Michael Miltenberger

Thank you. I’ll have to refer that question to Minister Michael McLeod, who has intimate detail of the location of every one of these bridges.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We believe this is good news for the Northwest Territories. Yes, there is the ability for corporations to write off capital investments within a specified period of time, but it also indicates that there’s going to be more diamond production, that there’s going to be, in all probability, possibly more staff hired. I don’t have a specific number at this early date what we anticipate the benefit will be to the bottom line, but this type of investment, this type of expansion will add, we think, somewhat to the mine life, but it will also increase and have a good impact on...

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. The initiative that is before us is one that is going to generate some significant savings. The payback is 4.7 years. The money that is saved will be put into a fund that will allow us to in fact, in addition to the money that may be voted by this Legislature, have a fund that will allow us to continue to do these type of retrofits that will see a number of benefits, a source of energy that’s cheaper, less greenhouse gasses, and funding reinvested to help look at similar type of retrofits across the North. We are moving across the North to deal with a whole host of...

Thank you. There was just a meeting earlier this week among the providers, ourselves, the Health department, as a government, about issues pertaining to medevacs. As the Minister I would want to have an opportunity to talk to the deputy and to our own officials about what transpired in that meeting so that we’re not inserting ourselves into a process that may be well underway in dealing with a lot of the questions the Member raised. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I will refer the question to Minister Michael McLeod.

Thank you. We continue to be as proactive as we can be, recognizing decisions have been made. That report has just come out and there are 18 recommendations. Seven of them seem to be critical and to be acted on immediately. The remainder are seen to be that should be acted on prior to the final closure at the Edmonton International Airport. So we’ve had a long and storied history with what used to be the Capital Health Authority but now is Alberta Health Services. We have a good relationship with the services in Edmonton, but we have to recognize, as well, that there are changes. There are...

Yes, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. When you look at the 18 recommendations, there are some very specific ones. Some of them will have technical impacts, logistical impacts. We are going to be looking at all of those. We are going to be doing the program as well as sitting down with the current provider for medevac services to look at any technical questions that may result. There are things that relate to the amount of gas, sites that are going to be used, the need for cross-training of crews. There’s a whole host of areas that have to be looked at carefully. So, yes, this report will necessitate a...

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I’ll ask Minister Michael McLeod if he can provide that detail.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The involvement of the government and Health and Social Services was coordinated through the deputy minister’s office, who, as a former employee out of Alberta with extensive experience in the health system there, has sort of marshalled and coordinated all of our efforts. Thank you.