Mr. Chair, as the Members are aware, we had a very busy year this year working on the Building Canada Fund, first of all to sit down and negotiate with our federal counterparts the framework agreement that spells out the different areas that would be considered for investment and the different issues that we’d have to negotiate. Following that, we did come to a successful conclusion on the dollar amount and the criteria areas that would be considered for investment. We also put together the listing of projects that would be brought forward for consideration and negotiation with the federal government and the management committee. For ’08–09 we did have that concluded.

We have now submitted the second year’s listing of investments, and we are waiting for a response from the federal government. We’ll have some discussion on that with the management

committee. We are now in the process of firming up future projects and areas that this government would like to consider for investment in the areas of transportation infrastructure and also municipal infrastructure. We did provide one briefing to the Members to give us a status report and an update of where we are. We are now evaluating projects within the Department of Transportation, and the municipal governments are also doing the same. We are compiling a list.

As things move forward, we are also expecting that we will be looking at a response from the committees to hear what their recommendations are. We also expect to have that firmed up sometime over the next while and to be able to move forward with that.

I’d like to thank the Minister for that. We also realize that in order for projects to get on the agenda for the Building Canada Fund, they have to be at a certain stage of assessment and validation in looking at the capital costs of those projects. So that’s the challenge a lot of our smaller communities have with our projects. We don’t have the ability to access the Department of Transportation or Public Works or infrastructure departments to assist us in compiling that information so that we can make the list, so I think that’s the challenge we’re facing. Also, out of the Building Canada Fund there was some $500,000 listed for research and development. I’d like to ask the Minister: do you have any idea of how that $500,000 is going to be expended by way of research and development? What projects are being expended for that $500,000 that had been mentioned?

Thank you, Mr. Krutko. Mr. Miltenberger.

I once again refer that question to Minister Michael McLeod.

Thank you, Minister Miltenberger. Minister Michael McLeod.

Mr. Chair, the dollar amount on the money that has been earmarked for research and development is actually $1.8 million over the life of the Building Canada Fund. We have a number of areas that we are interested in. We have criteria that we have to meet, and some of the criteria require us to look at climate change issues and environmental issues. It also gives us the ability to do the research. We have looked at and are considering some dollars to be awarded to the Aklavik Steering Committee that is doing some work pending that we move forward to some satisfactory conclusion and start to nail down what has to be done. We’ve just had some recent discussion in that area with that committee on the 17th of this month, and I am assuming there’ll be

others. But as to an actual overall budget of where those dollars will be allocated and spent, we haven’t finalized that.

Mr. Chair, it would be good if the Minister could keep the Members on this side of the House and the committees informed in regard to how those expenditures are being made and who’s getting on the list and who isn’t. I think it’s important. Climate change affects people differently, especially where we have communities dealing with permafrost, shoreline erosion and the importance of gravel in those areas where we don’t have gravel.

I’d like to ask: has the department looked at what other initiatives are being contemplated? You talked about climate change, and you talked about different types of infrastructure and water treatment plants. Again, I think it’s important that we also ensure that we do have the flexibility and allowance for small community projects to be able to meet this list, knowing that a lot of them don’t have the capacity or don’t have the people on the ground to deal with this. There is going to be a need for dollars to be fronted to those organizations so that they can get the expertise that they’re going to need to compile a report or an assessment or a study.

I’d like to ask the Minister: what kinds of assurances can small communities get so that there will be resources for them to do the legwork that’s going to be needed for these programs or projects?

Thank you, Mr. Krutko. Minister Miltenberger.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I’d refer that question to Minister Michael McLeod.

Thank you, Minister Miltenberger. Minister Michael McLeod.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I think all the Members recognize that the dollars allocated in this program are a far cry from what is actually needed to be able to accommodate all the different projects that are territorial in nature that are happening in the larger centres and in the small communities. We will consider all projects as best as we can. We’d like to be able to follow some of the earlier strategic initiatives that were put forward in terms of submissions to the federal government. We’d like to hear what the Regular Members have to offer in terms of recommendations. We’re open to communities coming forward.

It’s a real challenge, of course, to be able to deal with each issue as it comes forward. Communities and projects need investment to do the legwork, to do the research, to do the early investments to

describe and figure out what the scope of work is. But we want to be able to leave it as broad based as possible and try to capture many of the initiatives that are being brought forward, then try to narrow it down in terms of importance and realistic investment as we can. We’re not going to be able to do all of them, but we sure can try to see which ones would make the most sense.

