Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Today I have questions in regard to our procurement contract processes that we have. The Minister of ITI tabled a document in the House in our last sitting session. I just want to talk a bit about some of the concerns that are brought up from residents, especially the small businesses that can’t really out bid some of our bigger companies. I wanted to bring forth some of the concerns that they do have.
I would like to ask the Minister about sole-source contracting, not the process behind it but at what point is this government going to start looking at doing a better job of getting some of these sole-source contracts out into the public process, and what is this Minister going to do about trying to get that back into a more public discussion so we get contractors who are able to do the jobs and also make it more fair for all contractors? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Moses. Minister of Industry, Tourism and Investment, Mr. Ramsay.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We are transparent; of course, the Contracts Over $5,000 Report is tabled in the House. Members have a chance to go through that book, and if there are specific questions regarding any of those contracts in the report, Members can ask questions about those specific contracts. Sole-source contracts are just another tool that is available to government to allow us to do our jobs and carry out the work of the various departments.
I can’t, again, speak to specific contracts unless the Member asks a specific question to a specific contract. Thank you.
Mr. Speaker, when this government goes into sole-source contracts or negotiated contracts with a big firm or company, are there any provisions put in these negotiated contracts where the main contractor has to have a certain percentage of local subcontractors, the smaller guys, the guys that have the small businesses? Is there a percentage in that negotiated contract when any of the Ministers or when the Minister goes forward and proceeds with a sole contract? Is there a percentage set out so that when the small businesses in the communities and across the Territories get a piece of the pie? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Again, it is in the government’s best interest to ensure that dollars spent here in the Northwest Territories by our government stay in the Northwest Territories, and that is certainly an objective. We have, I know the Member mentioned, negotiated contracts. That is another policy separate from our policy on sole-source contracts. Again, it is there so that we can build capacity here in the Northwest Territories, so departments can look at various contracts that are going to enable groups around the Northwest Territories to build up that capacity and employ local people and ensure that money stays in the Northwest Territories. Thank you.
Mr. Speaker, going back to the report that was tabled in the House, I’m glad that the Minister did mention trying to keep money in the Northwest Territories. In the report it states that there is about $51 million that is not in the NWT contracts that this government goes into that does contracts for, and I know there are some services that can’t be provided here in the Northwest Territories to do some of these contracts; that goes down to training.
How is the Minister going to try to bring those numbers down, that $51 million that we go out of jurisdiction with contracts and keep that money here in the Northwest Territories and look at supporting our businesses either through training or education, but making sure that our contractors in the Northwest Territories have some of that money, that that money actually stays here in the Northwest Territories? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Speaker, we need to continue the dialogue with all departments and ensure that when we are contracting, whether it is any of the various modes of contracting that this government does, an eye is to keep those dollars in the Northwest Territories. Not always are we going to be able to get the goods or services here in the Northwest Territories. There are going to be examples of when we have to go outside, but again, it’s our government’s goal to ensure that the procurement dollars that we do have end up staying here in the NWT for us. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Ramsay. Final, short supplementary, Mr. Moses.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We do have a Business Incentive Policy that the government goes by. However, there are some clauses in there and I think we need to discuss those. I brought it up in the House before about how we have businesses from the South that win the BIP process by having some companies, one, two and sometimes three, in their proposal. What is the Minister going to do to fix that? Sometimes small business doesn’t even get to do the work they were asked to do in the proposal, they are just used to get the BIP points.
What is the Minister going to do to effect the change so our small businesses do get the work and our contractors that do bid on the projects get the work as well? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
The Business Incentive Policy is there so we can support businesses here in the Northwest Territories. Again, it is another tool that this government uses to ensure dollars stay in the Territories. I’ve been here just over 10 years and this issue about BIP comes up at least once a year. We’ve had a number of revisions and changes to it over the past decade, and if the Member and Regular Members feel it’s necessary to go through another process of taking a look at BIP, how we can improve it, areas we feel we should be looking at, that’s something I would be happy to sit down with the Regular Member and Cabinet and discuss ways that we can improve upon the Business Incentive Policy that we have today. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Ramsay. The honourable Member for Deh Cho, Mr. Nadli.
