Jane Groenewegen

Mr. Chairman, I move that sub-clause 3(2) of Bill 1 be amended by striking out $491,566,000 and substituting $490,831,000.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I move that the Schedule to Bill 1 be amended to:

decrease by $115,000 the interim appropriation amount set out in Part 2, item 15, Public Works and Services, by striking out $6,534,000 and substituting $6,419,000;

decrease by $540,000 the interim appropriation amount set out in Part 2, item 17, Justice, by striking out $1,610,000 and substituting $1,070,000;

decrease by $80,000 the interim appropriation amount set out in Part 2, item 18, Education, Culture and Employment, by striking out $21,626,000 and substituting $21,546,000;

decrease by $735,000 the amount set out in...

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. I would like to ask the Premier, then, if he would also communicate to his Ministers and the departments that this may be an area where they might like to look for some savings that would contribute to that total amount that we need to save over the next two years, and if he would put some guidelines and some parameters in place to provide guidance and leadership for Ministers and other departments as well.

Mr. Speaker, the Premier said he’d have to have a specific example. Let me give you an example. “John Todd Holdings Ltd., consulting services, $48,000.” What kind of process goes into approving such a contract?

Now we’re talking about the 16th Assembly. On October 19, the Premier stated:

“The contracts that are being signed are not from the Government of the Northwest Territories; they are through the Deh Cho Bridge Corporation group as well as potential constructors of the bridge…we know that there’s a commitment to start some of the early earthwork process. But ultimately no contracts or, from our government side, no liability is being held until we know, for example, they get the permits from the federal government….”

I mean, that’s pretty clear — no contracts, no liability. And that was on October...

Let’s talk about what’s happened in this Assembly. We got elected on October 1. We came back here and stood up in this House and asked question after question after question about the Deh Cho Bridge project. The Premier stood up and answered those questions, and not once did he mention the fact that the concession agreement had already been signed on September 28.

I don’t know exactly how stupid he thinks we are. However, I want to tell you that I wouldn’t even have asked him the questions if I had known a concession agreement had been signed on September 28.

Yeah, let’s talk about the 16th...

Mr. Chairman, I would like to move a motion that we report progress.

Motion carried.

Mr. Speaker, because the Premier so freely said that this information was known to the 15th Assembly, I’d like to ask him if he’s willing to produce any proof that Members of this House knew all these facts which are now just coming out. I mean, I’m finding out stuff every day on the Deh Cho Bridge project that I didn’t know before.

I’d like to now ask the Premier if he will lay some proof on the table that Regular Members of this House were aware of what was going on. We didn’t even know the concession agreement was going to be signed on September 28. That is out there.

Mr. Chairman, I move that $540,000 be deleted from the Interim Appropriation Detail booklet amount set out in schedule 2, Capital Investment Expenditures, item No. 5, Justice, on page 6, for the project North Slave Adult Facility Perimeter Security in North Slave, Young Offenders Perimeter Security Service Entrance.

So in fact, we are co-signing the loan with the Deh Cho Bridge Corporation and indemnifying the corporation with the lenders, which is kind of a fancy way, a different way, of saying that in fact our government is backstopping. We are the guarantors of the loan should something go wrong.

If that is the case, then, we are way out on a limb on this project. I need the people to understand. I need the public to understand where we’re at on that.

So will the Premier please confirm that when he says we are there as a government to indemnify the Deh Cho Bridge Corporation if the loan is defaulted on...