Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The GNWT announced last week that they are reviewing a $32 million claim submitted by the contractor for the Inuvik-Tuk Highway. As we’ve heard time and time again, this is an iron-clad contract. It’s a fixed price and there will be no need for extra money. Boy, if I had a dollar every time I heard that.
I’m also going to remind everyone that this was a negotiated contract which was promised not to cost more than $299 million. So what happened? As fate would have it, an e-mail error through our good colleague Mr. Menicoche certainly sheds some new light on this project. It makes MLAs start to wonder how long would we have been kept in the dark about the $32 million claim if this e-mail wasn’t received in error or, frankly, good luck. Frankly, discussions and decisions like this to fund the project further happened behind closed Cabinet doors while Members are on the campaign trail.
For many of us this is certainly déjà vu all over again when it comes to the bridge deal. Ironically, many of us have been hearing for months and months that there have been many problems with this project, but yet every time we ask, don’t worry, everything’s fine, everything’s on budget, no big deal.
It’s fair to say we may have 32 million problems. While this is being scrutinized, I certainly hope they’re watching it very closely. But to be fair, now that the cat is out of the bag, let’s look at it this way: This is a request for more money. The claims are being reviewed, and yes, it is normal to put in claims for construction projects. It’s a normal part of business. But if you don’t know this, well, you may have been lucky by being one of those lucky few who had one of those unicorn projects dazzled with fairy dust and have had no problems. But that largely doesn’t exist. The fact is projects do have problems. The issue that really is at hand here is the extra costs that we don’t know are coming. What are they, how much will they cost, and how will the government deal with this?
Is the government on the hook for more money? I don’t know. I don’t even know if they know. All I know is they’re asking for more money. In other words, will they keep the Members of the Assembly in the dark? Frankly and humbly, no decision can be made without informing Members. We need to be part of the discussion, we need to be part of the debate and we certainly need to be part of the final decision. I’ll be seeking that type of assurance from the Minister later today.
Thank you, Mr. Hawkins. The Member for Frame Lake, Ms. Bisaro.
