Michael Miltenberger

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I appreciate the Member’s comments and support and his strategic, broad view of the project and how it’s going to fit into the broader road development and how we are cutting our teeth and earning our spurs on this particular project, when we work things out, and we’ll be taking that experience with us. Thank you.

It’s a cost that the government bears. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. This project has met our expectations and was a construction project with a finite timeline. If we could have that same type of success with a lot of the other, say, operating mines, they would be happier and so would we. So the project has met expectations. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Having lived through the construction of the bridge, I can assure the Member that getting it done on time has very many benefits, and preferably on budget, because the Legislature clearly takes a dim view of projects that came in over budget and over time. This particular project has been, from the start, a four-year project, with the first three years focusing where the majority of work is on the building of the embankments and the final year of the finishing and putting in the top layer of gravel. While we are attempting to accelerate the project, the intent is to...

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. We will double check that, but I understand, talking to the Member for Sahtu, that Colville Lake is very pleased with the Junior Kindergarten and is intent on keeping it operational.

Yes, I do, Mr. Chair.

Mr. Speaker, I wish to table the following two documents, entitled “Northwest Territories Heritage Fund Annual Report for 2012-2013” and “Northwest Territories Heritage Fund Annual Report for 2013-2014.”

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. For the record, I appreciate the Member’s comments. We had a fairly lengthy discussion about this yesterday. The comments I made yesterday I just leave stand on the record with regard to the Member’s concerns. Thank you.

This is a design/build contract road project. It’s the set price, $230 million. We need to make sure that we give the contractor all the tools, both fiscal and otherwise, that he needs to get the job done so he can move the design requirements and stay within budget.

This allows us to catch up to the road that wasn’t constructed last year because it was a slow start. This is not a gift or benefit to the contractor. That’s the only reason we are doing it. It’s not because he just decided it would be better off for him just because.

We are all very, very conscious of our obligation and the...

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. First I just want to reassure the Member and the people listening in here that we do all this money management with complete regard for our fiscal situation, which is why we get the clean audits and which is why we have the Aa1 credit rating and we managed to absorb some of these unexpected shocks because we always keep in mind looking after the taxpayers’ dollars as if it were our own. So I want to reassure the Member of that.

When the project was started, it was flagged right from the beginning that cash flow adjustment would probably be required, we just didn’t know...