Mr. Silver:   I have a question for the Minister of Community Services about his claim last week that 911 has been tested in all Yukon communities.

On March 24, 2014, the Government of Yukon received a letter from the CRTC regarding the work the government had undertaken and it said — and I quote: “The Yukon interim rural 911 emergency response access system service proposed in your letter does not meet basic 911 or enhanced 911 service definitions.”

In other words, the CRTC has already told the minister that the temporary solution that he is working on does not qualify as a 911 service. I have a very simple question for the minister. Why did the minister tell Yukoners that 911 has been tested in all of the communities when the CRTC had already told him the system he was testing did not even qualify as 911?

Mr. Silver:   I have a question for the Minister of Health and Social Services about the government’s new continuing care facility. Last week, the government confirmed it was barging ahead with the largest construction project in the territory’s history, despite the fact that no business case analysis was done. A decision has already been made to build a 300-bed facility. It seems a bit futile to spend $7 million on a design and then ask the public what they think when the design is already completed. By the time the government is ready to go to the public, the only decision left to be made will be: What colour will the curtains be?

When is the minister planning to consult with Yukoners, exactly?

Mr. Silver:   I have a question for the minister responsible for the Yukon Hospital Corporation. Last year the CEO of the corporation told the public that an upcoming expansion to the Whitehorse General Hospital would cost approximately $60- to $65 million. This is $10- to $15 million more than what Yukoners were told the project would cost just three years previously, in 2010. The minister contradicted the CEO and said that in fact no budget had actually been set. He later conceded that the CEO was probably referring to a preliminary estimate but that no final budget had been set. The minister went on to say that he would have a firmer estimate in the spring. Spring is here. What is the cost of the upcoming hospital expansion?

Mr. Silver:   I have a question for the minister responsible for the Yukon Hospital Corporation.

A few days before this sitting began the minister announced that $2.8 million would be spent to build a temporary home for Whitehorse General Hospital’s new MRI machine. While the project has been on the radar for some time, this is the first time the public words “temporary facility” were being used.

Mr. Silver:   All this week, I’ve been asking questions of this government’s poor planning on capital projects. Continuing with that theme, I have question for the Minister of Highways and Public Works about an RFP issued by his department earlier this year for a business case analysis and pre-concept planning for a new continuing care facility.

Mr. Silver:   I have a question for the Minister of Public Works. All this week I’ve been asking about this government’s inability to manage capital projects and the resulting public money that is wasted when this occurs.

At the top of the list of poorly managed projects is the new F.H. Collins. Last week, for the first time, Yukoners were finally given the full cost of the newly-redesigned school. It is interesting that it was never actually mentioned in the Premier’s one-hour and 47-minute budget speech, but it was contained in the background information released by this government.

Will the minister confirm for the public record that the complete budget for the newly-redesigned F.H. Collins School is now $51 million?

Mr. Silver:   I have a question for the Minister of Community Services. Yesterday, we heard about a new government project that was $700,000 overbudget and today I would like to return to one of the government’s overbudget projects that we’ve talked about before.

Mr. Silver:   I have a question for the Minister of Highways and Public Works about another construction project this government has recently announced. This one is the new Watson Lake district office for the Department of Environment.

When the project was tendered in December 2013, the advertised price of the construction contract was $1.4 million. Can the minister confirm that this contract has been awarded at $2.1 million, 50-percent more than the advertised price?

Mr. Silver:   Since coming to office in 2002, the Yukon Party government has taken a hands-off approach to working with unsigned Yukon First Nations. The federal Conservatives have followed suit and have made no attempt to either (a) reach a final agreement under the UFA, or (b) work out an alternative arrangement that would bring more certainty to both unsigned First Nations and the public, who also use the land for a variety of purposes, including resource development. Successive Yukon Party governments have been unwilling or unable to bridge the gap. The result is legal uncertainty, expensive court battles and a confused resource sector.

Mr. Silver:   I have question for the Minister of Energy, Mines and Resources.

Last year the Government of Yukon lost another round in the courts as it continued its antagonistic approach with the First Nation relations. As a result of this court loss, the government was under a court order to find a way to work with the Ross River Dena Council on what land would be available for staking in their traditional territory.