Kieron Testart

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and I appreciate that the Minister is keeping an open mind about this. Back to the initial people who provided the service, the Northern Frontier Visitors Association. They are still on the hook for remediating that site, and there is still a very large cost to demolishing the building, remediating the site, and making sure it can be handed back to the government. There has been no commitment made from the government to support those needs. The honourable Members representing Yellowknife constituencies have made that appeal to the government and asked them to provide...

The current agreement for the museum arrangement, the short-term solution, is very short-term. It expires October 1st. That is my understanding. What is the Minister doing to prepare the visitor information services post-October 1st? Can we guarantee we are going to have some sort of brick-and-mortar location for visitors who are here in the Northwest Territories?

Mr. Speaker, the Northwest Territories offers many natural wonders, a rich and vibrant culture, and a completely unique experience that draws in tourists from Canada and the entire world. It is appropriate that we give special mention to our spectacular Northwest Territories on the occasion of National Tourism Week. Tourism Week in Canada is a grassroots initiative that brings attention to the economic opportunity created through travel and tourism. It is also an opportunity to acknowledge the public policy challenges preventing the sector from capitalizing on those opportunities and...

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Committee would like to consider Bill 18, An Act to Amend the Health and Social Services Professions Act. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

I want to ensure that we have something for our aurora season, which is perhaps the highlight of our tourism year, although, as I said earlier, there is plenty to do in this town any time of the year. When it comes to government funding of visitors' centres across the territory, we have seen different models. The ones that work best seems to be the ones where the building is owned by the government and the staff is provided on a contracted basis. These are efficient models that seem to work very well. Is the department considering that in addition to their talks with the NFVA?

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We've made progress today. The Minister has received two complaints. That's way better than zero complaints, but that's still just the tip of the iceberg. I appreciate that the Minister doesn't want to make this an expensive and an ineffective process, so I would suggest that we can work together to develop terms of reference that would ensure we streamline this process and make it work.

I'm disappointed that, even if I pay for the meeting, he's not willing to come to it, but I'll put it this way, Mr. Speaker: did the Minister hear the complaints from those vendors when...

I'm a bit disappointed. I know the Minister is fond of advisory committees. He's established one for the Yellowknife Airport, so I was hoping he'd consider doing one for this issue as well. If not a committee, then, or a panel, would the Minister be willing to hire a consultant who can issue a comprehensive report that looks at government procurement policies and then we can take action on that report? Is the Minister willing to make that commitment?

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I thank the Minister for that commitment. I'll be happy to sit down with him and share my constituent's experience with our procurement system. Finally, I know that the Department of Procurement Services through the Department of Infrastructure is undertaking some vendor workshops. Is there any opportunity for public engagement in the procurement process through those workshops, or is this merely an effort to tell vendors how to do business with government? Are we actually listening to them or are we just telling them they're doing it wrong? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Well, the Minister consults with me; that is one person. I am wondering if he will consult with everyone in the Northwest Territories through a public engagement process, and then create a report that can come back to this House and be assessed by the standing committee and the government on its results and lead to comprehensive procurement reform in the Northwest Territories. Will the Minister commit to do that?

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to recognize Mr. Fraser Oliver, a strong Kam Laker who is taking an interest in our proceedings and also president of the NWT Teachers' Association. Welcome.