EdinburghNLP/nunavut-hansard-plusplus huggingface dataset:
École des Trois-Soleils in Iqaluit is also still in the preplanning stage. Like we stated, preplanning will be completed in the spring of 2016.
Although I don’t have the audience I had when I had originally asked the Minister of Community and Government Services the question, what I was trying to get to at that point was the planning stage, like you just stated, is going to be completed in the spring of 2016.
Who gets consulted during that process?
Do the DEAs or, in the case of École des Trois-Soleils, the CSFN get consulted on the scope of work that’s being put into the preplanning to see what renovations or additions need to be completed to meet the needs of the school?
Again, I’ll use the École des Trois-Soleils, but also the Resolute Bay gym addition for size. I know a lot of schools have different sizes.
Do the DEAs or the CSFN get consulted on the scope of work under this preplanning study?
Yes, we have to keep all the DEAs properly informed, including the École des Trois-Soleils board. We will keep them informed and also consult with them further.
We keep them informed as to what is planned and we need to hear from the DEAs as to what they envision for the future.
Like I said, we try to keep the DEAs properly informed.
As to which community, we have to talk about that as well and as to what programs will be introduced in the schools, we work with the local DEAs and CGS as well.
We do keep the DEAs and the French school authority informed.
I’m just going to step into the staff housing impact and the volatility that the current enrolment formula has on staffing for schools.
I know there have been some concerns brought to the attention of the special committee as well as to other Members in the House and I’m sure to the minister on the accuracy and the timing of the enrolment formula.
Outside of housing, what steps or options have been explored by the Department of Education to deal with the staff housing shortage specifically for education? We have all heard stories of teachers that are forced to share accommodations.
The Department of Health has recently initiated a practice where, when they build a new health centre, they have a component for staff housing off site.
I’m just wondering: has the Department of Education ever explored that as an avenue to meet the needs of their staff outside of the staffing allocation provided by the Nunavut Housing Corporation?
We work closely with the DEAs in regard to that and we work closely with the Nunavut Housing Corporation. We worked with them just recently in regard to housing. I know that the Members of the Legislative Assembly are aware of the fact that the teachers have to share staff units.
We are very pleased to say that after we heard from the Nunavut Housing Corporation, they have already set out how many staff units will be going to the communities.
For example, in Whale Cove and Kimmirut, they lack staff housing units, but we work closely with the Nunavut Housing Corporation.
With the Department of Health, they differ because they are geared for emergencies.
They are needed in the communities, but the teachers do take off during the summertime for their vacation.
There is a bit of a difference between the Department of Health and the Department of Education.
With that, we heard very good news that the Nunavut Housing Corporation for the fiscal year 2016-17 has set how many staff housing units will be constructed.
They will be providing support to our department because a majority of the communities will have staff housing and it will be very beneficial to our department.
Chairman: Thank you. We’re on Education. Branch Summary.
Corporate Services. The next name on the list, Ms. Angnakak.
My first question is the Iqaluit high school renovation project that has been a multiyear project done over several phases, I think, throughout the summers.
I would like to ask the minister if there have been any warranty issues to date.
Hon. Paul Quassa (interpretation): Thank you, Mr. Chairman. (interpretation ends) Yes, we have.
We have the flooring and seams. Those are the two areas that are under warranty. (interpretation) Thank you.
Can the minister tell us the status of that problem then?
Are they going to use the next summer to fix that or can they do that while school is in now?
In the month of December, we’re usually given presents and gifts. The work will be done in the month of December.
I hope not on Christmas Day.
Keeping in line about schools, do you have any other communities being considered for school additions or renovation projects currently?
I believe I identified some of the communities, but some communities are under preplanning and they indicate the community. For example, Coral Harbour is in preplanning. We have already identified those in our report.
Just in looking at Iqaluit’s growth, I’m wondering how many years down the line you feel it will be before Iqaluit will need a new school, either elementary or high school.
First of all, at the Department of Education, we look at the future and we look at how many potential students will be enrolled the next year or beyond that year.
We review and do a forecast for our future.
For example, in Iqaluit, Joamie School currently… . Sorry, I can’t really see.
It’s at 86 percent capacity; École des Trois-Soleils is now at 82 percent capacity; Inuksuk High School is at 59 percent capacity; Nakasuk School is at 64 percent capacity; Aqsarniit Middle School is at 54 percent capacity; and Nanook School in Apex is at 48 percent capacity.
If you will remember, when we say that when the capacity is at 85 percent or above, we start considering constructing a new school.
Also, as I stated before, we look at the number of students enrolled in the school and we look at the capacity that is filled.
We also look at the age of the school, even though the capacity might not be at 85 percent. Arctic Bay’s school is very old and even though it’s not filled to capacity, we have to start considering replacing that school. We have to start considering replacing that school, whether the building is too old and when it reaches 85 percent.
