Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh

Statements in Debates

Debates of , 17th Assembly, 5th Session (day 32)

Thank you. One of the piers that was repaired on the Deh Cho Bridge, we have confirmed that there were three issues with the pier underneath the water. What had happened was that after the repair work was done, we had taken photos of the repair work. Unfortunately, we only obtained two photos of the three areas. We’re going back down when the season is right to look at that pier. That’s my understanding of the pier and the rock that is around the pier. There is some work that needs to be done. There’s some holdback on it.

I’m not aware that we are requesting $4 million to complete work. If...

Debates of , 17th Assembly, 5th Session (day 32)

This has been a very likely project. As the Member knows, it was back in 2009 that we got the money from the federal government for the Building Canada Plan so that we are able to complete this project. With all of the issues that were pertaining to the airport itself, we have been concentrating on that. The information on the actual terminal itself, I don’t have with me, but I would be pleased to provide that information to the Member. But I can assure the Member that the department is serious about completing the project. The project has gone on for a significant time and we’ll be working...

Debates of , 17th Assembly, 5th Session (day 32)

As I indicated, there was an issue with the material and the quality of the material and the quantity, so what we are doing is we are bringing in some crush material and we’re going to blend the material to complete the airport. It would be all of the work that would be required to have the airport at a finished stage. As I indicated, we have completed the change order and the work should have started four days ago, actually. That’s what the change order indicates.

Debates of , 17th Assembly, 5th Session (day 32)

Certainly, we are looking at that. The clinic itself is a good building. Whether or not it will be used for health, it most likely would be feasible for the government to retain as office space, but for this purpose and at this moment we are looking at the possibility of housing the individuals that are moving from H.H. Williams outside of the refurbished clinic as well.

Debates of , 17th Assembly, 5th Session (day 32)

It would be around $785,000 to get that clinic tenant improvements to accommodate the staff at this time. We will be doing a cost comparative analysis to determine whether or not leased space purchased from the private industry would be more feasible. Hay River has very good rates, so that is something that when we go in to needing office space in Hay River we do do a comparison to actually going into the market and getting leased space as opposed to producing our own space through capital because the rates are very good in Hay River.

Debates of , 17th Assembly, 5th Session (day 32)

Mr. Speaker, the Government of the Northwest Territories has committed to building a strong, prosperous territory and ensuring its benefits are shared in all communities and regions. Strategic investments in transportation infrastructure will help support the long-term growth of our economy and provide jobs and opportunities to our people. The Inuvik-Tuktoyaktuk highway is one of these projects, and I am pleased to report on the success of the first winter of construction.

The highway is one of the largest construction projects ever undertaken by the GNWT and is significant as the first leg of...

Debates of , 17th Assembly, 5th Session (day 32)

Mr. Speaker, I don’t have the details of that specific contract. I don’t have the details of the change order to that contract, but there are regulations in place, there are holdbacks on all contracts to accommodate any potential issues on the contracts, so those are our standard. They are laid out in the contract. Depending on what the price of the overall contract was, then the holdback would be there. The appropriate amount would be held back to ensure that the work is completed to a standard that’s acceptable. Thank you.

Debates of , 17th Assembly, 5th Session (day 32)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As a commitment to the House, the department did a retrospective analysis of the bridge and also accepted all of the recommendations of the Auditor General. The specific work that was done in detail, the contract that the Member speaks of, I don’t have that detail here with me and I am not able to speak on that at this time. Thank you.

Debates of , 17th Assembly, 5th Session (day 32)

Thank you. I know that each time the Members had asked for an update on the Deh Cho Bridge, the department has been more than accommodating. We are prepared to do that and we can provide an update, full disclosure of costs, anything that needs to happen that we need to communicate to the Members.

The issue here is not as simple as the Member makes it out to be. We had an issue with a contractor, the contractor that had to be removed from the site or had been taken off the site. The contractor changed. There were some issues with that. Anytime you do a large-scale project of this size and you...

Debates of , 17th Assembly, 5th Session (day 32)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My understanding is that the bridge was shut down temporarily a couple of weeks ago to complete the work that had to be completed. I know that that did not create a tremendous amount of issues. We had some issue with the traffic and people wanting to haul larger loads across. We’re able to accommodate everything at this time. I don’t have the specifics of that contract that the Member refers to, but my understanding is that that’s not an issue. Thank you.