Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I was listening to the questions very intently by the Member for Range Lake and I just wanted some clarity on this particular subject. It’s not coming from an angle of criticism but more as an official clarity on the issue of 75/25 split. That’s been bouncing out there quite a bit. I’m not speaking pro or against the project. I’m just more committed and curious, of course, around the firmness of that offer from the federal government, because this is going to be an important element of the dialogue on the future bridge. If the Minister of Transportation could get that on the record, the willingness of the federal government to continue that 75/25 split if it goes beyond what we believe is the early estimates for the road. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Hawkins. The Minister of Transportation, Mr. Ramsay.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We continue discussions with the federal government on the funding. It is $150 million. Again, those discussions are ongoing on how that funding is going to roll out and what the split will be, and we’ll continue those discussions. Thank you.
Would the Minister be able to provide some correspondence on that type of discussion they seem to be having with their federal counterparts? Everyone in this House knows that this is going to be a challenging and very emotional debate if that 75/25 breaks down. We don’t know where that number will end and that’s why it’s fundamentally important early on to know that we do support the intent of this project and we have the support of the federal government to get behind it before it starts. As we know – and I’m not trying to turn this into the Deh Cho Bridge example – but who knows where the costs could go if we don’t firm them up early? Thank you.
We have to get a determination of what the price is going to be on the construction of the Inuvik-Tuk highway. Before we go to the federal government and get that number, we need to know exactly what we’re talking about. Again, this is part of the exercise of doing the geotechnical work, going through the environmental assessment, and like other partially federally funded projects in this territory that we’ve seen through the Building Canada Plan, we need to do an environmental assessment first. We are going to continue down that road. Again, Mr. Speaker, the discussions are ongoing with the federal government and we will continue to move the project forward with the thoughts that the Members have brought up today. Thank you.
I just want to make sure it’s clear on the record, I’m fully supportive of the money being spent today on the environmental assessment and I wouldn’t want anyone to think that that isn’t the case. I’ve even stood steadfast on any questions from the public when they say we should stop now before it goes out of control. This is absolutely critical information to get the right price. I don’t change that.
Is the Minister saying today that we have to get all the environmental assessment work done for us to be able to develop a price in order for us to have a formal discussion with the federal government regarding the 25/75 split? If that’s the case, that is the answer for the House. I just need that as the answer when the public asks me what’s happening with the money and what’s happening with the cost of the road. Thank you.
The federal government’s expectation of us is that we would go through the environmental assessment. We would find out what the construction costs would be on the project. Again, we will be going forward to the federal government if that price gets higher than the $150 million that they’ve committed. That’s a discussion that we will continue to have with the federal government as this project moves forward as we know better what the costs are going to be. I can assure the Member and other Members of this House that that is an important part to all of this and we will continue to pursue that. Thank you.
