Alfred Moses

Thank you, Mr. Chair. When you look at the 20-year needs assessment, you can see there are a lot of projects going on right across the Territory. When the needs are recognized, it's also based on priority. As I mentioned, we only have so many infrastructure dollars to go around to all the departments and to go around in our department as well, whether it's a learning centre or a school. With the schools, in terms of replacing schools or adding any additions, it is based on that utilization rate of 85 per cent. So even though it is on a needs assessment, it would have to meet a priority to get...

Thank you, Mr. Chair, and with all Capital Planning Processes, there's primary criteria for ranking capital projects, five of them. There's protection of the people, protection of assets, protection of the environments, financial investment and program needs or requirements. They're all taken into consideration when we're going through the Capital Planning Process. Thanks.

Thank you, Mr. Chair, and what we want to do is provide a safe, healthy environment for the students to learn in, so when there's renovations going on one part of the school that we'll be having the children doing the work in another safe part of the school, and then in the second phase there would be students on the other side.

I believe when we're looking at the building and the retrofit of Charles Tetcho School that we're going to try to get it at the end of spring, right at the end of the school year so a lot of this work can be done in the summertime, and there'll be less disruption to...

That's where we don't want to end up again, in the court house and then have a court order against the government. We did get that court order, we appealed it, CSFTNO appealed it, we're going with what was in the court order to provide what was needed. As I mentioned, we are going above and beyond to add those two new school rooms. A lot of engagement was done. I do believe that we're building a stronger relationship with the French community throughout the Northwest Territories to address some of their concerns.

I committed, when I took this position, to review the ministerial directive, I did...

Thank you, Mr. Chair. The Member is right, it is 1,000 square metres. I believe it includes high school instruction areas, a community library space, additional administration area, additional storage and improving viewing for the gymnasium. As I mentioned, the addition is based on our capital standards and criteria and school maximum capacity of 330 students. So there's quite a bit that's gone into there, including a specialized instruction space to deliver career and technology courses. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Mr. Chair, and in the New Year we'll be starting to look at the planning study working with the Department of Public Works and Services. Coming out of that planning study, we're hoping to have something in the Capital Planning Budget for 2018-2019.

Thank you. Mr. Chair. As it was a recommendation that came out of the reports on junior kindergarten, we should have that information by the end of the calendar year. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

CSFTNO were part of the consultation processes, the engagements. As I mentioned in my Minister’s Statement earlier, we did get three applications that under the new directive they were allowed into the school under the acquisition portion and, as I mentioned as well, that both schools are both French first language schools are under the utilization rates, and actually we're building on the one here in Yellowknife that will address the enrolments and the utilization rate there. We actually went above and beyond in terms of putting two classrooms on top of that to address the enrolment rate...

In terms of implementing JK, the ones that I mentioned here earlier were based on need. Not all schools right now can accommodate additional students. For example in Tuktoyaktuk, where the school was made for kindergarten to grade nine, the school decided to go to grade twelve, but they also implemented junior kindergarten, so it's a JK to twelve school now.

You'll see that we needed to construct additional space moving forward to address that. It's based on need, and as I mentioned, we are surveying the schools to see what resources are needed in the communities. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. On my right I have deputy minister Sylvia Haener and my assistant deputy minister on my left, Olin Lovely.