Michael McLeod

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I would like to provide Members and the public with an update on the status of construction on the Deh Cho Bridge Project.

This project has had its share of challenges, but these challenges have been effectively addressed. As a result, I am pleased to note that the project is now 50 percent complete, with the recent completion of the foundation work. The bridge contractor, Ruskin Construction, has completed installing the pier bents and is now in the process of removing the temporary bridge. The bridge project is now “out of the water,” leaving behind the...

Mr. Chairman, that’s quite specific information. I will ask the deputy of Transportation, Mr. Neudorf, to respond with information that he has.

Mr. Chairman, that’s something that we are currently working on also. It’s discussions that we started a few weeks ago. Now we are getting closer as to what’s possible and looking at some options that we brought forward and also looking at reviewing some of the options that the Deh Cho Bridge Corporation has brought forward and trying to find a way to deal with the issues that are in front of us. Looking at the concession agreement, whether that’s a required document anymore, or should we move to a new agreement. All those discussions are taking place. We hope to have some resolution in the...

Thank you. I will just speak to a couple of issues that the Member has raised. First of all, he’s requested some information that I believe will be in the concession agreement in terms of who signed it, when it was signed. All the information is on the government website. There’s a lot of information there. There are probably 70 to 80 schedules that he can certainly look at and review.

He’s also mentioned the loan. The terms of the loan, it’s a really return bond and the interest rate is at 3.17 and it’s a loan that includes the outstanding principal on a yearly basis. Why did we sign such a...

Mr. Chairman, the payment schedule hasn’t changed. It’s still identical to what it was. The only change that has been made on this project in terms of the finances is that there is a $15 million supp that was approved in this House that’s added to the project that will have to be repaid through the life of this project and we’re also taking on the full costs of the guarantee that we had onto our books. So that’s a difference, but as to the toll and the self-liquidating portion of this, it would still stay the same and the payment schedule would still stay the same for a 35-year period. Thank...

Mr. Chairman, that’s something that is yet to be determined. We are having discussions, as I’ve stated. We’ve had some already. We’re going to be meeting on Thursday with some of the people from the Bridge Corporation and look at a way to move forward. They’ve brought some options forward. We are also developing some positions. So it’s a little early to say if there is going to be any cost incurred by us.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I didn’t realize anybody would be looking at that level of detail. Some of the deficiencies that we have recorded are scour rock. There is also compaction that is an issue. There is also some -- I don’t know what level we want to get into -- concern over a couple of bolt holes that are now oblong that should be round. There is about a total of $4 million that are calculated for deficiencies and that is the $4 million that is being carried over. Most of the deficiencies or other deficiencies are considered to be minor.

There is some information that we’re working towards...

Mr. Chairman, a couple of things. First of all, I think any time there’s a question about whether we’re doing our job properly or the project is being referred to as not doing due diligence in certain areas, it’s of concern to us and at the same time if there are issues being raised to the Member or any other Members, we want to hear about it. We’d certainly welcome a sit down briefing and we’d really appreciate to see what he’s discussing or what’s being brought to his attention.

Again, we are concerned that somebody involved in the project who is a professional would take this route rather...

Mr. Chairman. I’ll just respond to the Member’s request to see some of the O and M costs. It was anticipated that the costs for the O and M on the Deh Cho Bridge was going to be around $700,000 a year. However, now that the project has been assumed by our government and things have changed in terms of requirements, such as insurance, we expect that is going to be around half of the $700,000. So O and M we are pegging at $350,000 a year. I’ll let the Premier respond to the rest.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I’d also like to thank the Members for their comments. I certainly can appreciate a certain level of frustration on this project. I don’t believe I have to remind anybody why the bridge project was embarked on. This has been on the minds of the residents of this area for years, from the time the Yellowknife road was constructed to connect to the rest of Canada, there has always been a bottleneck, there has always been a very fragile piece of infrastructure that had to be constructed every year, and we also had to rely on ferry service that had a lot of interruptions...