Thank you, Madam Chair. I think this is a case of some forgetfulness or some selective memory. I think it is very important to point out that the original proposal up until last spring, last summer was for a fuel and cargo hub in Rankin Inlet. This was a proposal for some major expenditures for a tank farm for some warehousing where the idea was to ship fuel and the cargo for the region to Rankin Inlet and from that point on distribute it to the rest of the Keewatin. The idea there was that the work, the jobs and all the benefits of supplying the rest of the region should be in that region. After studying that proposal, it was found that it was too expensive, that the government did not have the money to invest at the time for this and it did not make very good economical sense in the long run if you compare it to the other options, including direct resupply. That was the project that died. I think that was what the MLA from Rankin Inlet had referred to when he said that the project was dead, because that was the project that had died.
In the meantime the government had to continue to look for better ways of delivering fuel to the Keewatin region because it has been an issue for many years and will remain an issue being clear that we can have savings. We continued trying to find the best way. I am glad the Member was at the meeting in mid-July where, as he confirmed, that we did inform the committee members of the hydrographic that was under way. The Department of Public Works and Services also informed Members of topographical surveys and environmental audits that were to be done in the communities. The committee also had agreed in the July meeting that the next major meeting would be in January/February, where there would be an update of what was going on.
Madam Chair, I know you want the answer to be short and I wanted to point out, as the Member had indicated, about Public Works and Services taking this project away from the Department of Transportation. That is not the case. It is a shared project. The hydrographic survey responsibility of ensuring that there is a good, safe travel corridor for travel by ships in the region is still a Department of Transportation responsibility and it is a shared thing. As for the $7 million, there is no extra expenditure for the capital projects. The cost of building the pipelines will be totally paid for through the cost of fuel to the region. Because of the savings, unless there is a huge rise in the price of oil, the region should not feel an increase to the cost of fuel, even though the cost of pipelines are built in. In fact, we estimate that after five years they will see a significant decline. This has little or no negative impact as far as I am concerned to the western region. Therefore, to me it is not much of an issue. There are projects here in the west that are being started this coming spring and will not be completed until after division. There is some road work, schools and major infrastructure that is being built that are in a similar vein. That is about it. If the Member wants to put a motion of non-confidence, that is up to him.