David Ramsay

Thank you, Mr. Minister. Mrs. Groenewegen.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I want to speak today on the issue of the availability of day care space and the government’s plan to address this issue as it affects most of the communities we represent. Last February, I spoke of how it is that the GNWT allows for a non-level playing field by allowing some non-profit day cares to operate out of government-owned facilities while others are left to fend for themselves at a huge disadvantage.

Mr. Speaker, this continues to be allowed to happen. The Minister and his department still don’t have any answers on how to correct it so none of...

Special warrants, page 12, regional operations, $3.212 million.

Thank you, Mr. Minister. Anything further, Mr. Villeneuve?

Thank you, Madam Chair. I just wanted to get it on the record, I think the reason there were some issues around the $100,000 being spent at the Icicle Inn at Sachs Harbour was for the very reasons the Minister just explained, that the responsibility, in my mind, falls on the federal government. I think it’s incumbent upon the Minister of MACA and the Department of Municipal and Community Affairs to come up with a remediation plan and get the federal government to pay for it, because this is no fault of the GNWT that we ended up with this property and we ended up with his environmental...

Thank you, Mr. Minister. Mrs. Groenewegen.

It's close to being a condemned building, as other Members have suggested. Again, I think the government is not or should not bring this forward in this fashion. All the homework has definitely not been done in this area and I would challenge the government to prove that all the bases have been covered here. The Minister of ECE, I mean the client department, Mr. Chairman, who ultimately is responsible for this getting to this stage? Would the Minister say it's the client department, would he say it's the community of Fort Simpson? Who is it? Who takes responsibility that we're in this...

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I move that $320,000 be deleted from the Department of Public Works and Services asset management activity in Supplementary Appropriation, No. 1, 2006-2007.

Thank you, Mr. Minister. Anything further, Mr. Villeneuve?

Thank you, Madam Chair. Madam Chair, the reason we are suggesting that this be deleted from MACA’s regional operations activity that appears in the supplementary appropriation is the government has taken over responsibility for the building and the land that it sits on and is also responsible, as we are told, for environmental liability and remediation work that has to take place on that property. We weren’t, as a group, satisfied that the government should accept that type of responsibility in taking over this property. That is the reason this motion is before us.