Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, since the news broke of the potential contamination in the Range Lake North School, my constituents have reached out to me who are nearby in the neighbourhood very concerned about the quality of their own drinking water. Can the Minister of education just reassure my constituents that there's no risk to contamination in the wider Range Lake neighbourhood. Thank you.
Thank you, Member from Range Lake. Minister of Education, Culture and Employment.
Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, we have received information that the city of Yellowknife does regular testing of their water, and there is no concern. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, constituents are also wondering why we haven't historically tested schools for safe drinking water. Can the Minister explain why this has been a pilot project and not just ongoing work for the department. Thank you.
Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I certainly as a parent share the concerns of many residents of the city of Yellowknife as well as the residents of the Northwest Territories. Mr. Speaker, it is worth me saying right now that I was notified of this project and the results on Monday evening. Immediately from there was able to ensure that that drinking water and cooking water was no longer able to be used been those schools that were advised were experiencing concerns. Mr. Speaker, I can also advise this House and the Member that given the extreme concern with this situation that I have provided direction to the GNWT, because it is multiple departments and through the Premier's office, to do a third party investigation so we can understand the details of how we got here and how we're going to ensure that we are moving forward in a fulsome way. Thank you.
Thank you, Minister of Education, Culture and Employment. Final supplementary. Member from Yellowknife -- or sorry -- Range Lake.
Yellowknife Range Lake. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to hear that. I know the Minister is taking it seriously. I have no reason to doubt that. My intention is get the information out to my constituents. But if they do come back and find a problem with the school, who's going to pay for that? Will the Minister provide funds to replace whatever needs to be replaced to ensure there is safe, clean drinking water for the kids in my riding? Thank you.
Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the schools in Yellowknife are interesting in that they are different from schools across the territory. So the schools in Yellowknife, for the most part, are owned by the education body themselves, but we have mechanisms to work together within the city of Yellowknife. First and foremost, we need to ensure that the water in our schools is safe and that kids in our schools are safe, and so as per usual, I will continue to work with our education bodies. I have a very close working relationship with the chair, and we will continue to work forward on this. Thank you.
Thank you, Minister of Education, Culture and Employment. Oral questions. Member from Inuvik Boot Lake.
