Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. Just with the grants and contributions for ground ambulance and highway rescue, the Village of Fort Simpson has been asking about this line item for some time now and of course the concern is that if there is an incident on the highway system, then the fire department has to leave the community with the only fire truck that is available, leaving the community at risk for a little while there. That’s a concern. I think the Minister is on the working group for the ground ambulance and highway rescue and did indicate it would be in the millions of dollars. However, like I mentioned earlier in my opening remarks, there was an opportunity working with another northern community of utilizing their highway rescue vehicle which didn’t suit the needs in their community and they’re willing to discuss an option with the Village of Fort Simpson. They did come up with one unique
solution there that they are eligible for the $40,000 on an annual basis under this line item and we did ask the question, if they did get a good deal on that truck -- it would be about $160,000 -- could they use that contribution amount, take it to the bank and say we want to buy this vehicle today and because we’re getting a transfer of $40,000 for the next four years... That’s the kind of nice unique solution that would answer highway public safety concerns, community concerns about coverage, about the ambulance remaining in the village.
That is a real concern, is what happens if there is a double incident. What happens if they refuse to go out to an accident site with their fire truck? It’s kind of like a conundrum. They are obligated to go because they are getting contributions, and probably refusing to go on the highway is probably contrary to an oath they take as firefighters, as first aiders, et cetera. At the same time, they did come up with a unique solution that was offered to the Minister’s office and I’d like to raise it once again.