Debates of May 10, 2007 (day 4)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I am going to speak again today about the Deh Cho Bridge project. Having now had the opportunity to read through yesterday’s Hansard, I am left even more confused today than I was yesterday. After listening to both the Premier and the Minister of Transportation, it would appear as though the decision to proceed has already been made. This decision has been made in the absence of any federal funding and, Mr. Speaker, the question was asked yesterday: Is the project contingent on P3 dollars from the federal government? The Minister of Transportation responded, "That is a good question." His response leaves me very uneasy about where the government is allowing this project to go.

As I mentioned yesterday, each and every time the loan guarantee to the Deh Cho Bridge Corporation was increased, the excuse was they were waiting for the federal government to come in and help the project. Here we are today, Mr. Speaker, with the government admitting that they really don’t need the federal dollars to build this bridge. I am left wondering why all of a sudden the Government of the Northwest Territories thinks it is a good time to start construction on the bridge this summer which, coincidentally, Mr. Speaker, is just a few months short of the next territorial election.

Yesterday, the Premier told the CBC Northbeat that the government would be committing to the project the $2 million a year it spends on ferry operations and ice crossing maintenance at Fort Providence, plus an additional $2 million per year. What I am seeking, Mr. Speaker, is proof that this is what it will cost us and that we will get a clear understanding of what the tolls and the concession agreement will look like before any agreement is signed off.

Mr. Speaker, is this too much to ask of the Premier and of the government? I want to understand how it is that the government can say construction is going to start this summer without first providing this House the details of the project. Both the Premier and the Minister of Transportation suggested the bridge project would lower the cost of living. That might have been the case four or five years ago when the tolls on this project were pegged at $4 to $5 per ton and the bridge was estimated to cost 70 to 75 million. With the project now over $130 million and tolls looking like they are going to be over $6 per ton, what will that do to the price of consumer goods in the North Slave region and the city of Yellowknife?

In closing, Mr. Speaker, I just want some answers. I want the government to commit to providing this House every detail of this project before it proceeds. Again, I want my colleagues to understand that I do support the construction of a Deh Cho Bridge. However, as an Assembly, we have…

Mr. Ramsay, your time for Member’s statement has expired.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I seek unanimous consent to conclude my statement.

The Member is seeking unanimous consent to conclude his statement. Are there any nays? There are no nays. You may conclude your statement, Mr. Ramsay.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Thank you, colleagues. I just again want to reiterate I do support the construction of a Deh Cho Bridge. However, Mr. Speaker, as an Assembly and as stewards of public funds, we need to make an informed decision. Thus far, Mr. Speaker, I have not seen that. Mahsi.

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Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I’d like to speak today in support of the Premier’s statement yesterday that the GNWT and the Fort Providence combined council are in the final stages of negotiating the concession agreement and project financing for the great Deh Cho Bridge project. Mr. Speaker, I do appreciate that questions about the details are warranted and should be provided, and they will be forthcoming. I also respect that Members may have differing opinions on things. But I do believe very strongly that it’s very important for us to not lose sight of the fact that this is a very important project that deserves ongoing support from this government.

Mr. Speaker, I may be going back a little in history, but during the last Assembly this was a particularly big issue of debate as the GED committee held hearings in Yellowknife and up and down the valley on a bill that would set up the Deh Cho Bridge Corporation and allow the corporation to levy a highway toll on commercial vehicles to allow the bridge to happen. The law is very detailed on what the corporation is allowed to do and not, and many questions being asked now were thoroughly examined and answered to in the last Assembly.

Mr. Speaker, what we should keep in mind is that there is a need for public funds for building of a bridge like this and it’s not a frivolous expense, it’s a good investment. We incur enormous costs for businesses and individuals on a daily basis from being cut off from the rest of the world every spring and fall. In fact, during our public hearings, the NWT Trucking Association told us that the trucking companies charge premiums for having to cross the ferry, not to mention the cost that we bear as we watch the trucks idle on both sides of the river and the warehouse sits empty when the road is cut off, or when sometimes warehouses have to carry excess storage as well in anticipation of the closure of the road in the spring and fall.

Mr. Speaker, these costs will not go down; not the cost of building the bridge and not the cost of living for all of us who have to bear the cost. So, Mr. Speaker, another important aspect of this is the fact that this is a very important community project for the Fort Providence area who have not been able to benefit from a lot of industrial projects that are going on this end of the road. Mr. Speaker, the details of this project are important and they need to be answered, but I want to make it very clear that I support…

Thousands, thousands.

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