Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, today, I have a concern from Tsiigehtchic on how the department is micro-managing the ice bridge construction in Tsiigehtchic.

In the past, the contract with the community was to supply all labour and equipment needed to complete the work. We have seen a huge shift in how this work is done since a decision was made to extend the ferry service during the winter months. The department at that time even brought a number of their staff and equipment from the South Slave region to work with the community.

Since then, Mr. Speaker, the department now uses their own heavy equipment, Sno-Cats, backhoes, Bombardiers, sprayer, and auger. This is taking revenue away from the community of Tsiigehtchic and other small business owners in our region.

The department will probably say they are trying to recover overspending, but, in fact, this overspending is due to operating their own equipment and not how our community is managing the contract.

Mr. Speaker, while the department believes they are saving money by using their equipment, what they are actually doing is taking employment away from my constituents, many of which look forward to this seasonal work, especially just before Christmas. This year, we had 14 people working at the beginning, but that only lasted for 16 days. Then, in December, we only had four people employed, and three in January. You can imagine how disappointed the workers were. Usually, they get six weeks' worth of work during this time before Christmas. Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and I will have questions later today. Mahsi.