Robert Hawkins

Mr. Speaker, a number of us — although, obviously the Premier knows very well, not all of us — are in favour of the bridge on this side. I am certainly in favour of it, and that hasn’t changed since I came back to this House.

The constituent that I am raising this point for is definitely in favour of the bridge as well, but they are concerned about the bread-and-butter issues of this bridge.

As I have always understood it, the tolls are set in such a way that according to local industry, it is going to cost about $250 for a truck to cross this bridge. How will that affect your milk and your eggs...

Mr. Speaker, I raise concerns today about the transparency and fairness of the recent awarding of a bundled contract for five water treatment plants to a consortium led by a southern contractor, the Abbotsford, B.C., group that I talked about. It has brought concern and attention to this process that need to be dealt with.

Can the Minister of MACA outline for this Assembly the involvement of this southern contractor’s services in supplying and developing the design of the water treatment plant process, and potentially even in the awarding of the contract?

Mr. Speaker, I'd like to further question the Minister of Transportation on some of the items he raised in his comments to me.

I think he said the Deh Cho Bridge organization at Fort Providence was chasing $50 million as one of the potential sources of revenue. I’d first like to get some clarification on that. When shall we get some feedback if this is going to be a reality, and when was this applied for?

Mr. Speaker, did anyone from MACA phone the unsuccessful proponent to clarify these areas of concern, that we had a southern-based contractor working with these communities on individual contracts? And by the way, they may even be involved in the contract RFP call. Who knows? Probably the answer is no.

The concerns are related to this process, Mr. Speaker, and they indeed deserve an explanation.

The fact is that this Northern company, this Northern consortium, wouldn’t reconsider even bothering to respond to this request for proposal, knowing very well the fact that this southern company from...

The Minister of Transportation.

Mr. Speaker, I’ll respect that, because his letter, that I’m not allowed to quote and which will be tabled later, will help clarify that question officially.

So my last question for the Minister is around the context of what if this Northern firm isn’t hypothetically the one we’re negotiating with, although everyone knows it’s not the group we’re negotiating with. What’s to assure us that some undue process wasn’t happening here, and is the Minister prepared to reimburse that Northern company that spent all that time trying to build a proposal that was actually unofficially awarded already?

Mr. Speaker, first of all, I’ll thank the Member from Thebacha for bringing forward the concern. If he felt there was an issue, I appreciate him bringing it and highlighting it as an issue.

Mr. Speaker, before I begin, I have to cite a book called Beauchesne’s, which this Assembly is very familiar with. It talks about tone and intent. I’m bringing forward the tone and intent and concerns of my constituents who sent family members to that community.

Mr. Speaker, on page 28 of yesterday’s Hansard I explicitly qualified my comments by stating that there was no mal-intention intended with respect to...

I would like to see the ruling first, Mr. Speaker, if that’s in order in this particular case.

Mr. Speaker, my written questions today are directed to the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment.

Will the Minister supply a copy of the terms of reference to the program review that he has referenced is taking place at the Thebacha Campus in Fort Smith?

Will the Minister provide the details as to when this college program review started and when it is expected to be completed? And what are the Minister’s intentions for the program report generated in this review?

Will the Minister provide the details as to when this college program review started and when it is expected to be completed...

Mr. Speaker, I had a mother tell me that her kid woke up in the health centre in Fort Smith because he got a beating. Like I said, he woke up in the health centre.

Mr. Speaker, I had another person tell me about being chased running to the store. And the stories go on and on and on. I’ve heard that the students feel intimidated throughout the community; it’s like the community doesn’t want them.

Mr. Speaker, I want to know exactly who is doing this review? Who? Do we have a name of who’s doing this review? And how much is this going to cost us, and where are we going to take it?