Mr. Speaker, I would have to check with my department for the exact details in terms of the contribution of the department, as has been asked by the Member on this specific topic here.

Mr. Speaker, the community of Fort Providence combined alliance prepared the initial proposal to build the Deh Cho Bridge. The Deh Cho Bridge Corporation put together a professional team to develop this project. They delivered this project in terms of meeting some of the navigable waters requirements by Transport Canada. There’s been consultation and meetings in the communities. There’s been the impact review process and the environmental impacts. It also examined the culture and social impacts of this bridge.

The Deh Cho Bridge Corporation lined up the financial backers of this project, and...

Mr. Speaker, the direct benefits of the Deh Cho Bridge are undeniable. The economic advantage of this bridge is in lowering transportation costs. The cost of living is going to be reduced, as one organization, which is the Coop, has indicated. It will bring down the cost of goods. The benefits to the community of Fort Providence, the Deh Cho communities and of course, the environment…. The environmental direct benefits are that it will reduce the…. If there were a spill on the Mackenzie, that would be reduced quite considerably, and the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions would help deal...

Mr. Speaker, the bridge corporation will be going out to the stakeholders, will be going out to the public in Behchoko, Yellowknife, Fort Providence, Hay River — wherever they need to be, and they’ll go and have discussions with the people. They’ll be talking to certain key stakeholders to say that this is what is going to benefit the people in the Northwest Territories. I have been speaking with the bridge corporation, and that’s the plan — to go out and talk to the stakeholders and continue on with discussions.

This bridge is going to be built, and there are going to be benefits. I think that...

Mr. Speaker, the costs are going up every day as we have this discussion. From 50 years ago, this bridge was deemed at $6 million for the Northwest Territories. It cost too much. And today, here, we’re talking about over $160 million.

Mr. Speaker, I would like to work with the Members here in terms of the price, in terms of the cost of living. I would like to work further with the department in terms of working with other departments, other agencies, other organizations, in terms of showing that the cost of living is going to come down. The Member’s pointed out that the price of fuel is going...

Mr. Speaker, my understanding is that the bread-and-butter issues will certainly go down, in terms of this bridge being put in. We will have a number of factors to be considered, and I would let the Member know that once the dust has settled on this whole issue, in terms of sitting down and going through the exact numbers…. If I quote a number here, it may be taken and used in future discussions. I want to say to the Member and the rest of the House that the numbers that we have looked at…. I want to give assurance to his constituent that certainly, the whole goal is to bring the cost of...

Mr. Speaker, my understanding is the $50 million request to the federal government was put in during the 15th Legislative Assembly.

Mr. Speaker, I want to let the people know that the cost is all in one price, in terms of what we have indicated over a number of days in the House, in terms of the cost of building the Deh Cho Bridge.

Mr. Speaker, as I stated earlier, I’ll have to look at this and go back to my department to see what other departments were involved, where the work was done, and get back to the Member. I would be happy to sit down with the Member and go through with a fine-toothed comb in terms of the numbers.

The G.N.W.T. is providing certainty to the lenders. This means that we stand behind the Deh Cho Bridge in terms of ensuring that this bridge is built. The Deh Cho Bridge Corporation’s rate of return is based on delivering the project as designed, on schedule and on budget.