Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I appreciate, first of all, my honourable Member's question. I think it would be fair to say that, in some quarters, there is an expectation out there that perhaps is larger than it should be. I did have the good fortune this weekend, on my trip to Hay River, to meet with the NWT Chamber of Commerce and the Hay River Chamber of Commerce and give them a full briefing on the P3 and seek their input. We need to ensure, first of all, that there is affordability. I think that is priority one. Two, transparency, as I have said before. Three, in the selection of the P3 projects, they have to follow a certain criteria. It is not a goody bag or anything like that. This is just a way in which we can bring about the historical spending we have had as it relates to our capital projects. As I have said many times in this House, the last time we had $200 million to spend on an annual basis was over two years ago. We are currently spending about $130 to $140. We want to bring it back up. I would not want anybody, in the public particularly, to be given the impression this is a panacea for everybody's favourite project. The reality is, it will be very restricted. It will be very disciplined. This House and the Members will get an opportunity to see what projects have been recommended and more importantly, there has to be both short and long-term viability and affordability. The last thing we want to do, and certainly I want to do as Finance Minister and my colleagues in Cabinet, is to leave an inordinate amount of debt for future governments that is not affordable. There is going to be a great deal of scrutiny on these projects, and rightfully so. I hope that at the end of the day, we can get on with putting some of the construction industry to work, create some jobs and bring about some of the infrastructure we desperately need and currently cannot afford under the old system of capital spending. Thank you.
John Todd on Question 257-13(5): Public/private Partnership Accountability
In the Legislative Assembly on February 9th, 1998. See this statement in context.
Return To Question 257-13(5): Public/private Partnership Accountability
Question 257-13(5): Public/private Partnership Accountability
Item 6: Oral Questions
February 8th, 1998
Page 648
John Todd Keewatin Central
See context to find out what was said next.