Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I will be very brief.

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First of all, let me say that Cabinet will not be voting on this motion because it is a recommendation to us. Mr. Speaker, I just want to make a couple of points. Due diligence and transparency, those are things we live by. Due diligence is here and that is why we have the financial situation we enjoy right now that enables us to do this kind of project, is because we have done due diligence over the life of our government.

Mr. Speaker, transparency, yes, we have already committed and we will commit to giving the committee the best information we have. Mr. Speaker, we will do that as the final negotiations are done on the bridge.

Mr. Speaker, that is what the public expects of us: due diligence, transparency. But, Mr. Speaker, the public also who elected us expect us to get things done. They don't want us to talk forever and ever on these things. At some point, we have to get things done. Mr. Speaker, there is no issue...Let me say every community has its issue that it talks about all the time. Some people talk about where the caribou went. Some people talk about the flooding. I tell you, in Yellowknife, the one issue that has been talked about forever is the bridge, the need for a bridge. You go talk to some of our most senior seniors and you will find some of them have little $5 share certificates that they bought on the bridge in the 1960s or early '70s. This has been talked about in the public more than any other single issue.

Mr. Speaker, I am sure that even after we build a bridge, there will be a lot of debate about whether we should have built the bridge. So it's going to continue forever.

Mr. Speaker, this has been talked about for 30 or 40 years, it's been talked about in this House since the Bridge Corporation brought it to us in 2001 and we passed the legislation in the last government. It's been talked about each time we came forward with the need to increase the loan guarantee. This has been debated and talked about more than any other issue that this past government or this government has dealt with.

Mr. Speaker, let me say in closing, it would be an ideal world and a great world if we could do every project in every region at the same time. That would be great, but we can't. We have to take some of these projects and deal with them one by one and get them done or otherwise we will still be talking about chipsealing Highway No. 5 and a road up the Mackenzie and so on two or three governments from now, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, thank you very much.

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