Justice, total department, not previously authorized, $481,000. Does committee agree?

Committee, please turn to the final page, Municipal and Community Affairs. Supplementary Estimates (Operations Expenditures), No. 4, 2018-2019, Municipal and Community Affairs, regional operations, not previously authorized, $1,070,000. Does committee agree?

Municipal and Community Affairs, total department, $1,070,000. Does committee agree?

Thank you, committee. Does committee agree this concludes consideration of Tabled Document 382-18(3)?

Thank you, committee. Mr. Beaulieu.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I move that consideration of Tabled Document 382-18(3), Supplementary Estimates (Operations Expenditures), No. 4, 2018-2019, be now concluded and that Tabled Document 382-18(3) be reported and recommended as ready for further consideration in the formal session through the form of an appropriation bill. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you. There is a motion on the floor. The motion is in order. The motion is non-debatable. All those in favour. All those opposed. The motion is carried.

---Carried

Committee, we have next agreed to consider Supplementary Estimates No. 1, 2019-2020, which is Tabled Document 388-18(3). I will turn to Minister McLeod for opening comments. Minister.

Thank you, Minister. General comments? Seeing none, we will proceed to the detail. The first voteable item is found on page 6. Education Culture and Employment, early childhood services, $2 million. Comments or questions from committee? Mr. O'Reilly.

Thanks, Mr. Chair. Can someone explain to me how we got to a place where $2 million is required for replacement of the roof of the William McDonald School? Thanks, Mr. Chair.

Thank you. Minister McLeod.

Thanks, Mr. Chair. Through you, I would like to defer to Minister Cochrane.

Thank you. Minister Cochrane.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. The roof at the William McDonald School has, in all honesty, been one of my major stresses for the last few months, ever since I heard there were issues with it. There were some issues put forward in 2016. We found that it had exceeded its life expectancy. They had done some patching. Over the time, though, the YK1 School Board Authority was told not to go on the roof, not by ECE or anyone else except by the contractor who fixed the original roof. They have not gone on the roof.

In the meantime, when they first got it fixed, there were a few little tree seedlings growing. Because no one went on the roof and pulled those seedlings out, they became trees on the roof. It meant that the trees became structural. Now, we are at a place where there are bags and there are buckets being held. There was mould found because of the constant dripping. It is an issue.

It was planned to replace the roof and the envelope of the school in the 2021 capital planning, but it is too late. We cannot leave children in a place where it is not safe at this time. This is now a health and safety issue, because the mould is actually not good for humans. We contained the mould. We will be fixing it in the spring break. It is going to keep going if we don't fix it.

The responsibility that ECE needs to take in this is that we never really had a firm policy in what our maintenance includes. We have learned from this lesson. Going forward in the new school year, we will be defining a policy that states maintenance includes things such as shovelling snow from the walkways, checking your roof, checking around the premises of the school to make sure that any health and safety issues are addressed. In that way, we do take responsibility, but this is a combination of efforts. I would love to be able to say it can wait to 2020-2021, but it cannot. This is now a health and safety issue that is important to children. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you. Mr. O'Reilly.

Thanks, Mr. Chair. Just in case anyone gets the wrong idea, I want this work to go ahead, and I want it to go as quickly as it can. This is a school that is in my riding, and I want the work done. Can someone tell me when the original roof was put on? Thanks, Mr. Chair.

Thank you. Minister McLeod.

Thank you. I agree with the Member that this is work that needs to be done. We are trying to get the appropriation to do that work. As far as his question on the original roof, we don't have that detail. We would have to commit to get that detail and provide it to the Member. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you. Mr. O'Reilly.

Thanks, Mr. Chair. I can tell everybody that the roof was put on in 1981. These things sort of have a natural life cycle. How long has this work been deferred over the years? Thanks, Mr. Chair.