Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my questions today are for the Minister of Industry, Tourism and Investment.
Mr. Speaker, the 19th Legislative Assembly cannot afford to leave residents of the Northwest Territories without meaningful change to procurement benefit retention and transparency in this territory, especially after all the focus and conversation we've had about that in the life of this Assembly. So I'm wondering does ITI intend to table a fulsome response to the procurement review panel's 50 recommendations that the public can see where ITI stands on each of those recommendations? Thank you.
Thank you, Member for Kam Lake. Minister responsible for Industry, Tourism and Investment.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. So, Mr. Speaker, as the Member's already pointed out, there was a summary version of what's ongoing already published several months ago with respect to the work that's happening. I believe with that there was also a publication of a set of principles, unifying principles about procurement so that we are no longer spread with different purposes and objectives between different departments, which was a significant recommendation from that report.
As to a detailed response, Mr. Speaker, that is something that is still coming out. There will be a more fulsome response out this summer.
Mr. Speaker, I do want to point out that delay isn't for lack of work that's been happening. One of the major things that's happened in the last year was an engagement directly led with EIA on with Indigenous governments and towards an Indigenous procurement policy or approach, and it was out of respect for that process that a more fulsome response has been somewhat delayed. But I do, as I said, expect something more by the summer. Thank you.
Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. And thank you to the Minister for that response. And I can also say that in conversation with the Minister during our other work time that the Minister's been very helpful at kind of providing a fulsome response of what all the department is working on. The problem that I have is that I don't have concrete answers to be able to give the people that I serve about what those specific changes are going to look like.
In the month of August and in the summer, there's about eight sitting days that we'll get to sit through roughly before we're done, and we're literally escorted out the building. And that doesn't give me the time or my colleagues the time to really hold the government accountable to what those changes look like. And so the Minister said that there's an intent to table responses in the summer, but I'm really concerned with that timeline.
So is the specifics to the policy work that's been done, for example, to the northern manufacturer's policy, to the business incentive policy, is that expected to be tabled in the summer, or is that something that we will see before? Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, there's things happening in an ongoing way. So some of the work under the manufacturing policy has if I'm not mistaken, has already been prepared and is already ready to go ahead with respect, for example, to the guidelines under the manufacturing policy. Those guidelines have been improved. And I will reconfirm as to their whereabouts on the website. I had understood they were going out and were being promulgated already.
With respect to the business incentive policy, one of the biggest issues is around defining northern business. I know this question's been asked many times. Mr. Speaker, there are recommendations in the report that we are actively looking at. Again, the issue around ensuring that we are being respectful of what's happening within Indigenous procurement and with those definitions has put a bit of a pause on that, but it will ultimately produce a better outcome that everyone is on board with.
It's not my intention not that I wouldn't table them, but it's not the intention to wait to the August session to table it. The idea is to get them published in the usual process here, which is it goes to Cabinet, it goes to MLAs; it then goes public. I would certainly employ that process here but with a view to having it out so that if there needs to be some further debate about it in August that there's ample time for that to take place, and it won't just be happening on August 30th. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I appreciate that commitment from the Minister because I think that this is really important, and I think that there's been too much focus on procurement in this Assembly for this to simply be something that's tabled on the last day and then we don't get the opportunity to discuss it in this House, because I think that's really important. And I appreciate the Minister referring to the fact that, you know, this information will be coming to committee for comment, but I think it's really important that we have a very transparent view on this work so that also the constituents who are using this information and will be using these policies going forward have the opportunity to reach out to their MLA and say hey, this doesn't work because of this applied reason, because, you know, when I'm going about doing this work it doesn't work for that reason. So I'll ask that or I guess I'll start by asking will the Minister commit to making these changes public sooner than later so that as we're reviewing it, we have the opportunity to also discuss these changes with our constituents? Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, so already there is, just to confirm, the manufacturing policy guidelines newly minted are on ITI's website, current BIP guidelines and renewed guidelines are on the ITI's website. There is now a dashboard with respect to procurement that is live over on Finance's website. Those are all things that have come out of the procurement review, and I certainly would encourage people to go to them, take a look at them.
Further, as well, I the principles that I have mentioned, the objectives and principles around procurement, that is not a small thing. That was one of the major parts that I had read in that review, was that it was too spread out, the purposes and principles of procurement public procurement was too spread out. There are now set principles. That's an important part of the work that took place here, and it's now guiding what's happening across departments. So, again, encouraging people to locate that on our website so that they can consider if that meets their needs.
The definition, yes, Mr. Speaker, I hear the definition will need some opportunity to go to Members to have some consideration done. It is part of policy. I think part of the messaging here is that when there's small things within policies that need changes and adjustments, it can be done. It doesn't have to wait for a full legislative review. We now have done that. We have done the work of the review. We have the background available to us. And I do encourage people to see all of the work that's been done to date. There's quite a lot that's out there.
Vendor performance management. It's the last one before I get into the land of a Minister's statement, Mr. Speaker, and I'd encourage people to look at what we have been doing with vendor performance management. It's actually enforcing the rules. It's a lot that's happened in that space in the last year. And, again, I'd like to know that that's working for those who are already under that system so that we can consider making adjustments in the life of this Assembly if we need to. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. And, Mr. Speaker, I appreciate all of the references that the Minister gave to different areas of the ITI website, of the Finance website, where this information can be found. I think this speaks to and, you know, with all due respect, I think this speaks to the need for a consolidated response from the government. Even when I was going through and kind of creating my questions for today and figuring out how do I go about continuing this conversation in this House, I'm looking at and reading through press releases from the GNWT in regards to procurement review; I'm looking through, yes, the guidelines and the dashboard and the contracting website; I'm looking through the work plan; I'm looking back at the information that came out with the procurement review. And that information is scattered. So anybody that actually wants to look at the panel's recommendations and then see what the government has done in response or what they have chosen not to do for whatever reason actually has to go and do a fair amount of legwork across the GNWT's website. There's not one place where we can see this is the plan moving forward, this is how the government is responding, and this is what businesses can expect. And so that's why I'm asking if the government will table a fulsome response for what their response is to the procurement review panel's 50 recommendations. Thank you.
Mr. Speaker, simple answer is yes, there will be a response. It's going to be a full response to the review. And I couldn't agree more because of all the things I've been detailing in my responses now that have happened and that are underway. I've more than once brought the full team from multiple departments together. And at the last occasion, that was exactly the topic of conversation, was saying we can't let in some in this case, it's all the good work go unknown and those who are using one part may not know about the things that have happened in another. So it's coming, Mr. Speaker. It needs to come in time. I appreciate the comments it needs to come in it time that it can be considered, and so that if there's questions in the House, that they can be prepared for. So I'm not giving a date today, but it's coming, and I'm conscious of the fact that it needs to come in a manner that provides time for MLAs to be able to ask questions in the House. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Minister. Oral questions. Member for Yellowknife North.
