David Ramsay

Thank you. Obviously, time is of the essence. It looks like there might be a federal election sometime in May. I’d like to ask the Minister what plans are in the works to ramp up the efforts to ensure that that federal funding does become available so that we can get the infrastructure replaced in that trailer park this coming summer. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Today I’d like to speak about the situation taking place at Northland Trailer Park located here in the city of Yellowknife. Northland Trailer Park is home to 1,100 people, including close to 600 children. The issue of the aging water and sewer infrastructure is again front and centre as the trailer park continues to battle frozen lines and freeze-ups.

For the last three weeks some residents have gone with intermittent water service; water a couple of hours a day with no set schedule. The water has been out for some for a full week. This has taken a toll on its residents...

I appreciate the work the contractor is doing there. My apologies for trying to get some answers on the $200 million that the taxpayers of the Northwest Territories have hanging out there on this project. So, again, I’m going to ask questions and continue to ask questions about this project in an effort to protect the taxpayers here in the Northwest Territories and find out what our real risks are with this project.

I’d like to ask the Minister again, yesterday I asked him a pretty straightforward question: who would be responsible for cost overruns and construction delays on this project...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’ve got some more questions today for the Minister of Transportation, getting back to my Member’s statement where I talked about delays in construction. Going back to some of the things the Minister has said in the past, he had mentioned to the House and to Members that construction would take place from both sides of the river on the project to ensure the completion date of November 2011. It would appear that that’s not happening, Mr. Speaker. I’d like to ask the Minister why construction hasn’t taken place on both sides of that river so that it could meet in the...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Again, I thank the Minister for that. In the interview the project manager did with the CBC he said the bridge’s general contractor, it will be up to them to figure out how to make up the lost time and pay for any added costs. I’d like to ask the Minister, is that exactly how this is going to work? Thank you.

I thank the Minister for that. Part of the initial budget on the $92 million contract between the Deh Cho Bridge and Ruskin would not have included the need to take out that temporary bridge and put it back in again a few weeks after breakup to allow construction on the south side. I’d like to ask the Minister how much is taking the temporary bridge out and putting it back in going to cost and who’s going to pay for that. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’d like to speak again today about the Deh Cho Bridge Project.

Earlier this week the Minister of Transportation provided this House with a statement on the Deh Cho Bridge Project. In that Minister’s statement he mentioned a revised construction schedule that the department was evaluating and that he would update the House when that review was complete. I’m having trouble understanding how I’m supposed to believe this.

When the Levelton Report was completed, the department kept that report to themselves for months. They did not share it with Members before it was actually...

Mr. Speaker, I also wanted to ask a question today about concerns over the design. Also in the Auditor General’s report it talks about concerns over the design being brought forward by the Department of Transportation and somebody somewhere overriding a recommendation of the department to continue to waive the requirement for the design being done and to proceed with construction. It is paragraph 27, if the Minister wants to have a look at that. I would like to ask how that could happen. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I will ask questions to the Minister of Transportation regarding the Deh Cho Bridge on decisions made by this current government under their watch today.

Mr. Speaker, in reading the Auditor General’s report, it would appear that an external audit of the Deh Cho Bridge Corporation’s financial statements had not been done while the Auditor General was looking at this project. That means that trying to put a figure on the cost to date on that project just leaves a lot to be questioned. Does the Minister have a cost to date on the Deh Cho Bridge Project? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I certainly respect my colleague’s view of this. I also respect the fact that the committee’s wish was to get rid of the traditional and locally accepted practices, clauses that were in the original amendments, ones that the committee had actually asked for and the department brought forward amendments that contain that wording, local and traditionally accepted practices. The committee asked for that and we got it in spades.

When we went out to public hearings, we heard, again, overwhelmingly that we shouldn’t be allowing for any exceptions to the abuse, neglect or...