Kieron Testart

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I move that the chairman of the Committee of the Whole leave the chair to report progress. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I appreciate that the format of our proceedings might not accommodate the same kind of back and forth we have in other reviews, but I do appreciate all of the Members who spoke to this, the time that they have put in, and of course, the Minister's comments as well.

I am certainly not saying that we need, with definite certainty, a brick and mortar facility today, but there are a lot of people who feel that way, and I think the work that the standing committee has done has given new information to consider about the effectiveness of our addictions strategy.

Aftercare...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and I appreciate the Minister's clarity of purpose on this. There are a number of companies that are grandfathered in or are meeting a 50 per cent requirement that are still either owned in part or owned entirely by southern companies that can benefit from southern supply chains, so we are giving those companies a 20 per cent markup through their northern preference, even though they can double dip, so to speak, and benefit from southern markets. Is the Minister willing to look at those requirements and the list of grandfathered companies that are benefitting from...

It is interesting that the Minister is so confident in BIP's success because all the concerns I hear are about BIP. I already know he is not willing to reform BIP, to do a review of BIP to take action on these concerns. So, given the high-profile nature of several procurement issues -- I am talking about the Housing Corporation modular project in Hay River that the failure of the procurement policy resulted in the loss of 40 full-time jobs, a Minister's riding, by the way, Mr. Speaker, and, of course, the NTPC power generators ongoing affair, which is at least half a million dollars of...

Merci, Monsieur le President. [English translation not provided.]

Mr. Speaker, I am bringing concerns from my constituents around procurement directly to the floor of the House, because it appears the Minister isn't listening when business owners are bringing these concerns directly to his department, or to him in this case. I met with a constituent just last week who had met with the Minister, the Minister heard the concerns, and yet nothing has been done.

Mr. Speaker, these concerns are quite simple: that northern businesses don't feel that the playing field is being levelled by government...

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I am content if the Minister would like to. I am sure that people would appreciate hearing about the supports we currently have towards aftercare. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I just was wondering if a Member of the committee could just share. I know what is in the report. It is a very good report. I am glad the committee undertook this. Mental health and the southern treatment model that we are using can be controversial among some of my constituents, at least, who still believe very strongly on a personal level that a local treatment option is a better option. Did the tour change their opinions on that perspective, that local treatment options are better? Thank you.

One of the issues with BIP is that it only applies to the first $500,000 on procurement contracts. Is the Minister willing to be flexible with that amount so that businesses that are looking to take on larger projects, who are northern-owned and operated, can receive greater benefits from procurement?

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I would like to ask the Minister of Industry, Tourism and Investment about, you guessed it, procurement. Obviously, businesses continue to come forward, business owners continue to come forward. How is the department using procurement policies to level the playing field with southern companies that are doing business in the Northwest Territories, to give a competitive edge to northern businesses? Thank you.

Thank you. I note that there has been a reduction to the design and technical services activity. It was $4.2 million in the revised estimates. It is now $3.5 million. It seems like there are fewer resources to work with. Is that a concern for the department, or can they give me assurances that there will be no holdup in completing the action plan? Thank you.