One of the things that have come to my attention, especially with the schools in Iqaluit, is where the school is situated and sometimes it’s very difficult to get in and out because of the traffic, for example, Joamie School.
My granddaughter goes to Joamie School and when we drop her off or pick her up, it’s what I would consider kind of dangerous because there are so many vehicles going into the school, out of the school, you got the buses, and then you have the children running out of their vehicles and going into the school.
Maybe in the future when you design schools in Iqaluit and perhaps in the other communities that are a little bit bigger and have more traffic, I think you would really have to think about a proper drop-off space.
The way that Joamie School is now and even the middle school to some extent, it gets very crowded.
I’m wondering if you could perhaps take that into consideration.
Of course and I agree with the member because as the Department of Education, safety is very important and it’s our priority for safety issues.
I am very pleased to state that close to Joamie School and Aqsarniit Middle School, there’s a sidewalk now and there’s a crosswalk too so the vehicles have to stop and I am very pleased that it’s there now.
It’s evident that the vehicles will be increasing and we will have to look into this very carefully.
Let’s be aware that for Joamie School, safety issues are very important to that school too, and the parents are allowed to pick up their children after school.
There are safety issues and yes, the schools have to be safe. Sometimes the parents can go pick up their child rather than the child going on the bus.
Yes, it’s true that we need to look at the safety issue of our students very carefully.
I’m grateful that the minister will take that into consideration because I often go and get my granddaughter and you know, it’s a wonderful school and that, but it just makes me a little concerned when I do see the number of private cars, such as mine, there to pick up children and then the buses are coming in.
The other thing in regard to designs of schools, now, I definitely haven’t gone to all of the schools in Nunavut, let alone all the schools here, like I don’t know the ins and outs of every school.
A couple of years ago, I went with you as the minister to the Nanook School where we talked about the need for the breakfast programs. They showed us where the kids eat and it’s an open space, but there are no real tables or anything and kids sit on the floor.
When you are looking at designing new schools, I think the reality of the day is that schools will be offering programs like breakfast or food programs. That’s just the reality. Can you take that into consideration when you’re designing new schools that, even for elementary schools, you need an area for children where they will be safe and comfortable eating a meal?
Yes, in our schools, we usually have breakfast and lunch programs. The majority of the schools use their classrooms for breakfast and lunch programs.
The meals are taken into the classroom (interpretation ends) in most of our schools. (interpretation) I’ll leave it at that.
Under small capital, it’s just because I live in Iqaluit, I live near the middle school and I go for a walk every morning with my dogs, and I see that the middle school siding does not look good.
It looks like it is deteriorating or something.
I see that siding is part of the considerations under small capital. I’m wondering if anyone has brought that to your attention yet.
Let me first say that we’re now focusing on boilers and furnaces, but in regard to your comment, it has not been relayed to our department.
I know that once it has been reported, we can look into it.
It’s the first time we have heard about that. We expect, no matter what school, it is to be reported. We welcome any report of the condition of schools.
I’m sure that the officials will be able to look into that if we’re informed by way of correspondence.
I think I just can’t find the page where I did see it.
Since consideration could also be siding for a school, that’s why I brought it up.
It’s just me walking and noticing that.
I don’t know if that has been brought up officially.
The other thing that I remember and I haven’t asked the school, but I remember when you and I went to Nanook School, one of the staff members was talking about the flooring, the old carpet and that.
I don’t know if anybody has brought that up to you. Perhaps that could also fit under small capital. It’s just a comment.
The next name on the list, Mr. Mapsalak.
I have two questions, if I don’t have any supplementary questions.
I have asked this question repeatedly regarding the Coral Harbour school. I have also asked your department about what type of plans we have regarding the school in Coral Harbour, whether it’s going to be delayed, or what the status is.
There is only one school in Coral Harbour and it has been an ongoing concern. CGS has also gone to do an inspection of the school.
I was told at that time, because of the location of the school, it is established in a swampy area and the floor gets flooded and there is mould growing in the school.
The last time I was there, we went to go see the school and I was told that they could smell the mould.
Is the minister aware of the situation in Coral Harbour and do you have any plans to remediate the school or to make sure that it’s not a health issue? Is the minister aware of the situation?
I thank my colleague for asking about the school in Coral Harbour.
As I indicated earlier, it’s in the preplanning stage, which means that the preplanning will be completed in March 2016. We have had meetings with the community of Coral Harbour and the first meeting was in 2014. There’s another meeting planned for November-December 2015.
We recently heard about it and I haven’t seen any correspondence regarding mould in that school.
Our department is not aware of the situation nor have we seen any correspondence.
