Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. I rise today to salute the tremendous public service performed by the Northern Journal over many years. It may seem odd that a Yellowknife MLA is making a statement on the publication based in Fort Smith, but I have no hesitation whatsoever in saluting this newspaper as a standard of excellence in the Northwest Territories, setting an example for all other media to follow. The Northern Journal was founded in 1977 by Don Jaque as the Slave River Journal. It has been a family affair with his wife Sandra and has spawned some of the best journalists we have had, including Meagan Wohlberg, Craig Gilbert, and more. The newspaper has undertaken investigative journalism from an objective public policy perspective for decades, and I cannot say enough good things about it.
It was very sad news I heard last week that the publisher has announced that he intends to close down the Northern Journal unless a buyer is found. I hope our more enterprising journalists will have a good look at the opportunity to take over the Northern Journal and build on its solid foundation and reputation. If the Northern Journal does not find a new life, it will fall into an unfortunate trend around the world where the print media is being replaced by the Internet and social media. Call me old school, but I still like to hold a newspaper in my hands, and I love the Northern Journal. I wish to sincerely thank Don and Sandra Jaque for devoting a large part of their adult lives to better informing Northwest Territories' residents about the key issues of the day. I believe I can say that all MLAs wish them all the best with their retirement and whatever challenges may lie ahead. Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.
Masi. Members' statements. Member for Hay River North.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We all know that in the NWT, government contracts account for a large portion of private industry revenue. By changing the way the government does business, we can alleviate some of the fiscal pressure on small- and medium-sized businesses, and help grow our economy from the ground up. For example, to bid on government tenders worth over $100,000, a five per cent cash bond or 10 per cent security bond is required. For a small operator who may not have access to conventional bonding, this can pose a significant obstacle. When people are just trying to make ends meet, they can't afford to have tens of thousands of dollars tied up for months at a time. This puts smaller businesses at a disadvantage, which should never be the effect of government policy. I recommend increasing the threshold for requiring bonds, while increasing the holdback percentage to ensure the government still protects its interest.
Our policy on sole-source contracts also needs to be re-examined. According to the Government Contract Regulations, all purchases over $5,000 must go to tender. This is an antiquated amount that hasn't risen along with the cost of goods, and needs to be increased. The time and resources of small businesses and of the government are already being stretched, and these regulations only serve to further burden all parties with needless paperwork. One of the biggest opportunities to help small businesses has to do with how the government awards contracts for large multimillion-dollar capital projects. The argument is that it is more cost-effective to award these contracts to a single company. However, what often happens is that money flows out of the territory and local small- and medium-size companies miss out entirely. We need to stop looking at costs in simplistic terms and realize the true cost of our actions and our inactions. It may be more work and it may be a little more expensive to break up these big contracts, but by doing so we can give small local companies the opportunity to get a real piece of the action. This would keep money in the territory and would help us build capacity.
Most importantly, it would put Northerners to work, and that's what we need right now. The money we spend on capital projects belongs to the people of the NWT, and we have an obligation to ensure we are using it to their utmost benefit. We can't continue to think that simply getting the lowest price on a project means we fulfilled that obligation. I've highlighted just a few areas that we need to re-examine, but there are many more. Our economy isn't the same as it was last year, five years ago, or 10 years ago. We need to constantly critique and improve how we’re doing business in the face of ever-changing economic realities. Later, I will have questions for the Finance Minister. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
