Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, yesterday we heard the Minister of Transportation speak about saving $2 million on a contract in my riding. Mr. Speaker, can the Minister please tell us if he actually spoke to the two companies about the cost of them operating this contract as a negotiated contract? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Masi. Minister of Transportation.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The short answer is no, as this was put out as a tendered process and it goes through procurement and they do their business. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
I thank the Minister for his answer. Mr. Speaker, if the Minister of the department hasn’t spoken to these companies I’m not sure how we saved $2 million by going to a public tender process. To me, if it’s a negotiated contract you work out a price, but he didn’t do that so we can’t really say that we saved $2 million. Mr. Speaker, can the Minister please explain how we saved $2 million with this project going out to a public tender?
What I can do is I will commit to the Member that I can pull together that information on how we came up to that number and supply that to the Member.
Again I thank the Minister for his answer. They’ll be a lot of stuff coming from his office or his department in the future I hope, and I thank him for that. Mr. Speaker, it is my understanding as part of the BIP process, southern companies make commitments to have a certain percentage of northern content. Mr. Speaker, can the Minister please explain how the department ensures that that percentage of the bid is adhered to?
The procurement process allows for the BIP that’s supplied on to contracts in the Northwest Territories, and that is supplied through the Public Works and Services when it’s put out to tender and that’s how the bids are adjusted accordingly. Southern bidders do not qualify for northern content or the BIP process and the northern people do.
Masi. Member for Nahendeh.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and I thank the Minister for the education about the BIP process. I totally understand the BIP process; what I’m asking for the Minister to explain how the department guarantees, when Southern company says they’re going to put 60 per cent of the cost to Northerners so the money is vested back into the communities, how does the department guarantee as part of the bid or contract when they sign it, because that’s what they bid on, is adhered to? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
As I’ve said, the Public Works put out the tender; there’s a BIP process that’s applied to all tenders of these bids. If the southern contractor states that they’re going to have 60 per cent that the Member has alluded to in part of their bidding contract that has nothing to do with the BIP process of this contract. We can follow up with the Member and have a discussion on the number that he’s talking about, but Public Works and Services applies the numbers to the tender process.
Masi. Oral questions. Member for Nunakput.
