Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I'm going to make an attempt to ask the questions that I think my colleague from Inuvik Twin Lakes may be wanting to ask.
On Monday, the Minister of Infrastructure spoke about delays to the Inuvik airport expansion. It's my understanding that that those delays are partly due to a cost overrun of $40 million.
Can the Minister speak to whether or not the GNWT will be on the hook to pay the cost overruns, or will the DND pay for that given that it is a hundred percent dollars for this project? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Member for Great Slave. Minister responsible for Infrastructure.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, it's very early to tell at this time. Work we are working with Canada to substantiate the costs and that they have to go through their own process, which means going through a treasury board to be able to secure additional funding. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I don't think I need to tell the Minister that we really can't afford $40 million that we did not have budgeted for this work.
Given that there is such an urge at this moment with arctic sovereignty and the key role that the that Inuvik plays in that, can the Minister tell me whether or not it seems favourable that the Government of Canada will accept these costs and if and not only that, actually provide further funding for expansion in Inuvik? Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the Member is right, the the work packages have come in significantly over budget, more than the GNWT estimates and more than the thirdparty estimate that was developed using some information that was collected from regional contractors. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I guess, Mr. Speaker, can the Minister speak a little bit to the fact that this project hasn't been underway for that long and given that it really only got started in the last year, how did we get to $40 million in cost overruns without this being flagged prior to now? Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, when the national defence announced in September 2019 that the federal government would provide the GNWT with $150 million over five years, you know, given some of the circumstances that's happening right now, it has exceeded the proposed budget. Thank you.
Thank you, Minister. Final supplementary, Member for Great Slave.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I don't think that answered my question. There clearly needs to be a look at investigating how this project got so far over scope or out of budget before it ever was flagged. We should not be at a point where a project is at $40 million over budget without it raising alarm bells long before that.
I guess my last question, though, is around will we actually save this construction season? Is there a push regardless of who's paying for it to get the trench that my colleague was mentioning on Monday or the critical work that needs to be completed this season is there a push and a will from that department to get it done regardless of whether the feds are paying for it or not? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I understand that there was a productive meeting held this morning with national DND as well as the Indigenous government. So the understanding is the next steps are a technical conversation.
You know, the GNWT is committed working with the joint venture contractors negotiating and evaluating options that will allow for this important project to meet its fiveyear schedule to be done within the available budget.
I know from my experience, Mr. Speaker, the successful negotiations take two willing parties to have to work in mutual respect and trust. Thank you.
Thank you, Minister. Oral questions. Member for Great Slave.
