Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, later this afternoon I will introduce a bill entitled the Deh Cho Bridge Act.

As I know the Members of this Legislature appreciate that the partnership proposal to build a bridge over the Mackenzie River at Fort Providence is a new departure for the Government of the Northwest Territories. A private party, the Deh Cho Bridge Corporation, has offered to raise the capital, design, build, operate and maintain a substantial piece of highway infrastructure. In return, the government will pay the corporation for the bridge over a 35-year period, largely from toll revenues collected from the traffic crossing the bridge and savings from discontinued ferry operations and the winter ice crossing.

Under the proposed arrangement, Mr. Speaker, the private partner will perform many of the functions normally performed by the Department of Transportation under the authority of the Public Highways Act. The Deh Cho Bridge Act is a piece of enabling legislation that will authorize the Minister of Transportation, on behalf of the government, to enter into the proposed agreement with a private party who will act as a full and equal partner with government for the term of the agreement. Without the provisions described in the act, the Minister does not have the authority to commit the government to the contemplated partnership agreement.

Mr. Speaker, in anticipation of the present negotiations coming to a successful conclusion, I am introducing this bill to put the necessary authority in place so that when negotiations are concluded our government can enter into a binding agreement with the Deh Cho Bridge Corporation.

This bill authorizes the Minister of Transportation to collect tolls from vehicles crossing the bridge. Toll revenue is an essential element of the corporation's proposal and will determine the financial viability of the project. Importantly, it is the Minister on behalf of government, not the private partner, who will set and collect the tolls. In the public interest, it is the Minister and the government, accountable to this elected Legislative Assembly, that retain control over the toll charges and their collection.

As I said in the beginning, Mr. Speaker, the Deh Cho Bridge partnership is something entirely new to the NWT. I think private/public partnerships have significant potential as a vehicle for advancing other important public projects. Building a bridge over the Mackenzie River will be one outstanding achievement by itself. Achieving it through a successful partnership with the Fort Providence Combined Alliance will be a second accomplishment.

I hope the Deh Cho Bridge Act, as the enabling instrument for a private/public partnership, may prove the template for many more similarly successful ventures in the future. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

---Applause