Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In February of last year I made a statement in this House in relation to the Government of the Northwest Territories contracting practices. Today I’d like to follow up on that statement.
The number I cited last year of roughly $53 million being handed out through sole-sourced means has gone up by nearly $5 million, to $58 million in the government’s latest contract registry.
Going through the latest contract registry leads me to the same conclusions I made last year: one, we have an addiction to consultants; two, our staff are taking on too much contract management and administration duties; three, we hire far too many former employees; and four, we sole source way too often which clouds transparency in contracting.
Some highlights of this year’s report on contracting include almost $6,000 spent on a sole-sourced contract for a local lodge to record the daily weather -- that’s ENR; $45,000 sole sourced to set up a camp in Baker Lake, which is in Nunavut -- that’s ENR; $8,000 to Prince Albert Grand Council community observers to look at the Beverly caribou herd; and $23,000 sole sourced for what is called photo interpretation. ECE is also spending $6,500 on an air charter to the Tahera mine site, again located in Nunavut. Strategic advice coming in with a $56,000 price tag in the Executive; $120,000 spent on telecommunications regulatory expertise in the Executive. There was $43,500 spent on what is called the Neutron Activation Analysis by ITI.
I always find it interesting in going through the contract registry both by what is in there and what is not in there. For example, the Deh Cho Bridge contract with Ruskin. If it was signed prior to March 31, 2010, should it not show up in that contract registry? It’s nowhere to be found. Also, if North Slave Correctional Centre has been without a clinical psychologist for the entire reporting period, where is the evidence in this registry that we contracted those services? There’s a little bit, but there’s not very much. As was suggested by the Minister of Justice just the other day, we have been contracting that service. Where is it?
Thank you, Mr. Ramsay. The honourable Member for Yellowknife Centre, Mr. Hawkins.