It’s the last, which projects make the most sense, that I have concerns about, because a lot of times the smaller communities don’t seem to be put on the same pedestal as large capital projects for specific departments. Departments seem to win out over small communities, and that’s the challenge that we’re facing here in regard to how capital is being allocated.

I’d like to ask the Minister of Finance if there’s any way of monitoring some of these projects to ensure that they are fairly distributed by way of geography, making sure that small and large communities have a fair balance on that, and also that we have projects north and south, that it’s not all in one specific area or specific region. I think it’s important to realize that with the limited resources we have, we have to ensure that we find that balance and that it’s fair to everyone. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Krutko. No questions. We’re on page 8-10, Transportation, Activity Summary, Highways, Infrastructure Investment Summary, Total Infrastructure Investment Summary: $57.833 million. Mr. Yakeleya.

Mr. Chair, the question I have is on the follow-up to Mr. Krutko’s question to the Minister in terms of the Building Canada Fund. I have a little file here that I have on the Great Bear River Bridge project being delayed, deferred, cancelled, postponed until further funding.

I’d just like to ask the Minister: when can the people in the Sahtu look at a bridge like this? They don’t know what to think, since this bridge has been on the books for a long time. They’re anxious to hear what the government is planning to do in terms of putting this bridge in place. If it does get in place, for us it will be water under the bridge, I guess.

I’d like to ask the appropriate Minister: can you tell the people and me what’s the plan for this Great Bear River Bridge? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Yakeleya. Minister Miltenberger.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I’ll refer that question to Minister Michael McLeod.

Thank you, Minister Miltenberger. Minister Michael McLeod.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. As I indicated earlier in my response to investment in the Sahtu, we’ve been trying to really offset some of the pressures that are being brought into that area by resource development, by the oil and gas industry, and trying to make the winter road more accommodating to the local traffic. We have targeted 42 bridges that are needed in the Sahtu region. We think we are in a position to do at least 41 of them.

We did have the Great Bear River Bridge as part of the projects that were listed under the strategic investment dollars. The budget line for that project was at $25 million, and it has since practically tripled in value. It’s not something we feel we can accommodate as part of our Building Canada projects, so we are right now looking to see if there are any other ways we can fit it into our budgeting process, including maybe work — if there’s some desire to move forward — on the Mackenzie Valley road or maybe other partnership arrangements. We do not have a plan at this point for the Great Bear River Bridge, but we have not lost sight of it.

I appreciate the Minister’s response of not losing sight — it might be a little foggy right now — of how you get this bridge in place. but, Mr. Chairman, I am looking at it in terms of the amount of investment that could and should continue to go into the Sahtu region.

I have these bridges in place. We know the bridges are being built in the Sahtu region, because we drive by them and we see them. We certainly appreciate them. When the bridge isn’t put at Tulita to connect to Norman Wells, we know the amount of time for the local contractors, the local businesses…. Each day they lose thousands of dollars because of the weight restriction, because of the open water at the Mackenzie and the Bear rivers, and at the N’Dulee crossing there’s open water too. So we know those challenges.

In Délînê they know what it takes for a company to get across to the Bear River on the Great Bear Lake. Every day that goes by, they lose thousands of dollars because of the weight restrictions, because they’re unable to get across there. Companies are telling us they could stay an extra 30 days in our region. I asked Husky, “What does it cost to operate your rig per day?” They spend $40,000 a day operating a rig. If they can get bridges in places such as the Bear River, you’re going to hundreds of thousands of dollars in the Sahtu region. By not having these critical infrastructure bridges there, we’re not supporting the local businesses as much as we could. There are millions. People want some concrete answers.

I know the Minister is trying hard. There are challenges with the federal government in their funding. There are challenges with his own

government here. You talked about Bosworth before. Bosworth is millions of dollars. Oscar Creek is probably less, but the Oscar Creek Bridge is just sitting there. When you talked about putting in the Blackwater River bridge, which I think is really good, people are going to be happy about that.

But there are really some issues that should be looked at in terms of building infrastructure in our region here. That is what my people want to know. There is nothing targeted.

