Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to speak today about the Deh Cho Bridge Project. I listened very clearly to the Minister of Transportation’s statement yesterday in the House, and understandably he has, and continues to, put his positive spin and messaging around this project as he can; this on a project that has and continues to be mired with issues.
The Minister left out some key items from his statement yesterday that I believe the public is owed an explanation to. The project was sold to the public, to Members of this House and to the previous Cabinet, as a fixed price contract with a price tag of $165 million. How can it be that the contractor of record, Atcon, fails to negotiate a price on the second half of the bridge? The public and Members need an explanation on what happened to this supposed fixed price contract. How can the government continue to state that the design of the bridge superstructure, the second half of the project, is essentially complete, Mr. Speaker? It has been essentially complete for nearly three years. How can the government continue to say that this new design will be more efficient and cost less, in one breath, then not be able to complete the project with the contractor that had the so-called fixed price contract? How is it possible to shop the remainder of this project with a design that is essentially done? Will the price be essentially unknown, Mr. Speaker?
What people want to know, Mr. Speaker, is how much this bridge is going to ultimately cost. That was a pretty big omission from the Minister’s statement yesterday. I think as easy as it was for the Minister to speak about the benefits of the bridge, he also has to be up front with the public on the potential financial risks and impact to the costs of living that this project will have. This government and the one before it have not proven effectively that costs for everything that comes across that bridge will ultimately cost people more money, not just in the North Slave communities but also any communities serviced by air out of Yellowknife. The cost of living is already driving the people out of our communities. Where exactly is this proof that this will ultimately lower the cost of living?
Mr. Speaker, we need to know immediately what the financial risks are to this project now that the contractor of record has departed the scene.
Mr. Speaker, I seek unanimous consent to conclude my statement.
---Unanimous consent granted.
I agree with the Minister. Yes, we do need to see this project through to conclusion. We will do that, Mr. Speaker. However, the public and Members of this House need to have every assurance that this project is being managed appropriately. Mr. Speaker, judging by the actions thus far, it doesn’t appear that way, Mr. Speaker. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Ramsay. The honourable Member for Sahtu, Mr. Yakeleya.
