David Ramsay

Mr. Speaker, in the Minister’s statement earlier today, he had advised the House that Ruskin was going to come up with a revised construction schedule sometime by the end of February and, as I mentioned in my statement, time is money. If this project gets delayed, it will undoubtedly cost more. I am just wondering why it is that Regular Members have not seen the contract between Ruskin and the Government of the Northwest Territories for the remainder of the work on the Deh Cho Bridge Project so that we can better understand what our liabilities are and what would be eligible cost overruns...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’ve got a few questions today for the Minister of Transportation. It gets back to his statement earlier and my statement earlier about the Deh Cho Bridge Project.

I want to start off by thanking the Minister. Concerns were raised in this House a year ago in regard to some deficiencies with the project and the quality assurance on the project. I’d like to thank the Minister for directing the department to conduct the Levelton Report, as it’s called, and come up with the 14 recommendations contained in that report. I know that work is proceeding to address those concerns...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’d like to speak today about the Deh Cho Bridge Project. I appreciate the Minister’s statement here earlier today.

I was happy to see the Finance Minister mention that Regular Members will be getting an update from Minister Michael McLeod later in this session. I look forward to seeing that. I’m also looking forward to Auditor General Sheila Fraser’s report on the bridge project, which should be tabled in this House in four weeks’ time. I want to thank the Minister of Transportation and his department for all the work that they’re putting into ensuring that the project...

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. It is never easy putting together a budget to try to cover off everything and be everything to everyone, but there are a few things in here that I just want to comment on, if I could.

There is a lot of good news in here too, but there are some things here that I just have to provide a little bit of comment on. Like my colleagues, as we go through the detail and we get into the budget session, I will have much more to say on these things, so I am going to get going on some of these highlights.

Again, health care spending for me has been an issue for a number of years. We...

Mr. Speaker, it just so happens the government is $35 million short of its current, I believe it is a little bit more than that, but if we had to book the one loan we have in the Opportunities Fund, I believe that was $35 million. What would that do to the Territory’s finance if the federal government came back to us and said that we have to book that as a debt, and what would that do to our ability to borrow any more money for the other things that the Minister had mentioned in his budget address today? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I have a few more questions for the Minister of Finance. In the budget address today there was no mention of the disposition of the Opportunities Fund. I would like to ask the Minister what is the current disposition of the Opportunities Fund as it relates to our financial situation. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, again, the office space requirement, that is the one that I’m talking about. Was it Cabinet’s assertion that they weren’t politically palatable, and if so, how come Regular Members weren’t given the opportunity to have any input on directions that those decisions may have taken? Thank you.

I guess I’m just having trouble understanding how a Program Review Office that’s been in existence for two and a half years, how the Regular Members of this House could only be given one decision point, and that was the office space requirement here in Yellowknife, to actually make a decision on. Now it sounds like the government is going to put the tough decisions on the 17th Assembly when they’re elected in the fall.

Mr. Speaker, I think the obvious question I have is: have decision points come to this Cabinet that haven’t got through to the Regular Members so we could make a decision...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’d like to speak today about the 2011-2012 budget. What is clear is that this government does not have a problem when it comes to spending money. I must say that some of the spending was necessary. The $865 million on infrastructure projects around the Territory has helped our economy through turbulent economic times. However, we have not begun to address what streamlining government operations and improving effectiveness and efficiencies within the government actually means.

The Program Review Office, which was started two and a half years ago, was supposed to deliver...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My apologies, I should have phrased that a little bit differently. If we are going to expect to borrow $64 million and then another $155 million, I guess the way I could phrase it is, if we’re faced with a decision by the federal government, does that impact our ability to borrow any more money? Would it throw a wrench into our plans to borrow any more money for these amounts that the Minister has suggested in his budget address today?