Mr. Speaker, today I want to tell you how completely disappointed — and disappointed is not a strong enough word — I am with the leadership of our past and present government that would have allowed a process such as that associated with the Deh Cho Bridge Corporation to be entered into. As the details, which were so often withheld, now slowly come to light, the financial harm that our government has been exposed to is unbelievable.
The Deh Cho Bridge will be the most costly piece of capital infrastructure ever embarked upon by our government. And lest you doubt that it is our government — and our government alone — that will underwrite all costs and liabilities associated with this project, let me assure you that the walls between this project and full transparency and accountability under the guise of a private corporation is a farce.
The confidentiality of the details around this project for everything from the concession agreement to the expenditure of the $9 million to date that the government guaranteed has been nothing short of a licence for representatives of our government to enter into a deal that has ramifications for immeasurable financial harm to our government. But I’m sure the Finance Minister is already aware of all that.
This is absolutely wrong and flies in the face of everything that democracy and public accountable government stands for. The terms and conditions of this agreement have been secretive, and I’m just beginning to learn why.
Mr. Speaker, today I want to assure the public that I have become privy to agreements entered into by your government that will be exposed to the full light of public scrutiny. Some people may think this is a laughing matter. In view of the real, serious, basic needs of the people we represent and the fiscal pressures our Premier talks about, this is a matter of very serious concern.
Today I’ll have questions for the Premier. Tomorrow morning, Mr. Speaker, I will be on a panel on the CBC radio phone-in show from 7:15 ’til 8 a.m., when members of our constituencies can phone in and ask questions about this project. I’m sorry to report CBC has told me that our government has declined to have anyone on that panel to answer any of these questions. I would suggest they probably don’t want to answer to the public for this.
Mr. Speaker, I want a full disclosure of everything that has transpired around this deal, and that is what I will pursue.
