Statements in Debates
Mr. Speaker, Mr. Zoe has said in his statement that he is taking steps to ensure this type of incident is not repeated. Okay, that one we know. Second is that he has told the Members in this House. He hasn’t told them in this House, but he has told them in another circumstance that he is taking action, that he is seeking help. I won’t get into that detail but, again, Mr. Speaker, that may be ruled out of order. He has told all of us that. So, Mr. Speaker, I have to take his word. If Ms. Lee is asking me, and I don’t want to project things into her question, if she is asking me did Mr. Zoe...
Mr. Speaker, I will check to see what information is available, and whatever I have access to I will certainly be happy to share it with the Member. In terms of commitments on the bridge, we will certainly want to know what the price is before we make a final commitment. We won’t know what that price is until the contract is tendered and we have something firm from the successful bidder. Thank you.
Mr. Speaker, it’s not unusual when proponents make submissions for the environmental review process to have it deemed to be incomplete. The information that was provided by the Deh Cho Bridge Corporation, to my knowledge, was incomplete. The environmental review board asked for more information that is being provided. The bridge corporation tells me that the environmental review process is still scheduled to be completed by September. So at this point, I don’t have any concerns that this is going to cause a delay. Thank you.
Mr. Speaker, I’d like to recognize a number of people. First of all my wife, Theresa, who is here; Barb Saunders, the executive director for the Council of Status of Women, my faithful constituent; the major for the Salvation Army, Karen Hoeft; and also, I don’t know if he’s left, but Chief Peter Liske was here as well. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
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Mr. Speaker, I expect that we will have a final design for the bridge by this fall. It will not be finalized until the environmental review is completed. We expect that to be in September. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We certainly won’t make the mistakes those city councillors made on that project.
Mr. Speaker, I’m generally aware of those two projects, two different situations. The Willow Creek Bridge goes back a number of years. There were some design problems with it. I expect that the Department of Transportation has learned from that. In terms of the other bridge where ice removed, it was a much smaller bridge but, again, one that we have concerns about, the inconsistent flow of water and ice in those small streams in that area. Mr. Speaker, the Deh Cho Bridge is a totally different kind of structure. It is a much larger bridge. It is one that the design is a very serious...
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, to my knowledge there has been a fair bit of geotechnical work on ice conditions as well as river floe done over the years. Looking at this site for a bridge is not something that’s new to this government or even the last government. In fact, there was a lot of work done in either the 12th or 13th government where a firm was contracted to do some of these studies. We do know that the water is swift at that site and the assessment that that is still the least expensive place for the location of the bridge. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. First of all, the GNWT has had minimal costs, in the neighbourhood of $200,000 or $300,000, that we have dedicated ourselves to the bridge project. We have, in addition to that, approved a loan guarantee for the Deh Cho Bridge project of up to $2.5 million over the last government and this current government.
Mr. Speaker, the Member asked two questions and I answered the first one. I will answer the second one, as well. The Deh Cho Bridge Corporation have, to my knowledge, basically finished the design for the bridge and we are waiting for cost estimates from them and...
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, we are now six months into the term of the 15th Legislative Assembly and much has been accomplished. In January, I told this House that I looked to the future of the Northwest Territories with enthusiasm. Since then, I have travelled to many communities and talked with many leaders and residents of the Northwest Territories. My optimism for the future has increased even more.
Today, I want to discuss how we have approached our work in the first six months of our mandate. I would also like to provide an overview of the strategic plan of the Government of...