Brendan Bell

Mr. Speaker, no. What the Member is asking me to do is to put in place some sort of change to the BIP that would require immense auditing, policing, would add to the regulatory burden. What we would be asking small businesses to do is essentially share private tax filing information with us. I am not even sure we have the ability to do that. I could consult with the Minister of Finance, but you are adding layers of complexity, bureaucratic red tape, and I can assure the Member that is not what small business wants. What we have to do is find a way to help small business be more...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. For specific procurement concerns that are taken up by departments, arm's length agencies or boards, you would have to speak to the Minister involved in that, Mr. Speaker. Of course, we run the contract registry which provides the information. We think it has added a real element of transparency. I think the Member would appreciate that. The kind of information he has at his fingertips allows us to go back and look at procurement practices. That is what we are doing.

The Canadian Federation of Independent Business, after surveying NWT businesses, came up with a...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I will take the concerns about the provision of health services back to my department for discussions with health officials. Obviously, the Minister of Health has heard the concerns, and that's something that I'm prepared to have a discussion with him about. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I can't tell the Member if in fact the RCMP officers have already taken up their posts in Gameti. I do understand they will be serviced and will be from the Yellowknife detachment, and it will be on a roving basis. So a number of different officers will be involved. Obviously the communities had some concerns about access to the community, increased alcohol in the community, and drugs, because of the winter road. This is something that the RCMP agreed that they would try this year and see how it goes. The idea was to really keep the presence in the community for...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I do know that the Department of Transportation staff have met with the trail riders group from Great Slave Snowmobile Association. Those folks have endorsed this public education campaign, but they've also said that they'd be willing to be involved in an interagency working group that DOT plans to establish. In the longer term, there are a number of initiatives planned, but a discussion around legislation is certainly on the list and it is something that they are contemplating and want to discuss. So I do know that DOT plans to go out to the other snowmobile...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It is a very serious and concerning problem not only across the North, but, indeed, in the entire country. More and more people are being hurt in snowmobile accidents, ATV accidents, and there is some merit in getting the word out to people so that they recognize they probably need to slow down and drive more safely, and be aware that at all times they need to be wearing helmets. Mr. Speaker, one of the things our government is doing, the Department of Transportation and the Department of MACA are working together to put together an education campaign and get out to...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I will certainly commit to coming back to committee with some timelines for this review of justice committees. I know the Member is well aware, but he and his community leadership in Fort Res petitioned the community to talk about the increase of not only crime, but the number of probation cases. We have responded and provided some funding for a probation worker in that community because it hasn’t been adequate to receive a service from Hay River. There is too much of a workload there, so we are working with the leadership. We are working with the Member to respond. We...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Member is right; different communities have different needs and caseloads. On top of it, it can fluctuate quite dramatically from year to year. It is something that is a concern for us. We are currently looking at the funding to justice committees. I have asked the department to undertake a review. One of the things that I think we know, anecdotally though, is that some of the communities that receive funding have very active community justice committees, and others receiving funding, as well, have ones that are not so active. We are trying to better...

Mr. Speaker, we have been down this road a number of times. I think past governments’ experience would tell you that tinkering with the BIP is not the answer. Let’s either be done with it and recognize that it is not relevant anymore, and we will consult businesses to find out if, in fact, that is their feeling, or let’s leave it as is. But if we start to make changes to this, we can undertake a great deal of consultation. I can assure the Member there are ways businesses want to be creative and find a way, if they are motivated, to work around the regulations. You are going to have...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. This is something we've been in discussion with committee about. Governance and Economic Development committee was floated the idea first, initially, and they were at least intrigued enough with the idea to suggest that we needed to get out and talk to businesses and get their sense. The premise, Mr. Speaker, really is that the BIP, which was created a number of years ago, we think is not as useful as it once was, not as effective as it once was. It really speaks only to GNWT procurement. I think the last numbers we had, on $200 million worth of procurement, there...