Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. It’s no secret that Canada and the NWT, by default, are in the midst of a huge economic downturn. Members and Ministers alike have spoken about it often this last week, but if there is something we can be happy about it’s that we, the NWT, are to be the recipients of a sizable amount of funds from the federal government, the results of that government’s efforts to stimulate our economy. I know that our government intends to use these funds to their fullest. This money will allow us to start more projects and start them sooner than planned, but it will also put significant stress on our ability to complete all of our intended infrastructure projects.
Both GNWT staff and local businesses will be pushed beyond their normal limits. Some of these projects will be large ones and it’s quite likely that we will look for and find willing partners, industry partners, to help us bring them about.
Business facilitated projects will become more and more common in the future. As well, as northern businesses grow and expand, GNWT is going to receive proposals from these businesses to enter into partnerships with them. We currently have a proposal from the Alberta company ATCO Group in regards to a potential partnership with the NWT Power Corporation.
In my view, it’s imperative that before we enter into any agreement with any partner, that the government has a well-established, well thought out policy for public/private partnership; P3s.
Yet, as of this time, GNWT still does not have a policy to guide us in entering into, negotiating, administering and overseeing P3 projects and it’s long past due for us to have one. In this year of
more than the usual infrastructure dollars and the resulting more than normal number of projects on the table and with the federal government’s emphasis on P3 for Building Canada Fund dollars, finalizing a P3 policy should be a top priority for this government. Why is it not a priority? What is holding it back? I don’t think we want to get caught. We definitely don’t want to get caught with a too-good-to-be-true proposal from someone for a Mackenzie Valley Highway, for instance, and no P3 policy to ensure that the deal we sign is a good one.
Without a comprehensive P3 policy, we risk entering into a contract that does not make the best use of our dollars, does not create efficiencies for the project and lacks the necessary financial security for the government and, by extension, our residents.
Goodness knows we do not want to sign our financial lives away as we did for the Deh Cho Bridge and, Mr. Speaker, I will have questions for the lead Minister for infrastructure later on. Thank you.
