Thank you, Mr. Speaker. This past summer a number of people noticed that there was erosion of the river bank and the ground slumping upstream at the Enbridge pipeline.

After hearing about this issue, the chief and council of the Liidlii Kue First Nations contacted Enbridge to inform them of the potential hazard.

Mr. Speaker, Enbridge is well prepared for these issues. It is my understanding that each September the company holds its annual emergency training exercise with local companies, Nogha Enterprises, Rowe's Construction and Great Slave Helicopters, and the local fire department, RCMP, and Department of Lands personnel to prepare them for these types of situations.

Luckily, this situation did not involve a spill or a break in the line. Fortunately, the company had and followed their erosion control measure plan. What does this involve, you might ask? Well, it is about how the company monitors, assesses, and remediates the situation. As well, the company has a good preventable maintenance and a monitoring program that alerts them of changing condition to the stability of the ground.

Mr. Speaker, this past November the company felt it needed to address the sloping issue in the pipeline, which led them to shut it down. The rationale was because of the sloping stability concerns.

Once this decision was made, the company informed the bands that were affected, Deh Cho First Nation and the village, of the shutdown. For the communities outside Fort Simpson, the company brought them into Fort Simpson to hear the message directly, then they followed up with a letter.

Mr. Speaker, I am proud to say Enbridge is working with Liidlii Kue First Nations to utilize the traditional knowledge to help address this sloping stability issue. As well, the local companies have taken the necessary safety training offered by Enbridge so that they can work on the project.

In speaking with the Enbridge regional contact, the company, including personnel from down south, was very impressed with the community and the region's ability to get the necessary workers and equipment to work on the remediation part of the project.

Mr. Speaker, as of December 31st, Enbridge expenditure was at $5.7 million, just for Fort Simpson.

Mr. Speaker, it is my understanding crews will continue installation and begin the borehole program the week of January 9 and it is expected to run until the end of February. Mr. Speaker, I seek unanimous consent to finish my statement. Thank you.

---Unanimous consent granted