What is the wish of committee? Ms. Bisaro.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’m wondering if the Minister can indicate to me who in his department will be watching to make sure that departments are not tendering out for manufactured items, and making sure that items that can be built in the North will be built in the North. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Yakeleya. To the motion.

I guess my frustration with this process is five days after the Department of ITI and several departments came to Hay River a tender was issued for the manufacturing of fire pits and it had to meet a southern manufacturer’s standard. Why couldn’t those fire pits be manufactured in the Northwest Territories? Thank you.

Question has been called. The motion is carried.

---Carried

Next I will go to Mr. Yakeleya.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It baffles me that the GNWT doesn’t… A product they’ve already bought, a product they’ve already been given several times, they still don’t respect that. Even if the manufacturing wasn’t respected, on a bid of $216,000 or $217,000, even if BIP was applied at 10 percent, the bid prices were $8,400 apart. Even 10 percent on a $200,000 bid price, that’s $20,000. A northern company should have got it. A value-added would have been in the Northwest Territories.

Can the Minister explain why this company was not given the tender? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’d like to recognize Ted Blondin, a Lethbridge alumni and a good friend from going to university in Lethbridge. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

My question is about that committee. Does that committee get together on a regular basis to talk about seniors along with the Minister responsible for Seniors, to actually just sit down and discuss, or do they come up just on specific topics? Does this group get together regularly regarding seniors? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I will have questions for the Minister responsible for Seniors, Mr. Abernethy. As I indicated in my statement, seniors are a valuable asset in the Northwest Territories and we know there is an expanding group of people. What is the Government of the Northwest Territories doing to improve the seniors’ quality of life in the Northwest Territories? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It’s hard to get all of the questions in because there are a lot of issues that we deal with as Regular Members here on this side. I guess my question would be concerning funding.

Has the department or the Minister looked at the funding that we give to seniors, whether it’s through senior groups, whether it’s through fuel subsides? Are we looking at expanding funding that we give to seniors?