Thanks to the Minister. This has been a very, very long time coming. We are four years now, well, not quite four years, but we’re three and a half years anyway from when the commitment was made. This was supposed to be completed in 2013. We’re now in 2015.

I’d like to know from the Minister why has it taken so long for this to get started, because I gather it hasn’t even yet started.

One of the things that I have been discussing with the department has been the value of a retrospective analysis and determining whether or not it is beneficial to do a retrospective analysis. We have a functional bridge that is doing what it’s intended to do. It was built within the allowable budget that was agreed to in the House. We’re looking at that and we’re determining whether or not there is some value. I realize that the Members want to see a retrospective analysis. I am trying to determine whether or not there is some value in that.

Thank you, Mr. Beaulieu. Final, short supplementary, Ms. Bisaro.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It’s a little hard to be short when the Minister is questioning the value of this analysis. This was a P3 project which went from a P3 project to not a P3 project which was fraught with problems and cost us all kinds of money.

To the Minister: It’s not the value of the bridge itself, it’s looking at the process and the process that broke down and determining why it broke down and what we can do to make it better. Why will he not consider that instead of the value of the bridge? Thank you.

Thank you. The department’s opinion is that we would look at the value of it and if we think that we can do retrospective analysis fairly efficiently and not at a great cost to the government, we will do the analysis. The Member is right; we have not started on that, but if we make a determination that we think it is a valuable piece of information that will help us in the future and not just being done to show what has happened but something that has been done so we can learn from it, then we will do that analysis. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Beaulieu. The Member for Nahendeh, Mr. Menicoche.

Thank you, Mr. Menicoche. The Minister of ENR, Mr. Miltenberger.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. If the Member will bear with me…

---Laughter

…I’ll try to answer that question. If the Member has a specific example about what particular type of education program he would suggest, I’d be happy to consider that, as long as it is not too unbearably expensive. Thank you.

Thank you very much. I’ll certainly bear with the Minister myself there. While Tuktu the Caribou is a noble name, I believe that we can also do better. There could be Blaze the Beaver, Fire-free Fox, Wise Owl, Wet Wolverine, but what I’m getting at is I believe that we need a territory-wide campaign, something that we can identify with as residents, as children to be fire-wise and to protect our environment and putting out fires as we cook, et cetera. But I believe that we need a centralized way to do it much like the Smokey the Bear campaign in the United States. Thank you.

Thank you. I appreciate the Member’s suggestion and I’ll have a discussion with the department about how that would fit in. We’re only a couple of months away from fire season. It might be something that takes a little more time than that. It might get flagged for a transition issue with the government, but we’ll take a look at the Member’s suggestion and his comments will have a great bearing on the outcome. Thank you.

Thank you very much. It is about getting back to the “bear” necessities. I’m certainly glad that he’s willing to listen to it and if the Minister can speak with his officials, it’s at the formative stage. It’s an idea that its time has come. We have always spoken in this House lately about how much we are growing. I think a little thing like this will bring the Northwest Territories together and generate having a focus point and something we can identify with as we want to be fire smart and protect our resources.

Once again, if they could take that idea and run with it. He also committed to it. I don’t have a fourth question. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Menicoche. More of a comment. The honourable Member for Hay River North, Mr. Bouchard.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I have questions for the Minister of Transportation today. It has been at least 10 days since I brought up the issue of dredging in the Northwest Territories being a requirement and a need.

Has the Minister sent off any communication to the federal Minister responsible for dredging to deal with this issue? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Bouchard. The honourable Minister of Transportation, Mr. Beaulieu.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Yes, I have. Thank you.

I’m going to have to pry the details from the Minister. Can I get more detailed information? Was that letter signed off, and which federal Ministers was it cc’d to and who was it communicated to? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The letter was sent to the Minister responsible for Fisheries and Oceans. He is the Minister responsible for dredging. I don’t recall all the cc’s, but I believe we sent a copy to the Minister of Transportation and the Minister of Public Works. Public Works Canada were the last people to put any money into dredging back in 2012, at the end of the fiscal year. That’s when the last $60,000 was spent on the dredging program in Hay River. It was essentially pointing to the issue at Hay River. There was some issue with barging and getting in and out of the port in Hay River. Thank you.

The Members have been talking about dredging in the Northwest Territories. I have heard some rumours of numbers out there.

Does the department have any estimates on what the dredging costs in Hay River and throughout the Northwest Territories would be? Thank you.

I don’t have the number for the dredging of the Hay River port, although we do have that number at the department. I don’t have the number here with me. I don’t believe we have a number for all of the dredging that would be required for the entire waterway where the company out of Hay River would haul freight. I don’t have that full number, but I can let the Member know what the number is for dredging the Hay River, our estimate. Also, we can get estimates for other parts of the waterway. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Beaulieu. Final, short supplementary, Mr. Bouchard.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Obviously, I would take that information. I look forward to that.

I wonder if I could also get a copy of the letter that was sent to the federal Minister. Thank you.

Yes, we can provide that letter to both Members for Hay River. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Beaulieu. The honourable Member for Weledeh, Mr. Bromley.