This is page numbers 13 - 38 of the Hansard for the 16th Assembly, 1st Session. The original version can be accessed on the Legislative Assembly's website or by contacting the Legislative Assembly Library. The word of the day was assembly.

Topics

The Speaker

The Speaker Paul Delorey

Do you have a question, Mr. Krutko?

David Krutko

David Krutko Mackenzie Delta

Mr. Speaker, I would like to ask the Premier that he does make this a priority, come back to the next sitting in this House and have some answers as to how he sees government making a difference in this program.

The Speaker

The Speaker Paul Delorey

Thank you, Mr. Krutko. Mr. Roland.

Floyd Roland

Floyd Roland Inuvik Boot Lake

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the commitment I made is we will get back to Members when we get back for our next sitting, or sooner if we can, when committees are set up in specific areas and dealing with specific departments. Ultimately, we need to sit down, as I stated earlier, and look at whether the program is working. There are enough Members here who recall the reason this initiative was taken is there were numerous complaints across the territory. The Housing Program, subsidy levels were not working. They needed to be changed, so we started that work in earnest to try to come up with a package that would work and creating a level playing field for people across the playing field. Clearly, there are issues in communities now as this has happened. So we will have to take a look at that. We will be prepared, with the time limit we are in, to come up with information as to where it is this day and be prepared to sit down and start working with Members. Thank you.

The Speaker

The Speaker Paul Delorey

Thank you, Mr. Roland. Short supplementary, Mr. Krutko.

David Krutko

David Krutko Mackenzie Delta

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, with regard to the program itself, I would also like to have the Premier look at the 14 positions that were also handed over to ECE because they said they didn’t have the capacity. Because of that, it seems like the program has been a crisis ever since. I assume that because of that, we don’t have the capacity and we are not delivering it right. So I would like to ask the Premier to also look at that.

The Speaker

The Speaker Paul Delorey

Thank you, Mr. Krutko. Mr. Roland.

Floyd Roland

Floyd Roland Inuvik Boot Lake

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As I stated earlier, I have committed that we are going to have a look at this and that will be part of the review.

The Speaker

The Speaker Paul Delorey

Thank you, Mr. Roland. Short supplementary, Mr. Krutko.

David Krutko

David Krutko Mackenzie Delta

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I hope it’s more than just looking at it; I hope that he’s going to come back with something that’s solid, that gives us some options and we’re able to act, as a government and as 19 Members, to make a difference to the people of the Northwest Territories.

An Hon. Member

Right away!

The Speaker

The Speaker Paul Delorey

I didn’t hear a question there. Oral questions. The honourable Member for Hay River South, Mrs. Groenewegen.

Jane Groenewegen

Jane Groenewegen Hay River South

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I would like to follow up on the questions asked

by my colleague Mr. Ramsay with respect to the Deh Cho Bridge. There’s a verse in the Bible, that I know Mr. Roland will be familiar with, that says, “No man builds a house without first counting the cost.” This is an anomaly; this is a public/private partnership, but we are the public piece of that partnership and I still cannot seem to get into my head whether or not we, as a government, have had the opportunity to consider the cost. I’m not prepared to sign a blank cheque. I haven’t even been asked if I want to sign a blank cheque. You know, there is a piece of this that we are party to that we can’t get answers on, and it’s big. We started off with a $50 million bridge at a certain toll and a contribution of this government. Those are the three principles of the business plan that we started off with. The price has changed, the toll has changed and, certainly, I have no idea to what extent our contribution has changed. I don’t know and I want the Premier to be able to answer those questions here today. Indexed? What is it? One million? Two million? I heard one and a half to two million. We need to make those kinds of decisions. We never throw out, in any decisions we make, we never throw out the opportunity to have input and to assess those kinds of investments. Why on this case, and are we past the point of return? Tell me. I need to know that. Thank you.

The Speaker

The Speaker Paul Delorey

Thank you, Mrs. Groenewegen. The honourable Premier, Mr. Roland.

