I just have a brief comment.
The minister said that the previous government caused costs for the project to increase because of delays. I think that's partly true. The reality is that the Auditor General said the cost increased by some $306 million because of delays in starting and approving this project. Those delays started in 1999. The first evidence that the bridge was not going to last as long as it should have began in 1999, so both previous governments have their share of blame.
The $306 million in additional costs created because of the delay in approving this project by the previous Conservative government pales in comparison with the over $3 billion hole that the Auditor General estimates has been put into the fiscal framework because of a political decision by the current government to eliminate tolls on this bridge. I wanted to put that on the record as a point of fact, in order to put the minister's comments into context.
Thank you, Madam Chair.