Thanks, Mr. Chair. I understand what the Minister has said. That bridge is already on us. The energy strategy contains commitments to build expansions to Taltson that are going to account for 44 per cent for our greenhouse gas reductions when we don't have any confirmed buyers, no money. I just don't think this is a good investment of money, quite frankly. I can't support this, even at $200,000.

If this money is to be used to look at replacing diesel in existing communities and building transmission lines to get Taltson power to, say, Fort Providence or Kakisa, maybe even to Yellowknife, I could support this. If it is to build huge transmission lines to the diamond mines or to try to sell this power in Alberta or Saskatchewan, that is totally wrong. I will not support any of that. If the Minister wants to respond, I would be happy to hear it. That is not the kind of project that we need. I won't support it. Thanks, Mr. Chair.

Thank you. Would the Minister care to respond? Minister McLeod.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, we can't doom this project to failure before we even start. We need to make a business case. If we build a business case and we are able to secure customers, then that, in turn, will have an effect on ratepayers across Northwest Territories. That will bring their cost of living down. There is a trickle-down effect. It is $200,000 in the overall big picture. I think it is a worthwhile investment. If you are trying to sell something, you need to put a good business case forward. The Member may disagree with me. We have a number of initiatives government-wide, a lot of the money that we spend on initiatives to help a lot of the small communities. Being from a small community, I see that quite clearly. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you. Anything further? Mr. O'Reilly, three minutes.

Thanks, Mr. Chair. I am not going to take up three minutes. Look, we can get way bigger bang for our buck and reduce the cost of energy in small communities by not going ahead with this and putting in space heating that relies on wood pallets, biomass, small-scale power energy retrofits. We can get way bigger bang for our buck than the billions of dollars this is going to cost.

I look forward to seeing what kind of business case is prepared, but this is not the way that we are going to be able to meet our Pan-Canadian Framework targets. This is not the way that we are going to lower the cost of energy in our communities. We have way better ways to achieve that. I don't expect a response, and I don't really want one from the Minister at this point. Thanks, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Mr. O'Reilly. Mr. O'Reilly doesn't want you responding on his time, but I will restart the clock. Minister McLeod, 10 minutes.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I appreciate the opportunity to respond. I am not going to get into a debate with the Member. We can have our debate off the floor. There are a couple of things. This is not billions of dollars. We are talking $200,000 as an initial investment to put a business case together. If the business case proves that it is not feasible to do, then we will have to have a look at it.

It is $200,000. If the business case proves fruitful, then there may be a bit more investment. Again, taking advantage of the federal government's money. It is $200,000 to try to put a business case together to see if it is feasible to go forward and try and secure more funding to see this project through. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I will start on Highway No. 8 here. I see carry-over of $1.4 million. Is this work going to continue this summer? Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you. Minister McLeod.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Yes, Mr. Chair. That is the expectation, that the work will continue this summer. From what I read, there is some gravel resurfacing from kilometres 0 to 30; culvert replacement at kilometres 143 and 148; and brushing at kilometres 161 to 168. I was going to say "Inuvik." Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you. Mr. Blake.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Next, I will go to the Inuvik airport access road. I believe the contract was awarded earlier this spring. Is that where the carry-over is going? Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you. Minister McLeod.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, the construction contract is under way. Carry-over is required to meet the obligation of the federal agreement. The Member is correct. There is going to be some work done on their embankment; widening and replacement of steel pipe, culverts, and chip seal; resurfacing from kilometres 259 to 269, as well as the hospital hill drive near the airport access road. The project is expected to be completed in the fall of 2019. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you. Mr. Blake.

Sounds interesting. Next, I will move to the James Creek maintenance camp, the carry-over there. Last I heard, the contract was near being awarded. Since then, has the contract been awarded? When can we expect to see work being started on this project? Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you. Minister.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, the Member is correct. There is the carry-over. The project was delayed, responding to the Gwich'in Land and Water Board use for a land-use permit. As far as the contract being awarded, I am not aware of the contracts being awarded yet. I will work on my colleague from the Department of Infrastructure to see if a contract has been awarded. It seems to be the bulk of the delay is with the land-use permit. I believe they had chosen a site for this, and then they have to go through the Gwich'in Land and Water Board. We will follow up on that and get a bit more detail and on the awarding of the contract, if it has been awarded yet. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you. Mr. Blake.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. That sounds good. I was hoping they negotiated it, but I am sure we will get a little more information from the Minister once he is available there. I will move onto the parking garage we have in Aklavik. I believe this is the second time where we have this carry-over. Will the department ensure the work is done this summer as soon as possible? I'm sure the community would appreciate that. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you. Minister McLeod.

Yes, Thank you, Mr. Chair. I am not sure what stage the project is at right now. Again, I will work with the Minister of Infrastructure to see what stage it is at, and see if there is an opportunity to complete that work this summer. As the Member said, I think it has been carried over a couple of times now, so we have to ensure that the project is completed and they can use that garage, and we won't have to come back to this floor for another carry-over. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you. Mr. Blake.