Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I'd like to speak today in support of the Premier's statement yesterday that the GNWT and the Fort Providence combined council are in the final stages of negotiating the concession agreement and project financing for the great Deh Cho Bridge project. Mr. Speaker, I do appreciate that questions about the details are warranted and should be provided, and they will be forthcoming. I also respect that Members may have differing opinions on things. But I do believe very strongly that it's very important for us to not lose sight of the fact that this is a very important project that deserves ongoing support from this government.

Mr. Speaker, I may be going back a little in history, but during the last Assembly this was a particularly big issue of debate as the GED committee held hearings in Yellowknife and up and down the valley on a bill that would set up the Deh Cho Bridge Corporation and allow the corporation to levy a highway toll on commercial vehicles to allow the bridge to happen. The law is very detailed on what the corporation is allowed to do and not, and many questions being asked now were thoroughly examined and answered to in the last Assembly.

Mr. Speaker, what we should keep in mind is that there is a need for public funds for building of a bridge like this and it's not a frivolous expense, it's a good investment. We incur enormous costs for businesses and individuals on a daily basis from being cut off from the rest of the world every spring and fall. In fact, during our public hearings, the NWT Trucking Association told us that the trucking companies charge premiums for having to cross the ferry, not to mention the cost that we bear as we watch the trucks idle on both sides of the river and the warehouse sits empty when the road is cut off, or when sometimes warehouses have to carry excess storage as well in anticipation of the closure of the road in the spring and fall.

Mr. Speaker, these costs will not go down; not the cost of building the bridge and not the cost of living for all of us who have to bear the cost. So, Mr. Speaker, another important aspect of this is the fact that this is a very important community project for the Fort Providence area who have not been able to benefit from a lot of industrial projects that are going on this end of the road. Mr. Speaker, the details of this project are important and they need to be answered, but I want to make it very clear that I support...