It was a little over three years ago, in February 2002, when the Fort Providence Combined Council Alliance first brought forward its proposal to form a public/private partnership that would build a bridge across the Mackenzie River near Fort Providence. The government of the 14th Assembly gave the proposal a careful review and found that the proposal was not only feasible but, in many ways, quite attractive. First and foremost was the prospect of a permanent, all-weather highway link across the Mackenzie River that would eliminate, once and for all, the seasonal interruptions in highway service.

Secondly, bridges are expensive pieces of infrastructure. Amongst the many competing demands on the public purse, the government could not have considered a public expenditure of that size for many years to come. The mechanism of the public/private partnerships offered a way to raise the capital for the bridge without adding to the government’s debt. The government was definitely interested in the alliance’s proposal and authorized the beginning of negotiations to work out the proposal in greater detail.

By November 2002, the partners had turned the initial proposal into a memorandum of intent that spelled out all the steps that would have to be taken to form the public/private partnership that would finance, design, construct, operate and pay for the Deh Cho Bridge. Having signed the memorandum of intent, work then began on the Concession Agreement. The Concession Agreement is the legal document that actually establishes the public/private partnership and, in every aspect of the project, defines the respective duties, responsibilities and obligations of the partners. The Concession Agreement is a long-term, 35-year agreement covering the initial planning and design of the bridge through to the last payment and the transfer of ownership to the Government of the Northwest Territories. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to report that the partners have agreed to the Concession Agreement and, subject to final approval, we have a document to govern the bridge project.

In April 2003, the Deh Cho Bridge Corporation made formal application to the Mackenzie Valley Land and Water Board that initiated the regulatory approvals process. On its part, the 14th Legislative Assembly passed the Deh Cho Bridge Act in June of 2003 authorizing the Minister of Transportation to enter into a Concession Agreement and to collect the tolls that would pay for the bridge.

The Mackenzie Land and Water Board referred the Deh Cho Bridge project for an environmental assessment in January 2004. This has caused a delay in the original project schedule, but I am pleased to report that the Mackenzie Valley Environmental Impact Review Board has provided a positive recommendation. It is hoped that in the next week or two, the federal Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development will approve the project proceeding to the regulatory phase. This issuing of permits and authorizations should proceed in relatively short order.

I am also pleased to report that the Department of Transportation has accepted the Deh Cho Bridge Corporation’s conceptual design for the bridge. It remains to produce detailed engineering plans from the concept that contractors will use to prepare their tender bids and ultimately to construct the bridge. TD Securities has indicated that it is prepared to finance the project. The sum of the tender bids, the corporation’s development costs to date plus the financing charges will put a final price on the bridge. It is on the basis of this final price that the Executive Council will decide whether or not it is in the best interest of the Northwest Territories to sign and enter into the Deh Cho Bridge Concession Agreement.

That decision, Mr. Speaker, is still some months away. If all goes well, we hope that actual work on the construction of the Deh Cho Bridge might begin as soon as this summer. I know from everyone I have spoken to about the bridge, we are all looking forward to the day when it opens for traffic and the disruptions of freeze-up and breakup are a thing of the past.

Mr. Speaker, it may seem like we are taking our time in formally entering into the Concession Agreement, but we need to ensure that the agreement is the right one for all parties. The three years it has taken to get where we are today have slipped by quickly. Consider for a moment that the alliance first brought forward its proposal in the term of the 14th Assembly. If we commit to go ahead in the next few months, it will take until the term of the 24th Assembly to pay for the bridge. We want to be sure that between now and then, the people of the Northwest Territories will agree that the government of the 15th Assembly made the right decision. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

---Applause