Jane Groenewegen

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, that was the case exactly on the day that I asked these questions, yet no reference was made to the concession agreement having been signed, putting this government at that potential significant, greater liability should the conditions be met.

In response, in another question, the Premier states, “it’s not too late. The 16th Assembly and its mandate has not signed a deal on proceeding forward...” I’d like to ask the Premier how he could reconcile that to the fact that a concession agreement had been signed. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I’d like to quote from the Hansard, unedited Hansard of October 19th. I was questioning Premier Roland about the extent of our involvement and commitment to the Deh Cho Bridge. I asked about the point of no return, and at that time the Premier responded that “I am not prepared to sign a blank cheque.” If the Premier was not prepared on the 19th to sign a blank cheque and understanding that our level of financial commitment has now significantly changed with the signing of this concession agreement, if the conditions are met and this government wants to pull...

Thank you. To the issue of the liability of this government with respect to the Deh Cho Bridge project, is the Premier, and was the Premier, aware that the signing of that agreement would necessarily take the level of commitment of this government and the liability of this government to a new stage? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, as I said in my Member’s statement today, I have some concerns about the line of questioning and the, I suppose, answer to the questions that I asked here in this House on October 19th. Now, being very careful to draw the distinction, I’m not asking the Premier to go back to the decisions or the actions of the 15th Assembly. But in this House on October 19, when the 16th Assembly was in action, when he was the Premier of this government and I sought questions as to the current status of the Deh Cho Bridge project and specifically asked about the extent...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I move, seconded by the honourable Member for Frame Lake, that Minister’s Statement 1-16(1) be moved into Committee of the Whole for consideration. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I move that we report progress.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I guess, Mr. Speaker, the reason why I’m asking if the Premier will table the concession agreement is because we, as Members of this House, are not privy to this agreement, the public is not privy to this agreement, and certainly it has very big implications for our government regardless of the toll that’s being charged. The suggestion of my colleague Mr. Ramsay that a public inquiry be held also speaks to the issue of the transparency of this. Decisions were obviously made at a level behind closed doors that are not publicly discussable. We can’t bring the Cabinet...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the issue of a public/private partnership raises the question of how those kinds of arrangements for projecting an expenditure or committing to an expenditure that goes out 35 years is an interesting anomaly for our government. I’d like to know, I’d like to be able to find out how it coincides with our Financial Administration Act and to do that I need a copy of that concession agreement. So I’d like to ask the Minister, will he table a copy of the concession agreement, even with its unfinished 12 chapters, in this House? Thank you.

Okay. Let me ask this then, Mr. Speaker. The concession agreement lays out conditions that the Deh Cho Bridge Corporation needs to meet in order for this agreement to proceed. There are deadlines contained as in any agreement. There would be timelines included in that agreement. If those conditions are not met within those timelines, could I please have this Premier’s commitment that this government will not embark on any further extensions or changes to those timelines should the conditions not be met? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. When the conditions are met and if, for some reason, through political wishes or direction of this 16th Assembly, we don’t proceed, we are considerably more at risk of an unquantified, at this time, liability. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.