There are challenges. I know the federal government has some challenges we do not quite agree with. Certainly, there have to be some dollars. There were already plans for the Great Bear River Bridge. They said there was a budget of $25 million. You know, just like our schools or hospitals, we budget something, and next year they triple and double, but still somehow we find money for projects. So I’m saying that in Transportation they can do it in increments. Probably the department does not like that very much in terms of building the approaches and getting the steel, because I understand our steel is somewhere else in the south here — Bear River Bridge steel. The steel was there.

Again I would ask the department to seriously consider the infrastructure that needs to go into our region and into the Sahtu region for the people. We have maybe two months at the most, three months in a really good season, and then we have to fly everything in. Our companies work from December to the end of March, and then there’s no activity. These young guys and young ladies that build their companies in the communities rely on the winter road. That is the only opportunity they have to make money, unless you get a contract with the territorial government or the federal government to do some work. They can’t move their equipment all around. It has to stay, and somebody has to pay the bill.

I am asking the department for the Sahtu people — not me; it’s what the Sahtu people are asking me — to have some concrete…. We’ve been given the green light — stop, suspend, defer, postpone — and we have been given hopes that it might go through. Then we looked at the book. They’re asking about the Bear River Bridge. I know the Minister talked about Bosworth, but there are other bridges also that need to have some attention. For us, in our region, this is what we are asking. It’s no different. Other regions have all weather roads and bridges already. they don’t need to really talk about this. I guess I’m asking how this government supports the Sahtu region.

Over the years million of dollars have gone in from oil companies. Husky alone spent over $100 million in the Sahtu region. Kodiak, PetroCan, Talisman spend millions in the Sahtu region, and we don’t

feel we’re getting a fair shake in terms of investment. Just the safety on the highways themselves — I hope to see some really good safety programs.

Those big trucks come through with chains on their tires, and they brag how fast they can go from Wrigley to Norman Wells, how many hours. Sometimes, Mr. Chair, that road is so good that those truckers go past the speed limit of 50 kilometres an hour. What I am looking for is some improvement on the roads this summer for the people’s sake. Members talk about the road, and we certainly want to see a lot of improvement.

So, Mr. Chair, in closing — I think it’s more of a statement — I’m hoping I would see some concrete plans in terms of the Bear River Bridge, going into a solid plan to see production, going on to see what we can do.

Thank you, Mr.

Yakeleya. Minister Miltenberger.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. If you want to talk about concrete plans, the man to talk to is the Minister of Transportation, Mr. Michael McLeod. I will ask him to respond.

Thank you, Minister Miltenberger. Minister Michael McLeod.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. We have over the last number of years invested very significantly in the area of Sahtu. It has probably received the most investment in terms of bridge work. We put in many bridges that would see the road season extended so that people could take advantage of it, and the oil and gas industry can also utilize this piece of winter road. We also had partnerships with many of the companies that the Member has mentioned to enhance the road, to keep it safe, to keep it stable and also to extend the season.

The Bear River Bridge is a project that has had money identified through the strategic investment fund. It is a project that has tripled in cost, and we no longer have resources identified to move forward with this project. Until that changes, we are going to have some difficulty agreeing that we will invest in that project. If we wanted to bring it into the Building Canada Fund, we would probably have to take half of what our budget is for transportation investment and put it into one project. It is a project that was de-scoped, because we didn’t have the resources to do it, to bring it forward. It’s not an easy decision to make to move away from a project.

We recognize that this would allow the winter road season in the Sahtu to be extended, to open it up a little earlier. But we’ve taken the initiative to create bypass roads. We have taken the initiative to invest

in building a road across the ice that would also open the winter road traffic earlier. We’ve tried to do things to accommodate and help the people in that area and also industry, but right now we are not in a position…. We don’t have the resources to build the Bear River Bridge. The money that was in that area has been reinvested in other areas, as the Member has indicated.

We can’t allow steel that was purchased to be sitting there when we were just criticized for the Oscar Creek Bridge — having infrastructure that we haven’t been able to put in place soon enough or quick enough. I’m sure we would certainly be criticized for leaving steel lying on the ground in Tulita because we didn’t have the resources to put it up.

It’s still something we’d like to do. We hope, as we move forward with discussions and options for the Mackenzie Valley road with the federal government, that this would be part of it. But until then we don’t have the resources, and we can’t comfortably say to the Member that we will be doing the Bear River Bridge within the life of this government.

Thank you, Minister McLeod. Next on my list is Mr. Beaulieu.