Mr. Speaker, it is no secret that we humans are wreaking havoc on our environment, yet we persist in ignoring the effect that our actions are creating and continue with behaviour that only

hastens the demise of our world. Last Friday, I had the opportunity to attend the meeting of NWT and Alberta government Ministers and officials. I was reminded of the lack of commitment to the environment that exists in our society. Simply observing the refreshments provided for the meeting highlighted this for me. How? Disposable coffee cups and bottles of water.

There are small acts of conservation that this government can take in regards to the environment which will demonstrate our commitment to help Mother Nature. If we use my example of what we can do, well this can be done.

At any government sponsored event, whether it is a meeting, a conference, a ceremony, we should demand certain environmental and recycling protocols of the caterer or the organizers. The provision of coffee and tea must be accompanied by recyclable mugs or cups. Water supplies must be non-bottled and accompanied by recyclable mugs or cups. If the supplier of the refreshments cannot agree to these conditions, then I am sure that there will be another business happy to take over the provision of that service. This approach should extend to all offices of this government, Mr. Speaker.

We need a policy regarding the use of bottled water, a policy which covers all departments and all offices in all communities. We are fortunate to live in a jurisdiction which has some of the best water in the world available to us locally just outside our door, in most cases. There is no excuse and no need for bottled water anywhere in the NWT. I have been here more than 35 years, Mr. Speaker, and I have yet to experience any ill effects from drinking river, lake or tap water. How many other jurisdictions in the world can make that same claim about their water? Not many.

The use of bottled water is an unnecessary expense both financially and environmentally. GNWT departments must be directed to refrain from providing bottled water in their offices, at their meetings, at their conferences. A policy banning bottled water would be a small step towards environmental savings. Let’s get started. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Ms. Bisaro. The honourable Member for Mackenzie Delta, Mr. Krutko.

Mr. Speaker, the elders want nothing less than what elders receive in social housing. They want to be able to maintain a roof over their heads and be treated no differently than elders in the same age in our communities.

Mr. Speaker, my understanding is the income support review was going to take place which will look at what the cost to this government is for an elder to live in public housing, which is around $20,000 a year to maintain that unit, and basically

I’ll offer a similar arrangement for elders living in their own homes. With that, Mr. Speaker, I will be asking the Minister responsible for income support questions on this matter. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Krutko. Item 4, returns to oral questions. Item 5, recognition of visitors in the gallery. The honourable Member for Nahendeh, Mr. Menicoche.

Thank you Mr. Speaker. I’d like to recognize Nahendeh constituents who are residing in Yellowknife but they call Fort Simpson their home. She may correct me on this but I believe she is the president of the Kole Crook Fiddle Association I spoke about in my Member’s statement, Ms. Gerda Hazenberg and her daughter, Elissa. Welcome.

Thank you, Mr. Menicoche. The honourable Member for Yellowknife Centre, Mr. Hawkins.

Mr. Speaker, again on this, this is the second day it gives me great pleasure to recognize my oldest son McKinley Hawkins. He’s up in the office this week with me and at his insistence he had to come down and watch session in real live action. He was watching it on TV yesterday but he said he had to come down. If I may bear for a moment, Mr. Speaker, I was trying to decide why he was sitting on that side of the House and I thought, well, maybe he wanted to sit on the side of the House that had the money or maybe did he want to sit on the side of the House that he could see the pretty faces. I’m going with the second one. The handsome faces.

Thank you, Mr. Hawkins. Welcome to everyone in the House today. Hope you’re enjoying the proceedings. Item 6, acknowledgements. Item 7, oral questions. The honourable Member for Kam Lake, Mr. Ramsay.

Mr. Speaker, I’ve got some questions today for the Premier and it gets back to my Member’s statement in regard to the Deh Cho Bridge project. Much has been made about the decision to go forward with the Deh Cho Bridge project. It was signed off on a Friday afternoon, 72 hours before the last general election here in the Northwest Territories. During some questioning to

the Premier back in November of 2007, shortly after the election, the Premier, at that time, in a response to a question that I had for him, made a commitment and I’ll quote: “I have committed to look at the process that was used and come back and sit down with Members and look at where we go from here.”

The first question I’ve got for the Premier is what work has been done on reviewing the process that allowed the concession agreement to be signed off by the last government and when will we get that information? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Ramsay. The honourable Premier, Mr. Roland.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Member has on quite a number of times referred to the project of the last government, what the last government did. I have, as the Member has pointed out, committed to the process, had the staff look at what was involved, and I’m getting the latest on that as to when we’d be prepared to sit down with committee on that. Thank you.

Mr. Speaker, these questions were 15 months ago and the government has still not come back with a P3 policy that would allow projects like this to happen. Again, I’d like to ask the Premier, what is the current status of the Deh Cho Bridge project and this is happening with today’s government? What is the current status of the Deh Cho Bridge project? Thank you.

Mr. Speaker, I’d have to refer that to the Minister of Transportation as he’d have the details on that. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Roland. The honourable Minister of Transportation, Mr. Michael McLeod.

Mr. Speaker, the latest information on the Deh Cho Bridge project is that four of the piers on the southern side of the river were poured over the past several months. They are now working on the pier beds that are supposed to be put up before the ice moves this year. They are behind schedule. We’re expecting them to play catch-up and have the pier beds mounted as the schedule calls for prior to pulling out the temporary bridge, which is scheduled to come out in March/April. Thank you.

Mr. Speaker, I’d like to ask the question to the Minister of Transportation. Are there currently any outstanding lawsuits, cost overruns or other costs that will accrue to the Government of the Northwest Territories pertaining to the Deh Cho Bridge project? Thank you.

Mr. Speaker, I don’t believe there are any cost claims or cost overruns that have come to the Government of the Northwest Territories per se. I would have to confirm, but I believe there are a number of claims being filed within the different companies, the subcontractors and the contractors. However, the territorial government itself has not received any. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. McLeod. Final supplementary, Mr. Ramsay.

Mr. Speaker, I’d like to ask the Minister, is the Government of the Northwest Territories named in any of these claims that are currently at play and do we risk any financial exposure in those claims? Thank you.

I’ll pass that question on to the Minister. He can answer it if he chooses. It’s questionable if there are any claims or at what stage they’re at. Mr. McLeod.

Mr. Speaker, the Member is asking my opinion whether liability is an issue right now with us. I don’t know if I can answer that. I would have to say, and repeat my answer to the previous question, that the claims have not been filed as to the Government of the Northwest Territories. There are claims within the different companies. The project is at 80 percent completion and on schedule for this year. There is a mechanism that the companies are trying to work out any of the issues that are arising amongst themselves. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. McLeod. The honourable Member for Hay River South, Mrs. Groenewegen.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I’d like to ask the Minister of Transportation if we are devoting enough resources to the maintenance for equipment and product to maintain all the highways in the Northwest Territories, but most specifically today I’m thinking of the portion of highway that goes from the border to Hay River. Are we adequately resourcing the Department of Transportation to maintain that highway in good condition? Thank you.