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.