Michael Miltenberger

It has been agreed to but has not been formally signed off yet.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I move, seconded by the honourable Member for Yellowknife South, that Bill 4, Appropriation Act (Operations Expenditures), 2012-2013, be read for the second time.

This bill authorizes the Government of the Northwest Territories to make appropriations for operations expenditures for the 2012-2013 fiscal year.

I believe we – myself, the deputy, the Minister – have given some pretty specific areas where there are areas of potential dispute if we would have chosen that path. Things like the very specific things he just mentioned about who should pay, if we dragged it out another year who would pay for the ferry service, who would pay for the ice road. Those type of things. Change work orders, scheduling issues. We’re not in a position, nor would it be appropriate, to be dissecting contractual arrangements that, in fact, had potential for litigation in this House in a political forum like this. We want...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I request unanimous consent to proceed with first reading of Bill 4, Appropriation Act (Operations Expenditures), 2012-2013.

Thank you, Madam Chair. If the Member will recollect, there were two tracks. The one track is the one he’s asking about right now. Why don’t we just sort of move on and sort out the project, and then when it’s all over we’ll spend months, maybe years in court in litigation over claims, or the tact and approach that we are taking which is, let’s nail down the deal, let’s nail down a timeline that’s three months out and a dollar figure that’s going to take all those other extraneous, complicating issues off the table. Those are the two tracks. We’ve moved on one of getting the project done in...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I wish to table the following document, entitled “NWT Carbon Tax Discussion Paper, Department of Finance, May 29, 2012.”

Madam Chair, let me throw out a couple more four-year-old analogies and sayings about being penny wise, possibly, and pound foolish or forgetting the forest for the trees.

In this case, we made a very conscious decision, one that had all sorts of factors and variables, but let’s talk to the money. Ten million dollars today as opposed to another $9 million probably by next year as you remobilize and get everything done and, as well, an outstanding another $10 million or so in possible claims that we would have spent months in litigation. We had claims. They had claims. We made the wise decision...

Madam Chair, there was a fundamental decision to be made and we have made it. That decision is this: Do we tie ourselves in knots in the midst of a project, that we are working desperately to conclude, with lawyers and litigation and all these other issues, or do we rise above that and look at what the end goal is here and what is in the best interest of the people of the Northwest Territories, which is get the bridge built, limit the further costs and get it done within this current building season.

There will be plenty of time for review. There will be plenty of time later for finger pointing...

The contractor in the contract is responsible. There has been, clearly, slippage. The reality we are faced with is the contractor was unable to conclude the work in the time that was predicted and agreed to. We are here today 90 percent complete, literally a few months from the end of this project to get it done. As has been committed to once the project is done, there will be the full review and debrief as to what happened so that we can learn all of the things we need to learn and going forward. Thank you.

Madam Chair, we’d be happy to give the information. We can verbalize some of it here, but we also have the complete deck that was shared with committee, which we would be more than happy to make sure the Member, in fact, has a copy so he is conversant with all the issues. But I’ll ask, as well, Madam Chair, with your indulgence, for Mr. Neudorf to walk through some of the key areas of investment. Thank you.