Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I sat yesterday eating my cold Valentine’s Day supper shortly after a long and grueling debate on approving appropriations for this government to commence its due diligence on the Inuvik-Tuk highway, and it hit me: the Gravina Island Bridge. What does that have to do with the Inuvik-Tuk highway, you may ask. Let me tell you.
The Gravina Island Bridge controversy started in 2006 during the campaigning of Alaskan governor hopeful, Ms. Sarah Palin. Coined as the bridge to nowhere, this behemoth project clocked at over $398 million was a proposed bridge to replace the ferry service between the town of Ketchikan, Alaska, and Gravina Island. In the end, the bridge project was cancelled, yet the elected Palin administration forged forward, with federal money that couldn’t be returned, to build a highway system which would have connected this proposed bridge.
Interestingly, this is where our similarity lies. This dead-end piece of constructed road was later coined the Road to Nowhere. History has a way of teaching us lessons in life, and although I strongly support the concept of connecting our Tuk neighbours to the rest of Canada, creating jobs, creating infrastructure capacity and much needed hope for the Beaufort-Delta, I am equally torn that this government is not doing a great job selling this concept to the Members on this side of the House or the people of the Northwest Territories, for that matter.
Decisions to move forward on this project are being hampered with emotional feelings or political lobbying rather than rational thinking. The Minister asking for a leap of faith or asking us to put our best foot forward or, heaven forbid, asking the Department of Transportation to trust them after what we have seen with the Deh Cho Bridge is not only unacceptable, it is insulting.
Mr. Speaker, I have complete respect and admiration for the people of Tuktoyaktuk. However, we don’t want to see our own version of the Road to Nowhere. It is up to the people of the Beaufort-Delta and the rest of the Northwest Territories to stand up and be heard. Let’s get the right answers to our questions and let’s put all the cards on the table, because we are heading down a path or, in this case, a highway where the point of no return is just around the corner. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Dolynny. The honourable Member for Mackenzie Delta, Mr. Blake.
