Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Contracts are a means to develop economic growth in our communities, but more importantly, government infrastructure such as housing, replacement of schools and public facilities. Mr. Speaker, I’ve asked through a written question in this House how many negotiated contracts were let in my riding, the Mackenzie Delta, for the last five years. Surprisingly, it was $876,000 in five years.
Mr. Speaker, out of a total capital investment of almost $12 million, $9.6 million was expended to contractors from outside my constituency.
Mr. Speaker, economic development is a key component to deal with the socio-economic development of our communities. Without the contracts government lets, capital investment in our communities, those capital investment dollars should be expended in our region and our ridings so that it can generate employment and business opportunities and allow for our workforce to meet its needs by way of apprenticeship programs, skill development and, more important, employment.
Mr. Speaker, in my riding there is some 60 percent unemployment in two of my communities. Mr. Speaker, it is pretty obvious that this government’s policies and procedures when it comes down to contracting, negotiated contracts, sole sourced or even public tendering, is not meeting the needs of our smaller communities. It’s meeting the needs of people in the larger regional centres, where a large portion of our capital investment is being expended to the tune of almost $10 million in my riding alone, where only less than 10 percent is being expended in my riding.
Mr. Speaker, at the appropriate time I will be asking the Minister of the Housing Corporation how he can justify this imbalance of capital expenditures in my riding.
Thank you, Mr. Krutko. The honourable Member for Great Slave, Mr. Abernethy.
