I just didn’t want to, and I don’t want to, divulge confirmation information that was provided to the committee two weeks ago. In answering the Member’s question, those discussions are still currently underway. We are trying to sort those out. We’re working with the Inuvialuit on getting answers to those questions, and when we do have those questions fully answered and we have a package from the federal government, we’ll be back in front of committee and ready, willing and able to answer all the questions the Members have. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Ramsay. Final, short supplementary, Mr. Dolynny.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We’re hearing again, from the Minister’s own words, we have a lot of unanswered questions. How do we come up with the $299 million? It’s beyond me.

We all know that this government has had its hurdles in dealing with cost overruns on many of our large-scale projects of the past. The Auditor General of Canada has confirmed this. Can the Minister of Transportation indicate to this House what will happen to our cost-sharing agreement with our federal counterparts should the price of this road project exceed $299 million? Are taxpayers left holding the bag? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

First off, we haven’t made any decisions on the project. We’re still a ways off on making those decisions. Secondly, that is a very hypothetical question. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Ramsay. Member for Hay River South, Mrs. Groenewegen.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In follow-up to my Member’s statement today with this very exciting news about a community channel for Hay River going on to Bell Expressvu, as I

mentioned, currently the community channel is managed by volunteers from the Hay River Elks Club. Now, there is a TV Channel Society, but it is all based on volunteers. I would imagine that now that we have gone live nationally that there will be a lot of people interested in having some input into the local content of that new TV station.

We have many photographers, videographers, media, people with interest in our community that do amazing work that would really promote the North. I would also say that we have events in Hay River that I think the rest of Canada would like to see. Just this past weekend we had dogsled races, snow machine races, we had the Kamba Carnival with every kind of traditional and northern activity you can think of. This could have all been videotaped, and this could be broadcast now right across the country and it’s local Hay River content.

I’d like to ask the Minister of ITI if he can see the value of this in terms of promoting Hay River and having a very positive effect on our economy. But the downside being that, right now, is it’s all being undertaken by volunteers. Is there any money allocated or earmarked within the government, within ITI, that an organization like the Community Channel Society could access to get some help to now orchestrate this amazing project? Thank you.

Thank you, Mrs. Groenewegen. Minister of Industry, Tourism and Investment, Mr. Ramsay.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I thank the Member for her statement and questions today in the House. I think it’s a great opportunity, not only for Hay River but for the Northwest Territories, and if we can plug in the tourism angle, and arts and crafts, and a number of other things around the territory into that channel in promoting the Northwest Territories, I think that’s a good initiative. We’d be more than happy, at ITI, to sit down with the Member and see what support the community needs to have a staff person located there to maximize our opportunities through that channel. Thank you.

That’s what I wanted to hear and I’ll look forward to working on this with the Minister. Thank you.

Thank you, Mrs. Groenewegen. Member for Yellowknife Centre, Mr. Hawkins.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I have to say that the $299 million was not hypothetical; those are the Minister’s own words. So let’s roll down to some of this.

It’s not hypothetical when the GNWT is brokering a deal with the federal government. So maybe the

Minister can enlighten this House, and educate the public, on what the risks are with this particular deal if and when cost overruns do happen. And that’s not hypothetical because there’s not one single GNWT project that hasn’t had cost overruns. These are real risk matrix problems that the department will be working on.

Thank you, Mr. Hawkins. Minister of Transportation, Mr. Ramsay.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. That confidential briefing was provided to Members two weeks ago. It included a risk matrix. I also committed during that meeting to provide Members with an updated risk matrix.

We don’t have a funding agreement with the federal government. We haven’t wrapped up negotiations with the Inuvialuit on royalties and land tenure. There are some things that we have to finalize before we can get that number into committee and get another presentation before the standing committee. No decision has been made on this project. We are still awaiting word from the federal government. Thank you.

Mr. Speaker, I can’t argue with the facts that the Minister just said. He’s right; no decisions have been made. But I can tell you, clearly, that there is a deal being brokered that sounds like a decision made by Cabinet.

Speaking to the risk matrix, would the Minister be willing and certainly be innovative by providing a plain language document of the risk matrix based on the Inuvik-Tuk Highway Project so Northerners can fully understand what their territorial government is taking on and what burden they may be burdened with? Thank you.

Mr. Speaker, that would be pages 9 and 10 of the briefing that was provided, the deck that was provided to the committee. The Member is well aware of what the risks are. We laid them all out on the table two weeks ago.

As the project moves forward, we will continue to lay out the risks associated with this project. For a project that’s close to $300 million, there will be some risks. Thank you.

Mr. Speaker, when it goes $299 million and you say it’s close to $300 million, that is pretty well $300 million, so we can’t undersell this. I do not have the authority to release the risk matrix, but the problem is that the public is being denied the facts of how risky this project is and how scary it looks from this side of the House. Only the Minister has that authority.

Will the Minister release a plain language document, the details, the risks that have been identified and what potential burdens that Northerners may be taking on similar to what just

happened to the Deh Cho Bridge? They need to be fully informed.

Mr. Speaker, we will have a project soon. Hopefully sometime this week we’ll get answers back from the federal government. Our objective is to have that risk assessment, the risk matrix out for public consumption hopefully by the end of this week.

For the Member to stand up in the House and say that it’s only going to be Cabinet’s decision on this project and that we are brokering a deal, he’s making it seem like we’re doing this behind closed doors. That decision will be made on the floor of this House by Members of this Legislative Assembly. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Ramsay. Final, short supplementary, Mr. Hawkins.

Mr. Speaker, I think the Minister’s light on detail when it comes to how risky the risk matrix actually is. It talks about potential problems.

Will the Minister fully commit to this House in a clear answer as to all the particular risks in a plain language document so Northerners from north to south, from east to west, all Northerners will have a full opportunity to realize what risks are involved in this project and how serious the GNWT is in ignoring some of the risks and what we may be taking on as taxpayers? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, we are not ignoring the risks. The reality is, in a project this size, there are risks. There are risks in everything. There are risks when you walk outside the door. We will, like we provided to the Members of this House, provide publicly the risks associated with this project. We are still trying to put this together. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Ramsay. The Member for Frame Lake, Ms. Bisaro.

Thank you, Ms. Bisaro. The honourable Minister of Education, Culture and Employment, Mr. Lafferty.

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. The recommendations will be brought to my attention to factors in setting up a minimum wage for the NWT. As you know, we increased our minimum wage in April 2010, another one in April 2011 and we’re still working on 2012. So those are just some of the areas we’re currently exploring. The people that will be part of the standing committee, I don’t have the actual list in front of me, but I can provide that to the Member once they’re established. Mahsi.