Wally Schumann

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Actually, we are just finishing that up here very shortly and then, once we get the business advisory committee having their first meeting and run some of this stuff through them, later on this year we'll be publishing that. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. We will go back and have a look at that and see if there is an opportunity to be able to do that and what we can share with the Members in confidence. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

When we put these proposals forward, it's the mandate of this Legislative Assembly what we bring forward. We have three sections of highway that are put forward for infrastructure; the Whati Road, the Mackenzie Valley Highway, the Slave Geological Road. That is not a decision that I've made on my own; that is a decision that all Members in this Assembly have addressed to bring forward as a commitment of this Assembly, and we will work within those parameters and try to figure out where the money can come from to build these roads. That's what I've set out to do in my mandate, and I will...

Thank you, Mr. Chair. If you look at the money that has been spent on this road since 2015 coming forward, the worst sections were tackled first, and we continue to work on them as we come forward. 2017-2018 and 2018-2017 involves addressing the latest sections that have the most difficult situations with them, and we will continue to invest in this highway to make it as safe as possible for residents in the Northwest Territories. As I have said, there are a number of considerations put into place, but it is a structural assessments of all highways in the Northwest Territories and the amount...

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Because it's a revolving fund, that will be coming forward through the business planning process. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. We are not going to know what the costs associated with their bid on that is until they put their bid in. That is part of their total bid package. We have a cost estimate of what we think this road is going to cost us for the total amount over the 25 years, and the only thing that is going to cost the Government of the Northwest Territories over the life of the procurement of this P3 project is a payment we make on an annual basis. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

The department received $18 million under the Building Canada Plan to address this section of road, and we will continue to spend that until that is exhausted and then we can find external funds to continue on working on that road.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Many Members in this House have heard me talk about permafrost degradation and the number of different scientific stations we have placed on this highway. This road is going to continue to settle probably for a number of years, and we are doing the best we can with the allocation of money we get from the federal government to maintain the highway system in the Northwest Territories. We have put significant resources into this road. I have been quoted as saying we could spend all of Infrastructure's DOT money on this section of highway, and we would still be behind the...

Yes, I do.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. The details of this will be when they put in their full proposal to submit their bid. Thank you, Mr. Chair.