There was one school that had mould, but we did remediate it. If there was a swamp underneath, we would fix it. I think it was the Simon Alaittuq School.
We will have to get correspondence first about the mould before we can do anything about it.
I want to assure you that the school in Coral Harbour is in the preplanning stage and it will be completed in March 2016.
I received that information from the residents of Coral Harbour as it’s one of my communities.
It’s in a swampy area and it gets flooded frequently.
The minister also indicated that he will have to see some type of correspondence outlining the problem, but it’s all recorded here. Isn’t that enough? You’ve got the information now.
Is it possible to send someone out there to do an inspection even before you receive any correspondence?
Community and Government Services will be made aware of this problem. We usually get correspondence from the DEA about problems or concerns they have. As I indicated earlier, the Department of Community and Government Services will be informed and my deputy minister has written down the information, so we will get it going.
I also thank the minister for making sure that the information will get to the Department of Community and Government Services.
I have another question and again, because I visit Coral Harbour, I was informed that the school is in full capacity.
Even the library is being used as a classroom.
Have you been notified about the school being at full capacity? Have you seen the capacity percentage numbers? What percentage do they have to be at and what kind of percentage do you have for Coral Harbour?
At this time, the school in Coral Harbour is at 90 percent capacity.
If you recall, Naujaat was at 104 percent capacity.
We can probably look at Naujaat and the building of the school. We were using a portable classroom and we can probably do the same thing for Coral Harbour, to put a portable classroom there.
We can look at that option if there is a need. The Coral Harbour School is at 90 percent capacity.
We always make sure that we know the capacity in all the schools in Nunavut, so we know the capacity of the school in Coral Harbour.
Chairman: We are on Education.
Branch Summary. Corporate Services.
My first question is regarding page 4 of your opening comments.
You have budgeted $5 million for the ongoing lifecycle repairs initiative.
Representing Baker Lake, members of the DEA and I went to go see the school.
I would like to thank your department for working on the plumbing over this past summer and also fixing up the floor.
That’s at the Jonah Amitnaaq School. We were very pleased about the recent renovations.
There is one issue and I don’t know how it’s going to be resolved. I would like to urge your department to discuss this with Community and Government Services regarding the air handling unit. That’s my first question.
It has been fixed and it should have been completed already.
Moving on to another subject, last year, they indicated that the middle school in Baker Lake is going to be built in 2016-17 after the DEA’s request.
It should be completed in 2018 and it would cost $19.7 million.
However, looking at the documents here for 2016-17 for capital projects, the Baker Lake middle school will be constructed in the coming years. It has been identified in the five-year capital plan for completion in 2017-18.
(interpretation ends) What specific criteria were taken into account when the department decided to delay the Baker Lake new middle school project?
Yes, we have set it up properly the way it is now.
As I stated earlier, the tipping point for initiating planning for a new school is when capacity reaches 85 percent or more.
Also, we annually review the status of the schools in Nunavut as well as whether any are approaching that level, so we always keep the percentages up to date.
With respect to Baker Lake, for instance, looking back from 2012, Rachel [Arngnammaktiq] School was at 69 percent capacity, it was at 71 percent in 2013-14, it was at 72 percent in 2014-15, and it stood at 74 percent in 2015-16, so it’s still below 85 percent.
In our high school, the Jonah Amitnaaq School for the year 2012-13, attendance was at 92 percent and a year after that in 2013-14, it was at 71 percent and still decreasing.
It seems the main reason for this trend is due to the new middle school in Baker Lake and perhaps due to the realignment of students which resulted in carrying forward the previous enrolment percentages, although the actual numbers are much lower, and this is the issue faced by the schools.
That is the reason why the situation is what it is today.
Also, with respect to Arviat, they are facing the same situation as Baker Lake, although we have studied each case with a fine-tooth comb. However, in conducting our studies as to why it seemed like attendance rates were dropping, that was the case we found here.
Attendance is very critical in our education system and I wholeheartedly agree. I will definitely relay that information to my constituents and to the district education authority.
In the addition to that, my next question here is the total budget for the Baker Lake new middle school was estimated at $19.7 million.
The longer the project is delayed, the greater the likelihood the overall budget will change.
Can the minister explain what factors will influence the total budget estimate for the Baker Lake new middle school?
Absolutely, that may possibly be the case obviously or (interpretation ends) possible, (interpretation) as that is the case.
Perhaps to add to the earlier remarks as to the status of the school and the realignment, the fact that it is (interpretation ends) realigned (interpretation) is because of our overall review of all our schools. As per my earlier statement, we review cases when the enrolment is above 85 percent.
As an example, Taloyoak is currently at 87 percent enrolment while Arctic Bay has a very ancient school. Coral Harbour is at 90 percent. Further, if we look at the other school percentages, we get the figures on the actual enrolment rate at each school on September 30 of every year.
