Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I have some questions as well today for the Minister of Transportation. I have to say, when I heard his Minister’s statement yesterday, I was dismayed at the news that it contained, and I also, like many Members over here, feel that this project has been, somebody used the term boondoggle awhile ago. It’s been a boondoggle from the start.
The Minister.
Yes, it could have been the Minister. I feel that we’ve been in this position a number of times before and we’re now over a barrel again. I think some Members may know the term BOHICA – bend over here it comes again. I feel that’s where we are.
I’d like to ask the Minister if he can explain to the public how we got to this place where we are. How we got to a situation where we are again having to pay more money. A year ago or so we were asked for money, we gave up more money. As a government and as Members we approved it, and things were rosy then, everything was going to be wonderful. We are now in this situation. How did we get here?
Thank you, Ms. Bisaro. The Minister of Transportation, Mr. Ramsay.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Again, many of the decisions the Member talks about were decisions of previous governments and, yes, some people ask questions and some remain silent when decisions are made by government, and that happens. We got to the position we’re in today. The original budget was $165 million. During the life of the 16th Assembly there was a decision to put another $15 million into the project. Late last year, because of a year-long delay, there was another $10 million decision, and today we’re faced with the $7.2 million to $9.5 million ask of government, to see the completion of the project. Again, we’ve negotiated. In that settlement we’ve negotiated an end to the construction claims on that project. It is, for us, a way forward and we have to continue looking forward and not backwards. Thank you.
Thanks to the Minister. I’m hearing the same thing over and over. I’m hearing we have to get the project done, we have to move forward. I agree, but I don’t necessarily agree that we need to spend more money to do it. I have the same question that has already been asked and I have yet to hear an answer that makes any sense to me. We had, apparently, a negotiated, guaranteed price for this particular project. Sometimes the parameters change. I understand that. But I would like to know from the Minister what happened to that negotiated guaranteed price. Why has it gone out the window? What changed that made us need to spend more money? Thank you.
Again, the decision to negotiate the construction contract originally with Ruskin was not a decision that I made. I’m responsible for decisions that I’m making and this Cabinet is making in regard to this project. Again, in answering other Members, it’s quite clear, if you look at the options that presented themselves, what this government should do. I’m not sure what Members opposite would consider a prudent thing to do. Just throw our hands up and let the project mire in this long, drawn out claims and fight with the contractor, and be locked in a legal battle for years to come and the bridge not be opened this fall, or we could put our differences aside, come up with a negotiated settlement that would see the completion of the bridge and negotiate the claims that were outstanding, and not be faced with at least a $9 million hit when the bridge wouldn’t open this November. Our intent is to open the bridge in November. That is the way forward and we will continue to pursue that. Thank you.
I’m not sure if I should thank the Minister or not, but I appreciate the answer. I am still struggling to understand. I haven’t yet heard what has changed that requires us to spend more money. We had a contract and there was a price attached to that contract. In the terms of the contract, in the parameters of the project, what has changed that now requires us to spend 10 million more dollars? Thank you.
Like I mentioned earlier in answering other questions, in March it became apparent that the project would not be able to be completed in November. We had to go back. We had to look at a way to ensure that the project would be complete in November. We didn’t really want to look at another year’s delay in the project which, undoubtedly, would cost us more money. There were a number of outstanding claims associated with the project. This wraps it all up. It gives budget surety. It gives schedule surety so that we can see the completion of the Deh Cho Bridge. We’re looking forward to the day when traffic can begin to move across that bridge sometime in November. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Ramsay. Final, short supplementary, Ms. Bisaro.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’ve heard the Minister say probably three or four times now this afternoon that we have schedule certainty and budget certainty. I’m having a very hard time believing those words. We’ve had budget certainty for probably the last three years and we’ve gone from $165 million to $202 million.
My last question to the Minister, we talked previously in the government, and it might be a previous Minister, but I will ask this Minister if he will commit to a full-cost accounting of the project once it is completed. All the in-kind man hours that have been donated, will he share that full-cost accounting with the Members and with the public? Thank you.
While I say we need to look forward, and I do believe wholeheartedly, we have to see this project through to completion, and we’re going to do that, once the project is complete, and I’ve made this commitment to the House in a previous sitting, is that we will go back, we’ll take an entire look at the project from its inception, so that we can learn some valuable lessons in other future large infrastructure projects around this territory. There has to be lessons learned. I believe when we go back and take a look at the process, how things unfolded and how they came together, I think that’s what Members are looking for, that’s what the public is looking for, and I’ve already made a commitment to do that. But right now our focus should be on completing that project so we can move on and get that work done. Thank you.
Thank you, The Member for Weledeh, Mr. Bromley.
