Thank you, Mr. Speaker. [Translation] I will also be talking about the Deh Cho Bridge and in reference to the...and it seems that it’s costing a lot of money and it doesn’t seem like they’re working it as well as they could be. [Translation ends]
...Deh Cho Bridge Project and ask questions every time I go home. Many were never convinced that it would be on time and on budget for the original $165 million. There did not seem to be a good plan in place. The recent Auditor General’s report and comments in the media does say that she, too, is not convinced herself that the new cost of $182
million will be enough. The Auditor General also pointed out the risks, mostly financial, were never properly assessed or used as a decision point to re-evaluate the project as they move forward and to minimize the costs.
In general, my constituents are supportive of the bridge because one day it is our dream that we will have one across the Liard. My colleague Mr. Ramsay has always pointed out the inconsistencies in the project and raised accountability issues from day one about the impacts on our future budgets. The Auditor General’s report did point out that this was not a real P3 and that there were many risks that occurred over the project that led us to taking over the project.
Increased costs do lead to increased government expenditures, therefore, affecting how we use our budget in the Northwest Territories. I stand with my colleagues when we say we simply must learn from this, because we will have large public infrastructure projects and we want to have real P3 projects. I also note that we are in discussions in developing a P3 project and I look forward to fully discussing that and having input from this side of the House.