MLAs give green light to CamBay school

MICHAELA RODRIGUE

IQALUIT — Cambridge Bay students can expect construction of their new high school, including an expanded gym, to go ahead this year, after Nunavut MLAs gave up on plans to delay the contentious budget item and approved the Department of Education’s capital budget.

“I thank them that they acknowledge the needs that are in there specific to Cambridge Bay,” Cambridge Bay MLA Kelvin Ng told reporters after the vote.

Some MLAs originally balked at approving “extras” in a school slated for the finance minister’s own riding at a time when schools in other Nunavut communities are also in need.

So last week they decided to delay further consideration of the Department of Education’s capital budget until after dealing with all other departments.

But with the clock ticking on sealift deadlines for capital projects across the territory, members rescheduled their debate on the budget and approved the entire $15.353 million capital budget for education Tuesday afternoon.

“It’s very important that we have these schools being built. They are with the kids, our future, so our agreement was to go ahead with all the projects that are listed in the capital projects,” said Baffin South MLA Olayuk Akesuk.

On Monday, Ross Mrazek, the deputy minister of Public Works, told Akesuk and the other regular MLAs that the Cambridge Bay project had to be approved by 5 p.m. Tuesday, April 18.

Mrazek said that after that date his department would have had to enter into new negotiations with suppliers, causing potential delays on projects or higher costs.

School projects will go ahead

Cambridge Bay’s Killinik High School will now go ahead with no changes at this point, Mrazek says.

The Department of Education plans to spent $7.9 million this year, and $14.7 million overall on the new school. Included in that is $395,000 for an expanded gym.

People in other communities, whose residents were left watching the clock as MLAs debated, will now see various capital projects proceed.

For Education Minister James Arvaluk, it was a long-fought battle to win approval for his department’s capital budget.

“It was a lot of hard work, but they understood the importance of building schools on time,” Arvaluk said.

Too many frills?

Cambridge Bay residents must still wait for the Culture, Language, Elders and Youth department’s budget to come up for approval to find out if they will receive a new cultural centre, but this week’s decision on the education budget brought a pause to a sometimes heated debate.

MLAs questioned the government’s decision to help pay for an expanded gymnasium and a $525,000 heritage centre for the school. The community planned to contribute 20 per cent of the cost of the extra 100 square metres of gymnasium space and the Kitikmeot Historical Society is ready to donate $85,000 towards the cultural centre.

But with schools in other Nunavut communities already overcrowded, some MLAs said the money could have been better spent elsewhere.

Iqaluit Centre MLA Hunter Tootoo suggested the school’s design may be too expensive.

“The point needs to be made that they went a little too far on the design of that school. It’s nice to have those things but like I said — at what cost?” Tootoo said.

Outcry from Kitikmeot

But the delays brought forth an outcry from people in Cambridge Bay and other Kitikmeot communities who said their projects might be delayed by a whole year of construction if the debate continues much longer.

Last weekend, Premier Paul Okalik, Arvaluk, Ng and two other Kitikmeot MLAs met with residents of Cambridge Bay. Kugaaruk’s mayor and deputy mayor also flew into Cambridge Bay to lobby the premier for a project in his community.

But on Monday, Tootoo said in a member’s statement that the government should be ashamed of itself and that any delays were the result of a late budget, not questions from regular MLAs .

“It’s not the members who are responsible for delaying the budget,” Tootoo said. “The minister and the government itself should take a hard look at how their vague answers, delays and total lack of leadership on this issue have contributed to the crisis of confidence.”

Tootoo said he was dismayed by negative media coverage that he felt criticized members for putting all school capital projects at risk.

Argument over costs

He then attacked the design of the school, which he said cost more per square metre than the average Nunavut school. He said the $14.7 million school is about $3 million above the average per square metre cost in Nunavut, and that the extra money could have gone to other schools.

The attack provoked a counter-punch from Ng, who the next day tried to unravel Tootoo’s math and show that, except for the expanded gym and the cultural centre, the Cambridge Bay school’s construction costs per square metre are similar to those of other Nunavut schools.

Ng said at least $3 million of the school’s estimated $15 million construction cost is for temporary facilities for students left without a building since their last school burned down in August of 1998.

Budgeting for contingency costs and a new $800,000 sprinkler system required by the fire marshall also increased the total cost.

If these costs are taken out, Ng said the only extra construction costs are for the expanded gym and cultural centre.

“Shame on the member for misrepresenting the cost of the Killinik high school project for his own political means,” Ng said.

Tootoo later abstained from the vote on the capital budget.

“I’m not against any education projects. I may not totally agree with all of them and that’s why I abstained. I didn’t want to hold them back,” Tootoo said.

Tootoo said he was never against a new school being built in Cambridge Bay, but he says regular member’s concerns about the project were ignored.

Capital projects in the fall?

Tootoo is now suggesting that capital budgets come forward in the fall.

“By having this process done in the fall we wouldn’t be facing these timelines,” Tootoo said.

Two weeks ago, members passed a series of recommendations, including one to defer special additions to school designs until a 20-year capital plan is complete and safety and overcrowding problems are addressed.

Members also wanted assurances that other communities that raise funds can receive their own extras.

Those recommendations are still alive and will be considered by cabinet, Arvaluk said after this week’s vote, but he said it was too late to have them implemented in this year’s budget.

But Tootoo later questioned why Cambridge Bay’s project was the only one with an April 18 deadline. Many other capital projects don’t have to be approved by April 25.

But even with deadlines guiding the amount of time spent on deliberations, Ng said the budget debate is worthwhile.

“It’s still an important process to identify and critique what’s being brought forward by the government and identify issues for future budget development.”