Floyd Roland

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the affirmative action statistics information is provided to committee members through the process we go through. We do provide supplemental information. As we’ve seen, our main estimates documents have grown because we’ve added additional information in there and I guess the feeling at that time was, as we’re going forward, we do supply the information on affirmative action statistics to Members and felt it wasn’t necessary in the document itself. But we’ll take it under advisement if Members would like to see that changed again. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I believe that request was made in 2003-04 and granted in that year.

Thank you, Madam Chair. I am pleased to present the Department of Public Works and Services' main estimates for the fiscal year 2005-06.

The main estimates propose a department operations and maintenance budget for 2005-06 of $44.3 million and an infrastructure investment plan of $7.8 million. This is a .08 percent decrease over the 2004-2005 Main Estimates.

Public Works and Services provides necessary technical and professional support to other departments as they work to achieve government objectives by delivering direct services to our residents. The resources of Public Works and Services...

Thank you, Madam Chair. The vision adopted by the Assembly last May begins with the word self-reliant. The vision that leads off the Northern Strategy framework uses this phrase in its first sentence. Self-reliance means that we look to ourselves first to tackle our challenges and to improve our lives and our communities. If the NWT is truly to achieve our vision of self-reliance for individuals, families, communities and as a territory, we need the right tools and we need the resources.

There is much work to be done. With adequate financial resources, our job will be made easier and our...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, we can’t commit to continue using the facility unless we get the okay from the fire marshal’s office. So with the fire marshal’s recommendation, the facility can’t be used beyond 2006. That’s why we’ve undertaken this next step, working with Education, Culture and Employment, and we can look at the reports to see what options might be out there. But with the preliminary work that has been done, this avenue was chosen because it’s the most cost-effective way to move. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the initial work was done as far back as about 2002, when the fire marshal was looking at that facility. There is a meeting coming up on Monday, between Public Works and Services and Education, Culture and Employment, to review what the necessary steps will have to be. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, based on the recommendations we received and the code upgrades that have been required, we’d have to do a cost-benefit analysis. That’s why the direction has been, at this point, to look at relocating, and that’s what the meeting is going to be about; to see what needs to be done to make sure that the department can continue to operate in the community and in the region.

With respect to the facility ongoing, again, we haven’t identified the cost of doing a total upgrade on that to see if it is a usable space. The government’s initial move, looking at the...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, that facility is one that the Department of Education, Culture and Employment uses to deliver its programs in that community and region. What was done and undertaken was a review through the fire marshal’s office and, on that recommendation, we’ve moved in this area. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, as we have in a number of areas and programs with our partners and the federal government, we are trying to come up with working arrangements with them to see if they can continue the dollars for the social housing program. I’m aware the Minister responsible for the Housing Corporation is continuing on that initiative. The other areas we would have to look at are to come up with the dollars that are being reduced on an annual basis now. To come up with the additional dollars, we’d have to look at our own-source revenues if it’s not going to come from the...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, again, I think we can show examples of how we’ve partnered with other governments from across the territory, aboriginal governments in some of the initiatives, either through supporting them through negotiated contracts in the smaller communities to help build housing, as well as universal partnership agreements in delivery of the housing program in those communities. There’s definitely an option there. At the end of the day even for example in the community of Inuvik, a developer wants a core tenant to be there to make sure that they can afford and they...