Floyd Roland

Thank you, Madam Chair. Madam Chair, after a substantial amount of work done on this from the finance and insurance side, an audit was done on the facility as well as work done from the Public Works and Services end, to see if the procedures that were being followed and done were appropriate, as well as what may have been the cause of the failure.

There were a number of things that happened and the difficulty is the fact that this building is 37 years old and trying to go back to the actual construction of the facility and further repairs that may have been done. In doing the history and...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, our civic leave is considered one of the most generous across the land as to how we make time available for employees to go and do work with other agencies, and it’s because we understand in small communities there is a need for this from time to time. But each case is going to have to be looked at individually, if members from a different band or department may have used up their time or if there are potential conflict issues with the issues that are going to be addressed in their work within the department they have. So there are a number of factors...

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. It is a replacement. It is not a refit. As I said, we did realize there was a concern here and put a plan in place to fix that. On the report coming back from the consultant, we were made aware that we would have to move that project ahead significantly.

As well, as I stated earlier, that is the full replacement of the tank and the fuel lines that they use to refill that facility. Thank you.

Thank you, Madam Chair. This is the estimate that has been brought forward. It breaks down for a number of things that happened and I will provide those: gymnasium wing repairs were $1.1 million, foyer replacement is estimated at $650,000, classroom wing cosmetic upgrades $500,000, and repair work to date is $250,000. The work is still ongoing on the foyer end of things, but the gymnasium was as a result of the fire that happened right on the heels of the actual collapse of the foyer.

Madam Chair, as a result of the collapse, there was some damage to the foyer entrance and the library, stuff...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, as I said earlier, it has been recognized that with our fragmented system of human resource management throughout the Government of the Northwest Territories, many issues of this nature do arise. That is why we have taken the effort to pull that together so that we will have a better process in place, and the same interpretations of our rules would be enforced, worked on and delivered. We do recognize that and are working to make that better so that all employees would have the same understanding of what is available to them.

I haven’t been made aware of...

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. We would be willing to look at establishing a revolving fund. That’s something I can bring back to my FMB colleagues as something we would look at putting into place. We do have a history of revolving accounts within the Government of the Northwest Territories. So we are willing to look at that process. Thank you.

Thank you, Madam Chair. The purchase price of the units is based on an independent appraisal. First, the individual has to try to sell the unit themselves. They have to prove that they have been trying to sell the unit and have not been successful. Then the guidelines provide for 90 percent of the first $80,000 of appraised value, and then 80 percent of the remaining value of the house up to a maximum of $180,000. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I think, as the Government of the Northwest Territories, we are one of the leading jurisdictions when it comes to recognizing aboriginal rights throughout Canada. For example, we have provided National Aboriginal Day as an actual day that is recognized as a paid day off for employees of the Government of the Northwest Territories and have put it in as recognized throughout the North. So I think we have examples of being proactive here. I would gladly discuss with the Member the specifics of what he is looking at. The whole civic leave area is one of...

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, one of the requirements to qualify under this is that an annual financial report would be provided to the Department of Resources, Wildlife and Economic Development. As well, I should state that the practice of cost sharing just between the government and ourselves is one level, but as well from the organization to the harvester it’s not a full purchase of equipment, it’s cost shared at that level as well. I can ask the Minister responsible to provide more detail on that reporting requirement. Thank you.

Thank you, Madam Chair. The Member is right. The program ceased, but there were still a number of people who were part of the original program. They were grandfathered. This program is no longer available. It was just those that were left on the list when the program shut down. Thank you.