Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I move, seconded by the honourable Member for Deh Cho, that Bill 6, Supplementary Appropriation Act (Infrastructure Expenditures), No. 2, 2010-2011, be read for the second time.
This bill makes supplementary appropriations for infrastructure expenditures for the Government of the Northwest Territories for the 2010-2011 fiscal year.
Thank you, Mr. Roland. A motion is on the floor. The motion is in order. To the principle of the bill. The honourable Member for Kam Lake, Mr. Ramsay.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’m going to speak to the principle of the bill. It’s not a bill that I can see myself supporting for a number of reasons. I think first and foremost I’m not convinced that the decisions that the government has made pertaining to the Deh Cho Bridge Project after the issues with the Deh Cho Bridge Corporation came to light and we’ve taken over the project. The first thing the government did was take the recommendation of the former project managers there to go to a sole-source contract with Ruskin. My opinion is that was the wrong thing to do. I do believe we should have gone to the marketplace on this. That’s my firm belief. I don’t understand how the government could get into another sole-source negotiated contract arrangement with one company, not fully understanding or knowing where the project’s been and the audit, in my mind, should have been done before the government went out to the marketplace for what would have been a proper tendering process so that we could ensure for the public in the Northwest Territories that we were in fact getting the best price for the completion of this massive piece of public infrastructure.
Mr. Speaker, I also don’t believe that the project is going to be completed by November of 2011, like the government seems to think that it’s going to be completed by. Timing was a big issue when it came to the decision to negotiate that deal with Ruskin for the completion of that bridge. My belief is, again, this will not happen.
I also do not believe for one second that the final price tag on this bridge is going to be $182 million. I believe it’s going to be much higher than that.
I understand and I appreciate the position that Members are in and this government is now in. It is between a rock and a hard place, Mr. Speaker, make no mistake about that. We are in a very, very difficult position. But again, Mr. Speaker, on principle -- and that’s why I’m voting against Bill 6 -- I cannot support this, because I do not believe that the right decisions were made at the appropriate time. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Ramsay. The honourable Member for Frame Lake, Ms. Bisaro.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, this bill asks us to approve spending $165 million on the Deh Cho Bridge. It’s a yes or a no decision so it should be seen as a simple one, but as we heard through our discussions on Tuesday afternoon, it’s anything but simple. There are many, many questions from Regular Members which remain as yet unanswered, not because Ministers don’t want to provide the answers but because they can’t. They don’t have the information to pass on to us. Negotiations aren’t finalized so the status of the Bridge Corp is unknown. Deficiency tests aren’t completed so the quality of the work to date is unknown. Costs for the bridge after completion can’t be clearly identified because the date is not available. Impacts on future budgets can’t be determined because, well, because it’s the future and it’s uncertain.
I am not happy that I am now forced into this decision. There is only one path for me to walk down. There is only one option open to me for consideration. There is no opportunity to slow down the decision and to take the time to conscientiously consider the ramifications of the vote. I’ve harboured doubts and concerns about this project from the time I entered this House, and I am dismayed that those concerns have unfortunately proven to be valid. I feel like I’ve been backed into a corner and have been asked to choose the lesser of two evils. A yes vote means we take on this huge project and all the responsibilities and liabilities that that entails in both a management and a financial sense. A no vote means the project probably dies and that result will cost us as much as if we carry on the project to complete.
But all that said, I do support construction of the Deh Cho Bridge. It will be a marvellous piece of infrastructure once it’s completed. So I look forward to project updates on a frequent and regular basis. I hope our new management team will bring this project in on time and on budget. I look forward to the results of an audit of the project and the implementations of recommendations from the audit, and I look forward to the establishment of protocols to govern the actions of this and future Assemblies in the months leading up to any territorial election. I will be voting in favour of this bill for two reasons: because we can’t turn back and it’s the right thing to do. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Ms. Bisaro. The honourable Member for Sahtu, Mr. Yakeleya.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I, too, will be supporting the bill because I think we were faced with a challenge that certainly none of us wanted to be in, because when we first had some discussions with the Deh Cho Bridge it looked like it was good plan to go with and plans that probably would have worked out very well for the Deh Cho Corporation that involved the community of Fort Providence, members in Fort Providence, the Metis and the First Nation, the band.
Mr. Speaker, when things have gone astray or offside there, we had to step in in terms of how do we keep this megaproject on the go here. I think that the government has shown that there are some things that certainly needed to happen in terms of not pulling the piers out of the water here, so to speak. We had to do some things that are not very popular with some of the Members here in terms of how we go forward.
However, I’m saying this in terms of the principle, that this is a project that is only $182 million, in terms of when you look at the scope of us building and taking on… We talk about the Mackenzie Valley Highway, $1.8 billion. When you look at that in comparison to what we have here in the Northwest Territories, this certainly, and Members have given some really good questions to the government in terms of how this project is being put forward, that we take this as a real learning experience in terms of how do we go forward with the megaprojects.
