Thank you, Mr. Chairman. As a Yellowknife MLA, in my experience I don’t tend to have a ton of transportation issues in particular. But first I’ll say that what dealings I have had with the department have been very good and I find them generally quite easy to deal with. So that being certainly the primary experience I’ve gone through over the years, I too would like to highlight the Deh Cho Bridge as a significant issue that still continues to be a matter of concern in the riding and I look forward to any further update we have, both on the quality of the project and, of course, how the financing stress plays out on our books over the long haul.

The only criticism I hear, when I say criticism I would refer to the strongest voice about the bridge and the bridge project, more has to do with the fact of getting the project done as opposed to what we’ve been saddled with. I think there has been a coming of a realization that by the time this government came into force that train had already left the station and it’s a matter of now how do we giddy up and do this. Whether the bridge opens up on time or not in November, by and large I’ll say the constituents who’ve come to me have said that they’re more happy to hear that if the bridge takes an extra month or so just do it as opposed to any other worry. Their feelings are being carried across quite simply that if the bridge has a month delay, what do they care? It’s a 100-year bridge. One month isn’t going to matter on the life of the extent of the overall project. They would rather hear that quality assurance was taken over a one-month delay. Again, we’re looking at the front end of the project and not realizing the length and quality of the infrastructure.

I don’t tend to talk about the bridge that much. I think my colleague Mr. Ramsay speaks more than enough for most of the Assembly on his perspective. Although it’s different than mine. I just think it’s a legacy project that we’ll look at in a few years and see it in that regard. It’s a critical piece of infrastructure and if we don’t build these types of things, probably no one will. I say that with some hesitation, of course, although I was a bridge supporter going into the election of 2007 I certainly didn’t buy into it in sort of the manner it was done late in the hour in the method it was signed off in. I’m also a realist and I accept the reality that we’ve been sort of weighed in with.

That said, I also look forward, as mentioned by my colleague, to the details that come forward by our

Auditor General and I’m sure we’ll all deal with them in the good stead that they’ll be presented in. Our Auditor General, this being one of her last stops, I don’t know if it’s officially the last stop, but what I’ll say is I learned a lot from her in a number of years meeting her and her staff and have found that they’re able to sort of boil every project down to its nuts and bolts. Whether we agree or disagree, committee tends to agree with her and departments tend to disagree with her, but whether we agree or disagree she has a way of putting things down to what they really mean and takes the drama out of the situation. As that comes forward I certainly look forward to the discussion.

Some of the issues that I’ve come up, and like I say, I don’t usually talk about the bridge so this is one of the few times I will. I’m not the least bit concerned with the money that was held back that we have in trust in cash. I mean, I think that’s a pretty good deal. I don’t care who paid us, whether it was a guarantee or a cheque from the Government of New Brunswick. By and large we have a substantial sum to pick up any discrepancy on the project. To me that’s what I’ve told the citizens in my riding and they seem quite happy that a holdback is there for exactly what happens is sometimes projects have problems. I’ve seen it many times in my experience, although I’ve never run, obviously, a project this large, but there aren’t too many people who have. That said, I have run some projects and I understand that the reality is that there are always discrepancies on particular initiatives. I think the department has done the right thing. Has it been an easy project to juggle? I would run the risk of saying yes and no. I think probably if the department had it from day one it probably would have been a lot better off, but history is one of those things that’s always clear when we look back. It’s anyone’s guess looking forward.

As far as the budget goes, I’ll follow along with my other colleagues page by page as they report particular issues and perhaps I’ll be inspired to question something further than what I’ve seen thus far. As I sort of started off with the start of my statements, particularly I don’t tend to get a lot of feedback regarding transportation issues in the riding. If I do they tend to be dealt with expeditiously in a good way through the department. I’d be remiss to say people aren’t necessarily echoing about Highway No. 3 in the sense of greatest of accolades with the way the road is, but again I’m a realist and I think most Yellowknifers tend to be realists in that they recognize the environment that we live in and there is a certain amount of acceptance. I’ve often told them if you reduce your speed limit by about five K to 10 K some of those bumps do smooth out. When you get a little heavy on that pedal, they seem to show up in places where you don’t expect them.

That said, I’m happy to hear other thoughts and comments from other colleagues.