Mr. Speaker, as I mentioned, when the school was constructed in 2009, the activity space for recreation and leisure was fit to the school code under the NWT Schools – Capital Standards and Criteria Policy which was in 2005 developed. We will work with the education authority and do a visit to the school to see how we can address this issue. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Masi. Oral questions. Member for Kam Lake.

Merci, Monsieur le President.

Monsieur le President, the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment made a commitment to revise the ministerial directive concerning admissions to the Commission Scolaire des Territoires du Nord-Ouest. Can the Minister today provide an update to where that work is to date? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Masi. Minister of Education, Culture and Employment.

Thank you. Mr. Speaker, as Members are aware, there were public hearings here, in Yellowknife, as well as Hay River. Actually, in Hay River, it was more of one that we had meetings with the Hay River District Education Authority to get more feedback. That consultation is done. We're just getting the information gathered together. We will be making recommendations. We will be meeting with our department staff, and we will be making a statement very soon on where that ministerial directive is going.

Monsieur le President, when can the Commission Scolaire [English translation not provided] expect this matter to be resolved and some change to this directive come forward?

We should have that decision ready and the announcement made before the 2016-17 academic year, so before the fall. Families, community members will be ready to know the decision that's going to be made with that ministerial directive.

Monsieur le President, a court ruling requires this government to provide fair and equitable access to gymnasium space for l'Ecole Allain St-Cyr in Yellowknife [English Translation not provided] Ecole Boreale [English Translation not provided] Hay River. What is the status of the space-sharing agreement that the government has been working on for quite some time now?

Yes, the government is abiding by the court case with the Ecole Allain St-Cyr. In terms of Ecole Boreale in Hay River, we're actually just working on trying to develop a plan. So, hopefully, everything should be resolved by the fall time. We are looking at putting -- though that space-sharing agreement in Hay River, hopefully, will be addressed by the fall time, as well as here, in Yellowknife, we should have everything in place come fall time.

Masi. Oral questions. Member for Kam Lake.

Merci, Monsieur le President. The Minister may be paying attention, as I don't like the word "hope" when people are looking for certainty. There has been a number of complaints from the Commission Scolaire about this issue that things are not rolling out in a timely fashion. Can the Minister assure this House that the space-sharing agreement will be in place for both schools in the fall and will be done in a timely manner and any delays will be clearly communicated with the district education authority in Hay River, the school districts in Yellowknife, and the Commission Scolaire?

In the past months that I've been Minister of Education, Culture and Employment, we've been having meetings with a lot of different parties. We're trying to build a strong relationship moving forward and letting them understand that we are moving forward on the court case issue.

Space-sharing agreements, it's a little tougher in Hay River in terms of addressing some of the issues there. Here, in Yellowknife, I believe we will have it all straightened out come fall time, and we are still having those discussions in Hay River to address their concerns. Our department is working with the education authorities over there to make sure that we have something put in place in the fall time that will have all parties, hopefully, happy with the decisions that are made. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Masi. Oral questions. Member for Nahendeh.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, as I said in my Member's statement, I have some questions for the Premier. Mr. Speaker, can the Premier please explain the criteria that is used when deciding who will get a negotiated contract? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Masi. Honourable Premier.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The factors that are considered when authorizing contract negotiations are set out in the publicly posted Negotiated Contracts Policy and they include costs, the benefits that might be achieved for Northwest Territories residents, support from local leaders, the contractor's ability and history with the Government of the Northwest Territories, and the possibility that other qualified Northwest Territories businesses might be interested in competing on the contract. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I thank the Premier for his answers. Mr. Speaker, can the Premier please advise if the policy factors in impact, such as income support, social issues in the community, employment, to name a few, when deciding if the department or executive council will or will not support a negotiated contract?

Local employment is always a factor when considering negotiated contracts but not at any costs, Mr. Speaker. We also have rules that govern our business incentive policies and our northern preference policies. The Member referred to the Inuvik-Tuk Highway. In that case, there was the benefits and jobs are available, 600 jobs a year, 80 per cent provided by Northerners for Northerners.

I again thank the Premier for his answer, and I totally agree that the Inuvik-Tuk Highway did a great job. As the Premier spoke, there's 600 people being employed. You know, that is what we need to be doing, 80 per cent Northerners, which is great. However, Mr. Speaker, in regards in the Negotiated Contract Policy, can the Premier advise this House when the last time this policy was reviewed and updated?

It's a requirement of our government to post the results of our Negotiated Contract Policy on an annual basis, and, as such, the Negotiated Contract Policy is reviewed on an annual basis. It was last reviewed in the fall of 2015.

Masi. Oral questions. Member for Nahendeh.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I thank the Premier for his answer. Can the Premier explain to this House who was involved in reviewing this policy? Was it just the Cabinet or was it the whole Legislative Assembly? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The Negotiated Contract Policy will be reviewed again in the fall of 2016, and the results will be shared with the Standing Committee. We will involve the Standing Committees. As per land claims agreements, one of the requirements is under economic measures, we have responsibility to also engage the community governments, so we do that in a normal course of events, Mr. Speaker.

Masi. Oral questions. Member for Yellowknife North.