Joe Handley

Mr. Speaker, I have raised the merits of that port on the western end of the Northwest Passage and promoted Tuktoyaktuk as both a port for Arctic sovereignty reasons as well as economic reasons since it is in the centre of the offshore oil and gas. I raised it with the Prime Minister, with Minister Prentice at various venues that I have spoken at over the past months. I continue to believe it is a good proposal, one that we, as a territory, should continue to promote. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, I’ll answer in a general way. Up to now and including the time when the financing is in place for the bridge for the bridge corporation, then the GNWT has been up-fronting the costs. We have taken out a loan in advance of it, but that will be recouped once the bridge is built. All of the costs are to be borne by the operation of the bridge, and, Mr. Speaker, I’d venture to say that includes any liabilities, would be borne by the Bridge Corporation and would be paid for out of their profits from operating the bridge. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’m glad to hear the Member has a sense of humour and I certainly hopes he takes up the offer to come to the opening.

Mr. Speaker, I don’t know what happened. I think the Member has convinced himself that there’s some devious plan here and that the cost to consumers has gone up. Well, he’s listening to himself too much.

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Mr. Speaker, let me say again, let me say the cost to consumers, the cost to industry, is $6 a tonne based on 2002 dollars, or $6.75 per tonne. It doesn’t matter what the total cost of the bridge is. That’s how much it’s going to cost...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Yes, we will take a look at it. As I said, it is a good program. I like what they’re doing with young people. Mr. Speaker, I don’t think the government warehouse is the only space. We do have other space in the GNWT. We might be able to look at something else or work out a deal with the city somehow. I don’t know and without knowing too much about what’s out there, you know, we have facilities out at the airport, we’ve got something that we would like to work with this group on. But, Mr. Speaker, unfortunately there’s no easy answer to this one right now. Thank...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I'm honoured to recognize some guests who have flown and driven here for the NWT Dog Sledding Symposium this past weekend. None of them travelled by dog team, by the way, I don't think. Mr. Speaker, with us today are Dr. Caroline Griffiths, a doctor in veterinary medicine from Colorado; Dr. Tim Hunt from Marque, Michigan; his wife, Mary Hunt; and Cate Stronge from Logan, Utah. I don't see Chuck Gould who is from Minnesota. We lost him somewhere. Also, Carol Beck who travelled in from Kam Lake.

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Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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Mr. Speaker, I will undertake to have a report, an update to the Member, before the end of the month from the regional director on where we’re at with the discussions on the transfer of positions, the creation of more job opportunities in Behchoko. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Some Members are suggesting that the Premier should test one, but I am not interested right now. Mr. Speaker, we are looking at them. I will have to get back to the Member on when we can have a review done, but, all joking aside, seriously, we are looking at them. They look like tubs that would be much more convenient for some seniors. I will let the Member know as soon as I can how soon we can get a definite answer. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We are continuing to build houses in all of the regions through the affordable housing initiative. We don’t build housing specifically for staff but we’re building affordable housing that people can either rent…We also build public housing that people could continue to rent. Mr. Speaker, I can give the breakdown of where we are with the whole North Slave and possibly by community. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The cost of the bridge has gone up; there is no doubt about that. The cost to the public has not gone up. It is still $6, or $6.75. I don’t know how many times I can repeat that. That has not changed. Mr. Speaker, why has the bridge gone up? How is it being managed? How are we dealing with all of this? We did a presentation to the committee on July 12th. I don’t want to go through all of those pages, but I will give the Member a copy of it. That can help him to understand why it has gone up and how it is being handled.

Mr. Speaker, while the costs have gone up...

I am not sure I understand what is meant by who is our agent. We don’t have an agent as such. The bridge is being built and is going to be owned by the Deh Cho Bridge Corporation for a period of 35 years. During that time, they will, as the Member has said, collect tolls and do the maintenance and so on.

During the construction, they are the ones who will sign a contract with the construction firm, Adcon, who is doing the building of the bridge. Mr. Speaker, when they sign the agreement this week, then it is for the beginning. The contractor wants to begin the construction this fall in...