Check the attendance record? I think I was there.

Thirty-five years is a long time. There was a cost-benefit analysis done. There are projections. It’s a business case based on volumes of traffic that will go over the bridge that will pay a commercial toll, which will in turn help the Deh Cho Bridge Corporation make the payments on the construction of the bridge.

I would like to know if the G.N.W.T. is going to guarantee the bridge construction loan.

I haven’t been a party to any discussions on guaranteeing a loan beyond the $9 million guarantee we have in place. There is, however, a commitment, as the Members know, that above and beyond the operational money that goes into the ferry and ice crossing, the government did commit another $2 million a year so the tolls could remain acceptable and within the limits established in the Act.

Mr. Speaker, how can the Premier assure us that our contribution to the Deh Cho Bridge project is capped at $2 million per year? And I understand it is indexed. How are we going to set the money that is going to go into the bridge project that is related to the ferry operations and the creation, construction and maintenance of the ice bridge? We’ve got dollar values on those now. Are those going to be subject to increase, as well, as time goes ahead? Is there anything on this that’s capped? Are the tolls for the commercial tonnage capped? Is our contribution capped? Is the other

contribution that’s laid out capped at anything, or is this just going to turn into a free-for-all?

Mr. Speaker, the framework that is in place for the Deh Cho Bridge Project allows for indexing, as the Member has stated, whether it’s the $2 million figure that is out there, the fixed-price contract that’s established out there right now — that’s with the Bridge Corporation and the contractor that will be going ahead with the construction of that bridge…. As for any changes, that would have to occur as highlighted. The changes that would have to be approved would have to be approved in this House, once the bridge is in place and transportation starts flowing across it.

Mr. Speaker, I find it interesting that any changes to this government’s contribution would have to be approved by the House, because the $2 million we are putting in was never approved by this House. Let the record show we never approved the $2 million a year indexed over 35 years. So I don’t know what it means when the Premier says it would have to be approved by the House. What does that mean?

Mr. Speaker, I’m going to ask the Premier: who is paying the $10 million fully funded contingency for the Deh Cho Bridge?

Mr. Speaker, the contingency is part of the overall construction contract, and that would be through the loan the Bridge Corporation would be getting.

I’d like to ask the Premier: would the bridge project have collapsed if the bridge contractor from New Brunswick had not stepped up the day before the deadline with an additional $2 million equity? Would the bridge project have collapsed without that?

Thank you, Mrs. Groenewegen. Your question is hypothetical. I will allow the Minister to answer.

As the Member highlighted in her Member’s statement, the concession agreement talked about a maximum of $5 million equity. The Bridge Corporation could have come in lower than that, and we could have, in fact, as a government, looked at it if they had a dollar value. Of course, that would severely affect their rate of return. But there was a maximum — not a minimum — set, as the Member stated.

Mr. Speaker, there has been a plan on the books for a number of years to consolidate the clinics in Yellowknife to create a downtown

consolidated clinic. There has been a business case made to do this, basically on the principles that we can take our existing staff and our doctors and we can put them all together and provide more services for less money. So what seems to be the problem? There is money in the budget. Where is this plan today?

Mr. Speaker, the Member is well aware that we will be reviewing our interim appropriation in due course. I believe it is on the agenda. I would not be able to speak about what is in the detail of that.

I would be happy to talk to the Members about some benefits of consolidation of clinics in Yellowknife. It’s a project that has been going on for a very long time. It’s an idea I support. I look forward to having more discussions on that in due course, in the fullness of time.

The time for question period has expired. I will allow supplementary questions. Mr. Hawkins.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I encourage the Minister, in this case, to talk about it now. What better place than this Assembly?

In a time where efficiency is…. We have a dire need to create efficiencies within our system. If we can prove the fact — which has been done already — to create a system that gives us more efficiencies, better service for less dollars, what’s the problem here?

Mr. Speaker, where is this plan in the process? There has been capital money already directed toward this project. What’s happening to date?

I totally agree with what the Member has to say about the benefits of this program. I don’t think I agree with the Member that the money spent will necessarily be less, because the programming of this is looking at the long term. That’s a benefit to be gained by consolidating the clinics, which will be absorbed by extra programming and extra hours that the medical and health care professionals in Yellowknife want to provide.

It’s a project that is a priority for the department. It’s a priority of mine, and it’s something that I look forward to working on with the Members through the business planning process.

The Member knows I cannot comment on the capital money elements of that, because that’s up for debate in the upcoming budget.

Mr. Speaker, I want to be very clear here, because we’re getting these sort of semantic answers. Is the project in or out for this capital budget?

Mr. Speaker, as I stated, it’s not something I can comment on right now. He will see the budget when it gets debated in this House in the next day or two.

With a whole bunch of leases coming up, the time is now to act. With us having to find this money through our financial exercise of reductions, this is the time to act.

Mr. Speaker, what is this Minister doing to make sure that this consolidated clinic becomes a reality in this coming budget and a reality in this session of this Assembly?

I don’t know if the Member was there, but I voted for that project in the budget last year. That was in the budget last year. It is not true that all the leases are coming due this year or in the immediate future. It’s a phased expiration of the lease. I am aware of that, and I’m working toward consolidating the clinic in time for those leases coming up. We will have further debate on that, I’m sure, as we are able to review the interim appropriation in coming days — this week and next.

Item 9, written questions, Mr. Hawkins.

I have a number of written questions for the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment. They are as follows:

1) What is the foreign worker assistance program

designed to help small business owners fill skilled employment vacancies called?

2) What is the budget for this program?

3) When was this program instituted?

4) How often has this foreign worker program

been used, both successfully and unsuccessfully?

5) What is the average processing time with these

applications?

6) How many businesses have been assisted by

this program?

7) Provide a breakdown of the communities that

have businesses accessing this program.

8) What public information campaign was used to

advertise this program to employers?

9) Who is the point of contact to access this

service in Yellowknife?

10) Do we offer financial assistance in processing

applications?

11) Will you provide me a copy of this program’s

establishment policy, assuming there is one?

Item 10, returns to written questions. Item 11, replies to opening address. Item 12, petitions. Item 13, reports of committees on the review of bills. Item 14, tabling of documents, Hon. Bob McLeod.

I wish to table the following document, entitled Grants and Contributions Programs Results Report 2006-2007, February 2008.

Document 10-16(2) Grants and Contributions

Programs Results Report 2006-2007, February 2008, tabled.

I wish to table the following two documents entitled Beverage Container Program Annual Report 2006-2007, and Help Decide What New Waste Products to Recycle Across the N.W.T: A G.N.W.T. Discussion Paper, December 2007.

Document 11-16(2) Beverage Container

Program Annual Report 2006-2007, tabled.

Document 12-16(2) Help Decide What New

Waste Products to Recycle Across the N.W.T.: A G.N.W.T. Discussion Paper, tabled.

Item 15, notices of motions. Item 16, notices of motions for the first reading of bills. Item 17, motions, Ms. Bisaro.