Floyd Roland

Floyd Roland Premier

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, let me tell Members right now, residents of the Northwest Territories, I am not prepared to sign a blank cheque either. I think that’s one of the challenges we’re going to be faced with, as we’ve heard about as Members have got together is one of the issues we have to deal with is the capital infrastructure in that area, the cost of it in the Northwest Territories. Can we meet that need? We’re going to have to ensure the deal that is signed, that we are involved with, is one that can be honoured and can be delivered on what is agreed to. The financing, the tonnage, it all has to fit within the act that was established. That’s what we have to live with right now because that’s in place. The other commitments that we made that are over and beyond that, I’m prepared to share that with Members once we get that information, and I’m prepared to sit down with Members to go through that in detail. Thank you.

The Speaker

The Speaker Paul Delorey

Thank you, Mr. Roland. Short supplementary, Mrs. Groenewegen.

Jane Groenewegen

Jane Groenewegen Hay River South

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As I understand it, the act is a vehicle by which this process can proceed; however, the detail of it is left open and that’s why we’re able to have discussions about, you know, can we still afford our contribution. It used to be just the cost of the ice road and the ferry and now we’re talking about perhaps another $2 million a year indexed over the next 35 years. We just need to see that. We need to know what that is, and we don’t know right now. It seems open ended. Is there a point at which our involvement in this will cause this government to say, no, stop? Is it too late for that? Thank you.

The Speaker

The Speaker Paul Delorey

Thank you, Mrs. Groenewegen. Mr. Roland.

Floyd Roland

Floyd Roland Inuvik Boot Lake

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, it’s not too late. The 16th Assembly and its

mandate has not signed a deal on proceeding forward in the sense of the no-go or no-stop point. Like the Monopoly board, once you pass go, collect your $200 and go on; we’re not there yet. There are some key issues that are still left out there and one of those that was in the paper for public interest was that navigable waters permit. So that’s one of those things, and a final financing deal that comes down. So we’ll be prepared to sit down with that detail when we get it and inform Members of where we are. I’m not prepared to sign a blank cheque, as I stated earlier. Thank you.

The Speaker

The Speaker Paul Delorey

Thank you, Mr. Roland. Supplementary, Mrs. Groenewegen.

Jane Groenewegen

Jane Groenewegen Hay River South

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Then I have to ask this Premier, what was the purpose of the trip to Fort Providence, then, with the golden shovels, standing on the banks of the Mackenzie River on the very last day of this government before it dissolved? What was the purpose of that? Was there an actual contract signed in conjunction with that process, or was that just a, you know, a show of some kind of psychological commitment that we’re proceeding with the bridge? Where’s the legal document? Thank you.

The Speaker

The Speaker Paul Delorey

Thank you, Mrs. Groenewegen. I don’t know if the Premier wants to answer that, kind of leaning towards what the last government did, but I’ll allow the Minister to if he wants to answer. Mr. Roland.

Floyd Roland

Floyd Roland Inuvik Boot Lake

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I won’t go into the decisions of the past government, but where we are today, what’s in place was a limited agreement to proceed, and that is a minimal amount of work. There is some commitment that Members were aware of, and the government’s loan guarantee that we have on the books today, and that’s the limit that we are faced with today. We have to get the rest of the details to proceed with the actual work and ordering of steel and so on and so forth. Once we get that information, we get the details, I am prepared to sit down with Members. Thank you.

The Speaker

The Speaker Paul Delorey

Thank you, Mr. Roland. Final, short supplementary, Mrs. Groenewegen.

Jane Groenewegen

Jane Groenewegen Hay River South

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, our Premier is being very helpful with this and I do appreciate this information and I’m sure the public does, as well. So right now, then, as I understand it, the only commitment that this government has is the extent of the loan guarantee, which I believe is around $5 million.

We are not liable at this point in time for anything further than the loan guarantee for around $5 million on the Deh Cho Bridge project? Is it nine? Oh, it was five last time I heard it. Ever grows. Thank you.