Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Last year the community of Wrigley formed a partnership with Rowe’s Construction and Nogha Enterprises to build the abutments for the Blackwater Bridge project. There were many barriers to overcome from joint venture agreements, last minute approvals from the Sahtu regulatory bodies; however, despite the obstacles which the government did not assist with, they were overcome. The project was completed successfully and on time and on budget. There were many benefits to the community of Wrigley: employment, contracts, and they even purchased new equipment. They, in short, used this opportunity to develop their capacity.
Today, Mr. Speaker, there is a different contract awarded to Stan Dean and Ruskin to complete the Blackwater Bridge. They have been mobilizing all summer and I have been getting concerned phone calls from the leadership of Wrigley, that they are receiving limited opportunities to date. Opportunities have been limited to catering contracts and camp maintenance.
The community has advised that they have tried to negotiate a fair rate for local equipment. The joint venture of the contract is offering very low rates. For example, they offer $200 a day for a water truck. This is not economical for an eight-hour winter road trip. There would be no profit at this low rate. The contractors use an excuse to buy their own water truck. I support the community of Wrigley and feel that low-balling on prices is unfair and detrimental to the community capacity building in Wrigley.
The community has met with DOT officials on several occasions and requested assistance on this matter, but they never did get any commitment. I would urge the Minister of Transportation to follow up on these concerns and to ensure that contractors in proximity communities provide more business opportunities and employment to those communities and especially the one in my riding: Wrigley. Mahsi cho.
