Mr. Speaker, in regard to my Member’s statement, I touched on the proposal that was recommended by the Inuvik Chamber of Commerce to look at a bridge across the Peel River in 1981. Back then the estimated cost was $2 million for a one-lane bridge and $4 million for a two-lane bridge. They wanted $20,000 to do the survey, the report and the assessment. Yet some 26 years later we’re still talking about it.
I’d like to ask the Minister of Transportation exactly what are we doing as a government to look at all our bridge crossings in the Northwest Territories and remove our ice bridges and replace them with permanent bridges?
Mr. Speaker, the Member for Mackenzie Delta is correct in terms of the needed infrastructure across the Northwest Territories, especially the issue that he’s brought up. In the future I do see bridges across the Mackenzie, across the Liard, across the Peel, across the Great Bear. In terms of these needs, of course, we rely heavily on the federal government.
Mr. Speaker, I’m looking forward to the day when we can announce some of these bridges that are desperately needed to get across the rivers and to deal with climate change and the amount of traffic that’s coming into our communities.
Mr. Speaker, as we all know, there are some major landfills in the Beaufort Sea in regard to oil and gas leases being let go. We start looking at the possibility of another boom again in the Beaufort. But in order to serve that industry, we have to ensure that we have the capacity by way of infrastructure to basically supply that industry, like we are with the mines.
I’d like to ask the Minister: has your department looked at any surveys for the Peel River in regard to a possible bridge?
Mr. Speaker, as I indicated to the House and to the Member, we are looking at bridges in certain areas for communities and regions in terms of economic development, such as he mentioned. We are certainly looking at the area of Tsiigehtchic in terms of improving that crossing, in terms of having a plan, an initiative to increase the winter crossing there.
Certainly, the Peel River is high on our list in terms of looking at infrastructure to increase development into the communities such as the Bear River and other bridges that we see desperately need to be in place to support the economic development that’s happening in the North.
Mr. Speaker, I believe I heard a yes somewhere in that answer.
This issue has been around for some time. I know the Gwich’in Development Corporation is looking at the possibility of a P3. Since we already have a patent down with the Deh Cho Bridge Corporation, if we get $9 million to do this, we’ll go ahead and do it.
I’d like to ask the Minister: is he open to looking at the possibility of a P3 initiative using the patented Deh Cho Bridge Corporation model so that we can go ahead and build a bridge for $6 million, which is a lot less than $165 million? I’d like to ask the Minister: would he consider a P3 for the Peel River Bridge with the Gwich’in Development Corporation?
Mr. Speaker, the Member brings up a very interesting proposal. With all the infrastructure in the Northwest Territories in terms of the Peel River crossing, the Mackenzie crossing, the Bear crossing, we have some models out there. We have industry wanting to come in.
This department is looking for partnerships in terms of improving our infrastructure down the Mackenzie Valley, the Beaufort, in through the South Slave. We’re looking for partnerships. I’m interested in looking at partnerships. I’m interested in sitting down with the Member for Mackenzie Delta, with cabinet here, and looking at all the possibilities where we can see infrastructure being built in the Northwest Territories.
Mr. Speaker, I believe that pitch has already been made. There has been a request to look at this.
I’d like to ask the Minister if he can go back to his department and reopen those negotiations, since the proposal has already been issued and the request has been made. I’d like to have the Minister, along with myself, meet with the appropriate parties regardless — the bridge development corporation, the MACA group, whoever — and get on with this project, and we’ll use the Deh Cho model.
Mr. Speaker, is the Member saying that we use the Deh Cho model? I’m not going to make the presumption that the Deh Cho model is a good model to use.
I’ll commit to look at this request by the Member in terms of what’s been done so far to initiate the Peel River Bridge project. I’ll look at it, and I’ll be happy to sit down with the Member. I’d like to have my colleague see if we want to proceed further. I’ll ask the department to dust the information off and bring it to my attention. I’ll be happy to sit down with the Member and talk about it.
