Wendy Bisaro

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’d like to take this opportunity to acknowledge the accomplishment of Frame Lake constituent Ms. Karen Horn. Ms. Horn is employed by Aurora College and she has been a stalwart at the Yellowknife Campus for many years now. She recently completed the first step towards a bachelor degree in Business Administration. At the YK Campus graduation held May 1st, Karen was one of the graduates receiving her Business Administration Certificate. I offer my congratulations and wish her every success as she continues her education journey.

Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I note in this section that Ecole St. Joe’s portable classroom for $175,000. This is a new school project, I thought. I’m wondering why we’re spending money on portables. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I do have a question in regard to these two projects. I understand from the background information that these projects are being done in partnership and consultation with Nunavut. Could I get an explanation as to why we’re doing it in partnership with Nunavut? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I have one comment and then a question. I would like to add my voice to those of my colleagues in terms of moving forward on bringing the employees of the Hay River Health and Social Services Authority into the GNWT workforce. I support particularly Mr. Bromley’s suggestion that there are little things or small things or bits and pieces that we can do working towards a final solution. I would encourage the Minister to certainly look at that and advance us as far as possible before we have to spend the $11 million twice over that he is referencing.

I do have a question...

I guess I’d like to thank the Minister again for his comments. Part of the facilities plan and the options that were presented, the work that was being done by the consultant to look into things was renovations, to complete the renovations, I should say, at Mildred Hall School and to do a very large and significant renovation of J.H. Sissons School. So I’d like to ask the Minister, are there plans being considered for those two renovation projects?

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My questions today are addressed to the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment. Over the last, probably, year, I think, the department has been doing or has been starting and has been engaged in a facilities needs study for the city of Yellowknife. I know we referenced it, Members referenced it in our October 2009 discussions of the capital plan and we also talked about it in February when we discussed business plans for 2010-2011. There are renovations that are needed by several Yellowknife YK 1 schools and there also needs to be a permanent home for Aurora...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’m going to follow up on my colleague Mr. Bromley’s comments and speak, as well, about the electricity review response, and we are not in collusion.

As Members are aware, the Minister of ITI tabled the government’s response last week and the changes outlined in that report will have a huge impact on power rates for our NWT communities, and I feel it is a significant achievement for this Assembly. Though, Mr. Speaker, I cannot fully endorse the report.

I’m concerned about the philosophy, which underpins the substance of the report, and I have concerns about some of the...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I didn’t hear an answer to my question. I heard an answer to the second question, not the third one. But I’d like to ask the Minister now, Mrs. Groenewegen had a wonderful suggestion of which would actually generate revenue for us, so I would like to ask the Minister if that would be a consideration that when people come to register their vehicle in this next 18-month period, will they be allowed to, (a), keep their plate and pay $10, or will they be allowed to hand their plate in for zero dollars? Thank you.

Thanks to the Minister and I must have missed something in that translation. I didn’t realize that we weren’t meeting industry standards. I thought it was a matter of reflection and so on. I have a hard time when the Minister says that the people aren’t being forced to, if you need a new plate. I don’t need a new one, I need a sticker, I don’t need the plate, but we’ll leave it at that.

I’d like to ask the Minister what is the cost to the government. What was the cost? What is the cost going to be for us to find a new manufacturer and to produce these new plates? Thank you.