Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I’d agree with everything the Minister has just stated about reasons why we should look at hydro expansion in the Northwest Territories. That’s not debatable. What’s debatable in all of this is the government’s involvement, again, with another partner who had no equity, who the government, in fact, had to pay to be our partner. I mean, what kind of partner is a partner that you actually have to pay to show up?

The government got lambasted over the Auditor General’s report on the Deh Cho Bridge. We have got to, at the end of the day, learn some lessons about partnerships, and how we get into partnerships, and what risk we are going to put taxpayers’ dollars at here in the Northwest Territories. This is another example of the government going out and flaunting that responsibility to look after the public purse, because how is the $4.2 million going to come back to the Government of the Northwest Territories?

One point seven five million is what we paid to the partner to be our partner. Again, I’m having trouble understanding why we would have a partner that we’d have to actually pay. Maybe I’ll start with that question to the Minister. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Ramsay. Minister Miltenberger.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. All of the $4.2 million or all of the $17 million, should this project go ahead and start generating revenue, will be reimbursed to the Government of the Northwest Territories. We just had a fairly intense debate here about devolution and relationship with Aboriginal governments and the need to engage with our Aboriginal partners. This is an example of what’s possible. There’s more to equity, in my mind, for ourselves as politicians, than having straight cash. When we’re dealing with the major landowners or what will be major landowners in the area, there’s a benefit to having support. They bring all that to the table, and this is a project that will deal with some of the broader issues that were referenced by my colleague from Tu Nedhe, for example, about the economy and being able to have strong, independent communities and regions. If this goes ahead and we have a successful partnership, it should be a rising tide that raises all boats, not just some. I appreciate the Member’s concern.

We also do have the P3 policy, which will be coming to committee so they can take a look at what the result of all the work that will be, as well, as we go forward, help define future involvement. Thank you.

I thank the Minister for that. I think that’s clearly what Members want to see, is a policy clearly laid out that is going to identify what the rules of engagement are for the Government of the Northwest Territories when it comes to entering into partnerships.

I know the Minister stated money is not everything. That’s right, it isn’t everything, but at the end of the day, what is everything is responsibility and risk. You have to share the risk. In order to be in a partnership, you’ve got to share some of the risk.

With the Deh Cho Bridge project we took on all that risk and now we know how that’s played itself out. We got into a partnership there that we couldn’t get out of and we’re going to be paying the price for the next 35 years for that Deh Cho Bridge project, and in this instance we paid all along. Every time you turned around in the life of the last government, I can remember it was like clockwork, every six or seven months the former Premier would come forward and ask us to approve another loan guarantee for the Deh Cho Bridge Corporation. We’ve also approved loan guarantees in the past for the Taltson expansion.

Again, I think the bottom line for me is somebody, somewhere, has got to protect the public purse from exposure to risk, and we haven’t done that. The Auditor General of Canada has clearly indicated that in her report on the Deh Cho Bridge, and if the Auditor General of Canada came and had a look at our involvement in the Taltson expansion, I’m sure that they would come to the same conclusion that the Government of the Northwest Territories enters into these partnerships and assumes all the risk, and the risk is on the taxpayers here in the Northwest Territories, not on anybody else.

Again, my frustration is with our inability to manage the public purse in a fashion that would benefit a government. We just do not do that. We throw that around. Then when things go sideways or the project gets derailed, who pays the price? It’s the taxpayers in the Northwest Territories. Again, I think somebody has got to be looking out for the residents here in the Northwest Territories, all the residents, and protecting that public purse wherever possible. Thank you.

Once again, I appreciate the Member’s comments and ongoing concern about the public purse and protecting the taxpayer, and that’s the final analysis of the job of this Assembly, of this government and as myself, as the current Finance Minister. Overall, when you factor in all the things we’ve dealt with and the size

of the budget and all the issues we’ve dealt with, I think collectively we’ve managed our way through some very difficult times, things that maybe in hindsight we would not do the same way going forward. We’ve adjusted some of our policies to reflect that. But I share the Member’s concern that we have to be fiscally prudent, but not to the point where we don’t want to do anything, but we have to make sure always remembering that these are public dollars. Thank you.

I thank the Minister again for that. In closing, I think we all share that feeling that we’ve got to do things right. We have done a number of things right in the past three and a half years but there are some things, yes, if we could go back in time would we do them again? Not a chance. However, we do have to move forward and I think the key to all of this is the P3 policy and, like I said, what the rules of engagement are going to be as we move forward.

My apologies if I missed this, but has anybody asked the Minister when exactly that policy, I know it’s in draft form now, when are we going to get a policy in place that we can actually work with? Thank you.

In fact, the policy went through Cabinet and FMB today for approval. So it will be on its way to committee for them to look at and see what the fruits of all our collective labours were. Thank you.

Thank you, Minister Miltenberger. We’re on page 7, budget, treasury and debt management, not previously authorized, $4.2 million.

Agreed. Total department, not previously authorized, $4.194 million.

Agreed. Sport, recreation and youth regional operations, not previously authorized, $1,000.

Regional operations, not previously authorized, $261,000.

Agreed. Total department, not previously authorized, $261,000.

Let’s move along to page 9, Public Works and Services, operations expenditures, directorate, not previously authorized, $5,000.

Agreed. Asset management, not previously authorized, $22,000.

Agreed. Total department, notpreviously authorized, $27,000.