Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As I alluded to in my Member’s statement today, I will be asking the Minister of Transportation questions today on sole sourcing and the methodologies or process management policies he and his department will be using for projects such as the Giant Mine bypass and projects for the coming years.
Bottom line, I have a bit of trouble understanding the rationale when the government decides in its best interest of public funds to sole source contracts and when not to. My first question to the Minister today is: Under what circumstances can the Department of Transportation, deputy minister, Minister and Cabinet award contracts without some sort of competitive process?
Thank you, Mr. Dolynny. The honourable Minister responsible for Transportation, Mr. David Ramsay.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I think we have an obligation to ensure that all the information is on the table, that we maximize the opportunities for local involvement in projects, and I want to assure the Member that no decision has been made on how this realignment project will be delivered. It isn’t being fast-tracked. I think I heard the Member say it was being fast-tracked during his Member’s statement. This project has been in the works for several years. It isn’t being fast-tracked, nor will the procurement delivery model that will ultimately be decided upon by Cabinet be quickly or fast-tracked to arrive at.
So in the case of Highway No. 4 Giant Mine Bypass Road Project, I won’t use the word fast-tracked but I’ll say perceived rush to have started on the pathway of a negotiated contract and then later removed for consideration by Cabinet Ministers. Can the Minister explain that process?
Again, I don’t believe we are in a rush. I think we are getting a little bit behind schedule when it comes time to make a decision on procurement on the realignment of Highway No. 4.
Again, this project has been in the mix now for several years. Construction was to begin in the winter/spring of this year to be completed by this fall. We’re moving now to look at a construction start date sometime in April.
We need to find out the best way to maximize the benefits to the economy of the Northwest Territories. We’re interested, as your colleague Mrs. Groenewegen stated in her questions to me, in trying to ensure that the money that is spent stays in the North as much as possible, and the jobs and opportunities and training are going to local people. All those things will be put on the table and ultimately Cabinet will have to make a decision on the best way to proceed with the procurement of the realignment of Highway No. 4 and that will happen in due course.
I appreciate the Minister’s response on that. To dig a little further here, Mr. Speaker, and to the Minister, did the proponents in this case approach the GNWT, or did the GNWT approach the proponents for this project?
I believe it was the former, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Ramsay. Final supplementary, Mr. Dolynny.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Thanks for clarifying that, Mr. Minister. My fear on the subject is now that we’re waiting for the Cabinet and Minister to rule on whether to have what’s in everyone’s mind an open and transparent process, and because the House will not reconvene until May 23rd of this year, which is well into the spring construction season, can we expect to have the Department of Transportation or the Minister confirm their decision to open this public project to public tendering before the end of this next week’s sitting?
A decision on procurement will be made by Cabinet sometime this month. To the dates, I wouldn’t want to pin it down to a certain date, but certainly by the end of the month we will have a way forward on the procurement of the Highway No. 4 realignment, at which time we’ll gladly convey that to the Members of this House.
Thank you, Mr. Ramsay. The honourable Member for Hay River South, Mrs. Groenewegen.
