Michael McLeod

Mr. Speaker, I don’t have a date for the Member. There is a review team that is looking at the different proposed sites. Depending where the hospital will be located, it may require further relocation. For example, if the site where the ENR facilities are at currently, if that is the area that is going to be chosen, then it will require either a co-location or movement of some of the facilities off that base site. That hasn’t been decided yet.

I think we expect to have some reports fairly quickly in the next couple of weeks. We are waiting for that information. We would need to have it in a...

I’m familiar with where the Paradise...

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...the problem is and I will certainly stop and take a look at it. In fact, the next time I’m in the area I will go there with some of our officials and take a look at it personally.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I haven’t seen what the Member is talking about, but the Member has told me three times now that there is a problem. I think the day after it was brought to our attention we had our people go out to the area that is of concern. There are some issues that have to be dealt with there. I believe we have a plan to remedy the situation, I just don’t have it with me today. I certainly can commit to providing that information to the Member about the project in my riding.

We certainly can commit to doing that. I think as a government we’re convinced that chipseal is a good way to protect the surface of the road. It’s also a safety mechanism in terms of dust suppressant. We don’t know what it’s going to cost to do it in the Delta. We need to find that out. We don’t know if it’s going to stand up in terms of having it built in that area of the NWT. Those things are going to be taken into consideration. We can’t commit that we’ll do it all this year but we can certainly do the planning, the costing, and try to include it in next year’s budget. We’ll commit to do...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I think it is a great idea.

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Mr. Speaker, the Member has raised the issue of the Dempster for quite a few years now. We have been working hard to address some of the issues in terms of reconstruction that was required for that portion of the road in the North. It is something that has been quite challenging as finances have been difficult to acquire over the last while. We have managed to set a budget of I think about $8 million now annually to move a little quicker and getting more on that road. That has been our focus to respond to some of the concerns out...

Mr. Speaker, we have put a lot of energy in bridges and upgrading our highways outside of the Deh Cho Bridge. The Deh Cho Bridge, of course, has received most of the attention, but we did a lot of work on the Bear River Bridge, for example, right to the point of where we’re ready to do construction. However, we failed to attract federal investment and the project was priced out of our budgeting ability.

We have, to date, I think, built 39 bridges, mostly in the Member’s riding, so we have put a lot of attention, and, of course, not all of it is recognized and given credit for, but we are...

Mr. Chairman, the project was pegged at $165 million and there is and has been provision because of the $15 million cost overrun, as per our concession agreement, required that that money be recovered through the tolls. That’s what we’re obligated to do.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’m assuming by the “tap” the Member means the ability to draw down on the construction funding. We were formally notified by the lenders on March 1st that we would not be able to draw down any further dollars. We informed the Members of the standing committee on March 2nd.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, the previous contractor had security in the project and the security has been deemed still good. Going forward with the new contractor we have performance bonds for this company also.

I believe that was the response that I provided earlier on the regulations that are being worked on. We haven’t concluded those. It’s something that we have to have in place before the operation of the bridge comes into play. We expect to have the drafting and everything concluded by the summer before that, and it’s been my practice that we provide the information to the Members so that they are well aware of what we are going to be bringing forward and we’ll commit to doing that. Thank you.