Mr. Speaker, the Co-op is to be applauded because they've decided to absorb this cost off their bottom line, rather than pass the cost onto the customers. But the reality is most businesses don't have that option. They must absorb and then pass along the added cost of the freight, along with the storage for the extra inventory and, of course, the hit that their cash flow takes.
Mr. Speaker, from Deline to Cambridge Bay, from Yellowknife to Gameti, and the four diamond mines, we are more and more vulnerable to tremendous impact when this ferry service is interrupted, and it's not just the economic impact. Mr. Speaker, just this past weekend here in Yellowknife, we hosted Super Soccer. But even those teams -- and there are many of them on the southern road system -- had to raise extra money so they could fly to Yellowknife instead of taking the more economical highway transport.
There was a time when we grudgingly accepted these costs. They were a given. They were just a part of living here in the North, but we can no longer accept this, Mr. Speaker. A very compelling thing that's happening is that there are other factors at play that may overtake money as the reason we must build this bridge.
Mr. Speaker, I seek unanimous consent to conclude my statement.