Mr. Speaker, I have a return to a written question asked by Mr. Ramsay on February 4, 2010, regarding details on sole-source contracts.
Mr. Ramsay asked that I provide the “purpose of” contracts PM 007910, PM 07671, and PM 06818; the reasons for sole sourcing these contracts; and the value received as a result of the contracts.
Contract PM 007910 was with the Tait Communications and it provided research, development and placement of advertising, as well as hosting focus group sessions held in three NWT communities to get a baseline understanding of how residents perceived the GNWT and the GNWT’s communication efforts and how those efforts could be improved. The final element of the contract was the drafting, design and printing of the Northerners Working Together document, which was distributed to all NWT households in October 2009. The contract required an unusual degree on integrated communication services beyond graphic design services and Tait Communications is the only NWT communications firm that focuses exclusively on integrated communications planning services and advice as its primary business. The contract was for $213,000 which included $115,275 in print advertising costs.
Contract PM 07671 was a $259,600 contract issued to Terriplan Consultants Ltd. for research, facilitation and project management services in support of the development of a Land Use Framework for the Northwest Territories. The issues involved are complex and require extensive background and departmental consultation and the work had to be complementary to the work on the Water Strategy being coordinated by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources. The need to align the work on the Land Use Framework with the work on the Water Strategy led to a sole-source contract awarded to the same contractor that had been awarded a Water Strategy contract through a competitive bidding process.
Contract PM 06818 was a $15,000 contract awarded to BDK Services for the provision of strategic communications advice and preparation of written materials to the Minister of Finance. The contract covered a 12-month period in which the contractor provided the Minister with communication advice, feedback on various issues, recommendations on policy options and observations on trends and events. The contract was awarded in accordance with the Government Contract Regulations which provide that a contract authority may enter into a contract without issuing a tender or RFP if the contract is for consulting service that will not exceed $25,000. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
