Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Further to my statement today, and my questions and statement yesterday, I have more questions for the Minister of Justice about the A New Day program. As I mentioned, the RFP is quite sparse on details, and that is raising all the concerns and questions, so I am just trying to get at this, and get some more information out there.
My first question is that, the Coalition Against Family Violence was integral in developing the original A New Day Program, and it is a network with considerable corporate knowledge and experience. My question is: how will the new program integrate the coalition and tap into these resources? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Masi. Minister of Justice.
Mr. Speaker, a careful evaluation was made of the program which was referenced by the Member opposite in his statement earlier. Naturally, they will be going out, and have gone out to all parties who were interested in the program seeking advice. Hopefully, that good advice is reflected in the request for proposals that is presently out. Thank you.
I believe the Minister said that they went out seeking advice from the coalition which went into this RFP. I have heard otherwise, but that still does not answer the question. Will there be a role for the coalition in the formal program that roles out from this RFP?
I am not certain, Mr. Speaker, whether there will be a formal role. I have not examined the RFP in detail. I do know that those interested in bidding, there will be a meeting put on so that those interested in making a submission will be able to meet with the Department of Justice. That meeting will be held on the 14th. If there is additional information required by possible bidders, they could perhaps obtain it at that time.
The RFP indicates that all clients must self-refer to the program. When I asked the Minister yesterday if the program would accept referrals from outside organizations like probation services, he said it was his impression that it would but he would get back to me with that information. I would like to find out if the Minister has found out that information and would like to share it with me?
A New Day is a voluntary program based largely on self-referrals. Men have never needed a referral from an outside agency to access the program. During the pilot, which has taken place over a period of I think five years, community agencies such as probation would often make recommendations to their clients to take the program.
Masi. Oral questions. Member for Hay River North.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I am aware of what has happened in the past. That is why I am asking questions about the future. Going back again, I asked the Minister yesterday if he would make the details of the new program public because, as I mentioned, the RFP is quite vague. Even the appendix referred to was a blank page in the RFP. It has since been updated, and it contains -- actually, the PowerPoint presentation was given to the standing committee. It does not even make sense in the context of the RFP because -- it is going to take me all day to discuss, so I will just cut it short here. There are just too many problems here.
The Minister responded that he had not had an opportunity to view the RFP, but he was confident that it contained what is required of potential contractors. I would ask the Minister again if he will release the program detail, not so that the potential contractors know what they are applying for, but for the sake of the Members of this Assembly who have spent countless hours discussing this program and fighting for this program, and for the members of the public who deserve at least one successful and efficient men's healing program? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Speaker, there was a very comprehensive report prepared on the New Day Program. Building on that, an RFP has been issued. Those that are interested in bidding on that can go to the meeting on Tuesday and obtain additional information should they require.
Masi. Oral questions. Member for Kam Lake.
