Ecole Allain St-Cyr, and students are leaving, particularly in high school, to go to other schools, and that's because we've been waiting years for equitable and adequate facilities, such as a gymnasium.

News that planning is underway for a new gym and more classrooms, that a request for proposals will soon be led for the expansion of Ecole Allain St-Cyr would give these students some hope. Can the Minister tell this House what concrete plans there are to expand the school?

The department is meeting our obligations for French first language education under the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, the Education Act, and the NWT Court of Appeals decisions. We are currently working on, hopefully, to break ground on a new gymnasium in the summer of 2017. I have also committed to trying to set up a meeting to go into the school to actually meet with the students and the staff, as well. We are hoping to break ground on a new gymnasium in the summer of 2017.

Masi. Oral questions. Member for Frame Lake.

Merci, Mr. Speaker. I appreciate, again, the response from the Minister. I'm speaking, I guess, from some personal experience here, too, because both of our children went through Ecole Allain St-Cyr, and they never had a gymnasium or access to some special classrooms. I'm just wondering when the students and their families can expect to actually walk through the doors and have equitable access to the same facilities that other Yellowknife schools have. So when can we expect to have this work actually done?

Based on the availability of contractors here to help build, we are hoping, and our intention is, to have the facilities available for students by September 2018.

Masi. Oral questions. Member for Kam Lake.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Yesterday, the Premier as Minister of Industry, Tourism and Investment spoke about the government's efforts to support the mining industry. Some questions about that today: the federal government recently renewed its mining tax credit, but it remains consistent throughout the country. I'm wondering if the Premier has discussed creating a higher credit for the North out of that tax credit and working the federal government to further incentivize the mining industry by expanding that tax credit for the three northern jurisdictions. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Masi. Minister of Industry, Tourism and Investment.

No, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My follow-up question would be: could the Minister then work with the Premiers of Nunavut and Yukon to speak to the Prime Minister and advocate for this benefit? The industry has been very clear that they would like to see expanded financial help to getting our resources out of the ground up here and to further expand on exploration activities.

We could. It's been difficult enough to get the federal government to continue the flow-through mining tax credit portion, but we could do that.

Thank you to the Premier for his response. Yesterday, as well, we heard from the Premier that the return on investment for the Mineral Incentive Program is at three to one, which is quite commendable. In a time when we need significant economic activity here, in the North, to get our growth back on track, why have we not invested more resources into this very important program that has such a high return and impact on our economy? It sits at $400,000. In the Yukon, a similar program is at $1 million. Why have we not committed more resources to stimulate our economy directly and create some jobs? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I think the fact that we're contributing in the amount of $400,000 is a very fair share. Yukon has had the benefit of devolution for over ten years; we're just going in to our second year. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Masi. Oral questions. Member for Kam Lake.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Regardless of the circumstances of the Yukon, I do believe our economy is a few percentage points larger than theirs. At a time when we need economic activity, especially in the mining sector, and this program has a three to one return on investment, I'd like to see more resources put into this thing. I'd very much like to see the Premier commit to expanding on this program. If he could make such commitment that would be appreciated, Mr. Speaker.

In the life of the 18thLegislative Assembly that is exactly our plan.

Masi. Oral questions. Member for Sahtu.