Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I am supporting this motion. I know the Member for Nahendeh attended the briefings we had with the Department of Transportation during the review of their Draft Mains and made it abundantly clear that this move by the Department of Transportation would negatively impact not only Fort Simpson but the region of Nahendeh.
I fully support his efforts. I know there’s an outcry in the communities that use this airport. In most cases, there have been examples of it. I sat through the briefing, and the Department of Transportation can’t always say that contracting out is the best way to go.
In this case I don’t know if everything was counted or measured into the equation when the department came up with the rationale to contract out the operations and maintenance at the Fort Simpson airport. We don’t have to look too far to see contracts, not just with the Department of Transportation but government-wide, where you always think you’re going to get a better price — it’s going to be less expensive if you go outside — and that’s not always the case.
In some cases individuals or corporations or companies that end up getting these contracts end up taking the lion’s share of the money south with them when they go. I’m not saying it would happen in this instance, but it’s a possibility.
I think the positions need to stay in Fort Simpson. We need to be supportive of the positions we do have in the smaller communities. I certainly do support my colleague Mr. Menicoche’s efforts in keeping this alive and trying to get the department to reconsider its direction on this.