Deh Cho

Statements in Debates

Debates of , 16th Assembly, 5th Session (day 5)

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. The expectation will be that there is going to be a requirement for payment on the debt, which is interest plus principal and there’s also going to be O and M costs and that will roughly be around $8 million indexed on an annual basis. The equity payment to the Bridge Corporation is not something we have resolved yet, so we can’t give a firm number and the reason we don’t have up to date, today’s traffic volumes, is because we don’t have the 2010 information yet and that hasn’t been compiled. So it will be quite difficult to provide the information that the Member is...

Debates of , 16th Assembly, 5th Session (day 5)

I suppose it’s possible to go through that exercise. Right now our calculations are based on the base amount of commercial traffic that comes through regardless of what the industry is requiring, especially the mines, which is fairly stable. We recognize that it’s probably down this year. We also measure the mine traffic which, again, fluctuates on a year-to-year basis, and we understand that number is down this year too.

Mr. Speaker, at the same time to try to incorporate a project that has not yet been brought forward for final approval or recognition is difficult. We also are in a difficult...

Debates of , 16th Assembly, 5th Session (day 5)

As we have now moved towards assuming the debt and we are taking over the project, we also now will be responsible for communications and we’ve already made several commitments in this House regarding development of a website. That website is up and running and is being viewed internally as we work out the bugs and ensure that it’s of the standard that we expect. We will be making that information or that site available to the public. We are also intending to provide a newsletter type of information to the residents of the Northwest Territories on a scheduled basis. We want to continue what we...

Debates of , 16th Assembly, 5th Session (day 5)

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I should point out that the issue of deficiencies is part of any project that we have on our books. All projects encounter challenges, be it big or small, there are a lot of things that are always being flagged and this project is no different. Every item that, no matter how small, if it doesn’t meet the code, if it’s not done properly, then it’s flagged and it’s either left until it’s rectified or else a solution is found to fix it. And that list changes. Some things get resolved. As the project moves forward, new issues are added to it. That will continue right until...

Debates of , 16th Assembly, 5th Session (day 5)

My understanding is that the calculations for traffic expectations were very conservative. We are now compiling to get some actuals and then looking at what the costs would be required. We expect there is some additional activity planned in this area and we look forward to that. We are currently looking at how accurate our calculations were that were made several years ago and we expect there is some room for change.

As I indicated, there are additional savings on the ferry and ice bridge that we are currently paying. Now, with the Deh Cho Bridge Corporation not receiving the same amount of...

Debates of , 16th Assembly, 5th Session (day 5)

There have been issues brought to our attention and that’s why they are recognized and recorded as deficiencies. We have inspectors that look at the work that was done. If the quality is not there, if the wrong material is used, if it’s not what the specifications call for, then it’s registered as deficiencies. We do have a little more than $4.5 million to deal with the deficiencies and that’s in the form of a holdback. There is some carry-over from work that was supposed to be done last year that hasn’t been completed. That’s around another $4 million and there is a $3 million contingency...

Debates of , 16th Assembly, 5th Session (day 5)

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. The Member, I think, is assuming that we’re not aware of the deficiencies. We’re completely aware of the deficiencies. We’ve probably got the same pictures. If he wants to compare pictures, that will be fine. We have a list of deficiencies. It gets pretty detailed, right from hole size to length of the bolt that’s sticking out. Scour rock was part of it. We are aware of the deficiencies; we’re dealing with the deficiencies; many of them have been dealt with already. If I’m going to be sitting here answering why every one of the deficiencies has been in place, that’s...

Debates of , 16th Assembly, 5th Session (day 5)

I’m not sure what spooked the lenders off, as the Member put it. The lenders had indicated that there was a milestone that they wanted to see met, which was January 29th, to have all the redesign in place and approved by their independent engineer. We feel we met that deadline. We had three different engineering firms approve our design. We formally sent it to the lenders and they responded by saying that it wasn’t something that they were going to approve and were going to issue a notice of default. We had some discussions in February that there was going to be a notice. It did not indicate...

Debates of , 16th Assembly, 5th Session (day 5)

Mr. Chairman, I don’t believe with any projects that we discuss in this House that I’ve ever brought forward a list of deficiencies, whether it’s the Inuvik school or any other project. I don’t think the request for that type of detailed information as to bolt holes and bolt sizes and scour rock and things of that nature ever had been debated at this level. If the Member wants, we are compiling, and we do have, a list of deficiencies. I would prefer to provide it to them with some comments as to where they are in terms of resolution and plans to deal with the issues that were brought forward...

Debates of , 16th Assembly, 5th Session (day 5)

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. We agree that those piers have to be protected. There is some concern being raised that there was a deficiency on some of the scour rock that was provided for the south side. On the north side all the scour rock was appropriate size and of the quality we were looking for. On the south side there was rock that was placed into the water for protection that didn’t meet the standards and we are analyzing that right now. I would point out, though, that a lot of the provision of the rock was stopped right at the pit because it was recognized that it was the wrong dimensions...