Thanks, Mr. Chair. That is helpful information to have, but surely to goodness we must have some sense of what the ongoing costs are going to be for O and M for this project and what it is going to cost taxpayers of the Northwest Territories. What is that estimate? Thanks, Mr. Chair.

Minister.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. We are not going to know what the costs associated with their bid on that is until they put their bid in. That is part of their total bid package. We have a cost estimate of what we think this road is going to cost us for the total amount over the 25 years, and the only thing that is going to cost the Government of the Northwest Territories over the life of the procurement of this P3 project is a payment we make on an annual basis. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you. Mr. O'Reilly.

Thanks, Mr. Chair. If the Minister does not want to tell me while the microphones are on, that is great, but can he provide in confidence, then, to Regular MLAs what the expected ongoing O and M or annual payments are going to have to be for the maintenance of this road once it is constructed? Can he commit to do that? Thanks, Mr. Chair.

Thank you. Minister.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. The department will have to have a look at this and see what we can share without jeopardizing the procurement process of this project. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you. Mr. O'Reilly.

Thanks, Mr. Chair. I am not feeling really comfortable about where we are getting with this, and I know I have had constituents raising questions with me as well about how much this project is actually going to cost us. Maybe we could get a briefing or something from the Minister where he can more freely share information with us. Thanks, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Mr. O'Reilly. Minister.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. We will go back and have a look at that and see if there is an opportunity to be able to do that and what we can share with the Members in confidence. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Minister. I have no one further on my list. I will call this activity. Oh, Mr. Vanthuyne.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Just a couple questions. Let us go back to Highway No. 3 just for a moment. I recognize that there are a number of issues with the road as it relates to permafrost degradation and settling issues. All of us know that, once upon a time, that road was a gravel road. Maybe it was a gravel road for a good reason.

If we know that we are going to have to sit and wait for this road to settle out for an undetermined time, has the department done any work as it relates to cost benefit versus chipsealing it or going back to gravel and managing dust control with calcium and packing? It would seem to me that operating and maintenance costs would be considerably less. You could get to parts of the road that have degradation much quicker and repair it. It just seems to me that we would be able to have a much smoother ride. Is there a reason why we would not be considering at least maybe even a section, the worst sections, going back to gravel? Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you. Minister.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Between the questions that I get in the House about this section of road and other pieces of section of the Northwest Territories that are challenging, and the conversations I have with the general public, I do not believe they would be very receptive to the idea of us going back to gravel.

Even though I believe what the Member is saying, that it would probably address some of that stuff in maybe a little different manner, the general public, I think, wants to see chipseal on this section of the highway. We have prioritized the most challenging areas, like we said, from 2015 to now and working our way forward, but that is something we can take under consideration. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you. Mr. Vanthuyne.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Yes. Nobody is trying to sling mud. It is about trying to get this road into as safe a situation as possible and make it a pleasant road to ride. I am not sure that folks are all that concerned whether it is chipseal or not. If the conditions overall would be improved if it were gravel, then I am sure they would be in favour of that.

Would the department give consideration to going back to a section and putting it under call it a pilot project, and take a 10 kilometre stretch and go back to gravel and monitor it for a period of time? That way, we can make some better decisions long-term for that section of highway. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you. Minister.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Like I have said, that is something we can look at considering doing. I would be interested to see what the general public thinks about us doing that. I have talked to lots of people about this section of highway; they are not scared to come up to me and talk to me about this section of highway right across the Northwest Territories, not just Yellowknife, Hay River, general public travelling back and forth, and it is something we can consider doing. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Minister. Mr. Vanthuyne.

Well, then, in considering that, which would be well-appreciated, then let us do that, then. Let us reach out to the public. Let us put a survey out there. Let us find a way to consult and get some feedback on that, because that would be well-appreciated. I would appreciate getting that kind of input. That is not a question; that is a recommendation.

Mr. Chair, I would like to move over to Highway No. 4. As we are all very aware, Highway No. 4, of course, is the gateway to the Tibbitt to Contwoyto winter road, and there were a number of incidents and accidents on that road last year. Of course, that was an anomaly to some degree. I want to ask the Minister: were any of those accidents caused, or do we know if there was any cause on our part, as it related to road conditions that we would have been responsible for? Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you. Minister.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. My understanding is that the two accidents were due to driver inattention or driver error. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you. Mr. Vanthuyne.