So the point that I want to go is there are other bridges to be built in the Northwest Territories. This is one that takes a lot of energy. We’ve got some other major projects that we want to look at, so I hope that the government is paying close attention in terms of where the issues are with the Members in this House here in terms of putting major infrastructure in the Northwest Territories and we go forward again. So I have no problems in terms of supporting this bill at this time.
Thank you, Mr. Yakeleya. The honourable Member for Weledeh, Mr. Bromley.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I will reluctantly be supporting this supplementary appropriation bill. It’s really more expensive not to proceed with this than to proceed, which is a sad state of affairs. This situation speaks to some serious management questions that beg for investigation and for some attention to make sure that any corrections that are needed are realized. I think the political decisions that got us into this situation also require further investigation and an objective look, again with an eye to plugging any process gaps that exist, and we know they do.
Clearly, there are major budget implications for the next decade or more as this project consumes a third of our debt room. I guess, to wrap it up, Mr. Speaker, in a brief sentence: this is a very sad situation and it can only be resolved through the long term. I think we need to bite the bullet here, and on that basis I will support the bill. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Bromley. The honourable Member for Hay River South, Mrs. Groenewegen.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I also will be supporting the bill as it is brought forward today. I, along with colleagues, do so with mixed emotions, with mixed feelings about this. I hope we’ve learned some very good lessons from this approach that we took to this capital project. I think that once we decided to try to bring this project to reality through a way that could be described as -- I don’t know what the word is -- through the back door, for sure. This was not through the front door. This came to us through the back door and the Deh Cho Bridge Corporation, you know, the capacity to deal with a project of this magnitude was not tested and tried. I feel sorry for the efforts that they made and were not successful in seeing this project to completion. I think there are a lot of regrets all around on this.
I hope that the redeeming reality will be that we will have a bridge -- and I said this, I’m repeating myself now, I said this earlier -- but I hope that we will have a piece of territorial infrastructure that will serve the people of the Northwest Territories for many, many years. I hope that the concerns about deficiencies or defects are just small things that can be dealt with and addressed and that will not, going forward, affect the usefulness and the serviceability of this project.
I think that as the economy is returning to a better standing and inflation will rise and interest rates will go back to higher rates and so on, I am hopeful today that we will look back on this and say that although the process seemed flawed, that what we end up with at the end of the day is a piece of infrastructure that we can use and be proud of and that we will look back and say that it was a good and worthwhile investment. So I will be supporting the motion. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mrs. Groenewegen. To the principle of the bill. The honourable Member for Mackenzie Delta, Mr. Krutko.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I, too, will be supporting the bill, reluctantly, but I think that we have no other choice in the matter. Regardless, we would have to pay $165 million over 35 years. It is just that we are going to basically have to refinance this thing in a different manner and we will get the major piece of infrastructure completed. I think also that we do have to learn from this event and I think, if anything, in some cases, hopefully that we do get the answer back from the federal Finance Minister hopefully sooner than later so we have an answer by the time we next sit. I think it is important that we do get that commitment in writing from the federal government so that we can get some comfort that it is not going to have a direct implication on our borrowing limit.
I think also in regards to my colleagues in other regions in the Territories, we also would like to be able to look at some other infrastructure, regardless if it is the Peel River Bridge or the Liard or the Bear. I think that we have to be respective of the groups in Fort Providence who are taking on this challenge and also that doing the work that basically will set the precedent going forward. Yes, it didn’t turn out the way that we would like, but I think that they also realize that there are obstacles in doing anything new.
I think the problem that we now realize is that there is a way to build infrastructure in the Northwest Territories. If that means the cost of the operational cost of the ferry operations, the ice roads, the maintenance costs and a couple of million dollars of public investment, we can build infrastructure over a period of time, pay it out over 35 or 40 years. I think that is the approach we are going to have to consider going forward.
My colleague from the Sahtu states that we do have some major infrastructure we are considering such as the Mackenzie Highway, which is a $1.8 billion project. I think that is going to be a bigger challenge from a territorial perspective and also from the logistical challenges from that major project. I think that with the pipeline and that, we have a lot of big projects on the rise.
With that, I will be supporting the motion. Again, with reluctance but, more importantly, with some comfort from the federal Finance Minister and something in writing that states that we will be able to avoid having this on our books by way of our borrowing limit. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Krutko. To the principle of the bill.
Question.
Question has been called.
---Carried
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of bills and other matters: Tabled Document 4-16(5), Executive Summary of the Report of the Joint Review Panel for the Mackenzie Gas Project, with Mr. Krutko in the Chair.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I move, seconded by the honourable Member for Deh Cho, that Bill 6, Supplementary Appropriation Act (Infrastructure Expenditures), No. 2, 2010-2011, be read for the third time. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Roland. The motion is on the floor. The motion is in order. To the motion.
Question.
Question is being called.
---Carried
