Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Today I want to talk about a very frustrating flaw in our procurement policy. We hire engineering services for the Department of Transportation for transportation infrastructure on a standing offer agreement basis.
A constituent of mine, Darrell Dean, born and raised in Hay River, Aboriginal, owns a drilling company called Procore. This company has expended resources to buy equipment and hire employees to be involved in geotechnical work. Last winter and again this winter he has observed our government continuing to use the services of a southern company called Mobile Augers.
Mobile Augers is doing work for which my constituent had no opportunity to bid. The frustration is compounded by the fact that the GNWT work instigates their mobilization into the North from the South, and while already in the North they then start to clean up on the private work from the private sector because they’re in the neighbourhood.
We as a government, with all our glowing claims of wanting jobs and economy in the North, can ill afford to be forfeiting any jobs to the South. Look at our Stats Can report on population. While my constituent is laying off his employees and his equipment is sitting idle, he has to drive by a southern competitor doing work in his home territory for which he had not even an opportunity to bid.
I took it upon myself to speak with officials in the Department of Transportation about this. What I was told is that the engineering services are awarded through a standing offer agreement and they have no control or say over who the engineering firm subcontracts to for geotechnical work. May I suggest, on the principles set out in other types of contracting methods, that northern content should play a large and decisive role in the consideration of proposals for engineering services. It appears that Transportation officials are acting within the policy but the policy is flawed. It’s a glaring gap.
Again, in summary, we must support northern companies who live, pay taxes and hire people in the North. Later today I will be happy to question my friend Mr. Ramsay, Minister responsible.