For September 30, 2015, we checked on the figures when the enrolment figures were completed.
There was a slight increase from 2014-15 as it stands at 75.3 percent this year.
As an example, it is a slight increase of 41 new students at Baker Lake.
That was for the other school as the Rachel - I can never pronounce the name properly, although I want to say it correctly - Arngnammaktiq (interpretation ends) Elementary School (interpretation) is currently sitting at 74 percent enrolment and the Jonah Amitnaaq School is currently at 76 percent.
That comprises the latest statistics we have available from September 30, 2015. These are new.
There are two schools in my constituency: the Rachel Arngnammaktiq School for elementary students and Jonah Amitnaaq School for the higher grades.
I’ll replace the question I asked earlier.
I consider education very important and it’s the first priority of our government.
I’m not putting my colleagues down where school construction is going on, but they keep increasing their budgets for Naujaat and Gjoa Haven.
They should have been finished by now, but you keep adding to their budgets for the construction of the schools.
If the middle school in Baker Lake keeps being delayed, the budget will keep increasing.
I’m thinking about that.
I’m happy that you indicated the enrolment statistics for the two schools, Rachel Arngnammaktiq School and Jonah Amitnaaq School. The statistics for students returning is very noticeable.
My question now is, (interpretation ends) a year ago, this House approved funding for the Baker Lake new middle school project. What were those funds spent on and what is the current status of the Baker Lake new middle school project?
I really prefer to respond properly to my colleague and sometimes I am behind in my responses to his questions.
For the first question on why the figures keep changing from year to year for the work, (interpretation ends) the cost of construction (interpretation) increases the budget and the building (interpretation ends) codes (interpretation) that need to be followed change, which increase the costs for construction of the buildings.
In Baker Lake, as we stated earlier, this is in (interpretation ends) the planning phase (interpretation) and further details such as the design and the size of the school will result in moving forward.
I want to ensure we all understand that this would result in a (interpretation ends) planning carryover. (interpretation) That’s the language we use and this is part of government practices.
To use this example, if the school construction is going to cost this much over four years, as the construction is done in phases with the costs segregated, that is how the costs keep moving forward.
Even upon completion of the school, there is still the (interpretation ends) warranty (interpretation) work that is an additional cost for the construction.
I hope I replied to your question and, if not, you can ask again.
I’ll do the next question simply in English.
On a number of visits that the minister did to the community of Baker Lake with a number of other ministers, I had clearly shown and gave a tour as to where the possible site will be, which the community of Baker Lake, along with the Hamlet of Baker Lake and the Baker Lake District Education Authority, has been planning for a number of years.
I sure hope that the Department of Education takes that into consideration where a road has also been constructed by the municipality in anticipation of this new middle school. Does that have not merit?
Let me return to my previous statement that the enrolment figures are the basis for our decisions on schools and here I am talking about (interpretation ends) enrolment (interpretation) as that is our base.
As well, the funding for budgeted items can’t be used for other areas and they remain there prior to the construction of the school.
I wholeheartedly understand what the minister has indicated.
My next question, when we’re talking about enrolment, I know that the community of Baker Lake, the Baker Lake District Education Authority… . When we go into busing, which I believe is small capital, when we look at busing, the community of Baker Lake requested a second bus.
Where does that stand today?
I have seen the request and we have asked the capital managers to go to that site.
The request from Baker Lake will be carefully looked at.
When a bus is going to be provided, we look at which grades need buses the most. There are special needs buses.
We also look at the distance to the school for the students. We look at whether the bus is going to have storage space, if there are drivers available, and if there are contractors in the community. Those are the things that have to be looked at carefully when any community is requesting a bus.
I expect that in the next month, I will get information from those inspectors and we will look at the requests from Baker Lake.
Mr. Mikkungwak: Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. I thank the minister for leading me right into my next question.
When the ministers come to Baker Lake, I always advise them, “I’m going to have to let you guys go for lunch a little bit early because I got my boys to pick up from the Rachel Arngnammaktiq Elementary School,” seeing that I consider education very important, but when I pick up my boys from school, and I see this day to day, disabled children are being brought to both schools, the Rachel Arngnammaktiq Elementary School and the Jonah Amitnaaq Secondary School.
Is there a strategy to deal with that matter so that enrolment can stay high and at the same time, will the department take into consideration second busing in Baker Lake to enhance the education in Baker Lake as I will definitely be promoting students to go back to school in Baker Lake?
Hon. Paul Quassa (interpretation): Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I thank my fellow MLA as well as all of my colleagues for ensuring that education is a priority. We take pride in their dedication.
Our student body is something we take pride in and we want them to complete their education fully, and I’m thankful for that.