Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I know it is the fond hope from all of us that we don’t have to go this process again. We

are going to make every conceivable effort to make sure we hit the targets, but we are not in the position to offer an ultimate guarantee. But we will be briefing Members on an ongoing basis here going forward as we work our way forward through these current challenges until we get this project stabilized and then going forward to conclusion. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Miltenberger. Next on my list I have Mr. Beaulieu.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I’d like to thank the department for the Deh Cho Bridge Project Estimate Summary. I find it kind of interesting that the issue doesn’t largely seem to be one of a construction nature. It looks like the actual construction costs have only increased by about 3.7 percent as the estimates that we’re currently receiving from the department from the estimates that were originally budgeted in May of 2009 compared to the estimates from the GNWT today that takes us to the end of the project. That’s only about a 3.7 percent increase. That’s actually pretty good.

I think our issues further down the page there are that there’s a substantial increase of the management and interest costs. I guess mostly in those areas and even the contingency’s gone down a bit. But it looks like the construction management and corporate management and interest costs are the majority of the request here. It’s almost $11 million of the request for $15 million. Almost $11 million of it is just management. This actually gives me a little more comfort to know that the construction costs have a little bit of control here. If it’s only estimated to be higher than what the original budget was from May 2009 by 3.75 percent, approximately, then it’s actually not too bad.

Maybe the issue here is not what’s happening over the waters of the Mackenzie but maybe more or less the management of the project seems to be a little bit out of control here. But to know that’s where the cost is, also recognizing that that type of cost is also a lot easier to control than had the cost been more unpredictable with the construction portion of the project. I am offering that as maybe something that would make it easier for the government to manage or control costs, because the majority of the costs seem to be in management.

It’s difficult to control interest costs, no doubt. I don’t know why the interest cost has gone so high from the original estimates. It’s almost $3 million and just change in interest costs. I’m not sure why that occurred if the money was advanced at a certain date and the schedule for payback is happening, or it’s scheduled to happen in the future, then I don’t know why the big shift in interest. Maybe I will ask that question of why the interest cost. I think the corporate management, construction management

is probably self-explanatory, but I’ll ask on the interest costs.

Thank you, Mr. Beaulieu. Mr. Neudorf.

I’m good with that. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

Thank you, Mr. Beaulieu. Next on my list is Mr. Yakeleya.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Just a couple of questions. Have the Ministers had an analysis of reducing the costs in my region by having a bridge here? In light of what we’re going to increase the budget for the bridge, I think the Minister of Transportation said it has a negative effect on the cost of living to reduce the cost of living. I know at one time it made sense, but now we’re adding additional dollars to it. Is this still the case to reduce the cost in the Sahtu and in Behchoko or Fort Providence or even Yellowknife?

Thank you, Mr. Yakeleya. Mr. Neudorf.

Thank you, Mr. Neudorf. Anything further, Mr. Yakeleya?

Thank you. Is there a possibility of getting the latest explanation that the Minister gave us on paper for my reading and reviewing?

Thank you, Mr. Yakeleya. Mr. Miltenberger.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. That information is available on the website for the Member’s ease of reference.

I will look at it and see if it eases my reference here. Okay. I have to read this before I have other questions I can speak later on to. That will be it for me.

Thank you, Mr. Yakeleya. Next on my list I have Mr. Ramsay.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. One thing just picking up on Mr. Yakeleya’s question is that the tolls are indexed every year. The government doesn’t often like to say that. But the tolls are indexed as well as the $2 million is indexed. Everything is indexed in this project for 35 years. I just wanted to put that out there.

One other thing I wanted to touch on is next Thursday is coming pretty quick. Members are going to go back to their constituencies and Cabinet is going to do what Cabinet does, and that’s make decisions. I want to know how Cabinet plans on keeping Regular Members in the loop when it comes to this project, and what exactly is happening with this project and how that reporting’s going to take place when Members do go their separate ways. How are we going to be kept in the loop?

Thank you, Mr. Ramsay. Mr. Miltenberger.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. There are a number of ways. We’ll ensure that is done. We can do it by e-mail. We can do it, keeping in mind what he situation may be, to try to set up a conference call. But probably the fastest way would be to e-mail and if there’s a need to get more collaborative feedback, then we can look at some type of hook-up on a conference call.

Now that the project has, like I said, for all intents and purposes, become a Government of the Northwest Territories project, I think the reporting on that project should be more readily available, let’s say, than it has been in the past. We should know on a day-to-day basis what’s happening with that project. I’m not saying I want to know on a day-to-day basis, but at least if Cabinet could keep Regular Members updated once a month or quarterly, even, as the project moves forward, I think that would be good. It’s always better to hear from our Cabinet colleagues than from the guy or woman on the street. So I’d appreciate that. Thank you.

We’ll of course commit to keeping the Members as fully apprised as we can going forward and we’re also working on improving our public communication so we can address some of the concerns that are out there with the facts and not rely on other

information, but give everybody the best information that’s the most current and available. Thank you.

Just another thing, you know, a lot of Members have talked about it and I’ve talked about it in the past, but the Government of the Northwest Territories, the Department of Transportation has obviously had to incur some costs. I mean, we’ve got a couple of senior staff here that are on the project management team. You know, I’m sure we’ve paid for some of the design review work that’s been ongoing. How are we accounting for that? Is that not incorporated in the budget of the bridge or should it be incorporated in that? You know, if we can get some of the costs back as the Minister has mentioned, this $15 million over time I suppose we could recoup some of that back. Why don’t we charge whatever the Department of Transportation is incurring for costs back to the project so we can recoup that cost, Mr. Chairman? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Ramsay. Mr. Neudorf.