Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It is part of the normal process. It has been waived before on a bridge where all the steel has come from the south. One of the principles in establishing the Business Incentive Policy is that businesses can set up business in the north and stock items that are available to the general public. When items are not stocked, such as a large furniture order like this or bridge steel, then the five per cent preference should be waived. Close to 90 per cent of it is going to come from the south. There is a spirit and intent clause in the policy that gives the committee the ability to waive that five per cent policy. That is in order to close loopholes in the policy and to ensure that all bidders are playing on an equal playing field. The Business Incentive Policy is not there to give anyone an advantage over anyone else. It is there to equalize things so that all bidders are equal. Thank you.

Final supplementary, Mr. Lewis.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, on Monday you also indicated, during your presentation to this Assembly, that at this point in time the Management and Services Board has not been officially notified as to the results of that particular tendering process. Can the Minister tell the House what the normal procedure is for informing client departments, such as the M.S.B., when extraordinary or unusual procedures are followed in awarding contract tenders?

Mr. Morin.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. If an extraordinary or a different from normal policy was used, we would inform the client departments right away. In this case, it does follow the policy; it is normal. The spirit of intent clause is in there and it was applied. The committee has the ability to visit every tender that we put out as a government and to ensure that all tenders are put out on an equal playing field so that all people are treated equal. Thank you.

Oral Questions. Mr. Todd.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My question is for the Minister of Public Works. I understand that the tender documents for this furniture required for the new Legislative Assembly specified that only desk tops manufactured under the REFF brand should be purchased. There is only one supplier of this product in the Northwest Territories. Can the Minister indicate whether, by specifying only the REFF products, he allowed one supply firm to exert any unfair advantage over other bidders?

Mr. Morin.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In most tenders when you are tendering supply of materials or furniture, you have to specify a standard. It is a quality standard. REFF was referred to in the tender, but it did not give the REFF representation any special consideration. There were other manufacturers available, four that I know of personally, and there are more than that which make the same quality furniture that is acceptable on this tender. Those people who chose not to bid the same quality had their bid rejected. If I put out a tender for apples and they bid oranges, their bid will be rejected because it is as different as day and night. It is as simple as that. If you do not respond to tenders properly, your tender will not be accepted. Everybody had an equal playing field on this issue. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Supplementary, Mr. Todd.

Is the Minister aware that Westinghouse, which purchased several furniture operations including REFF in 1989, has now announced its intent to sell some of its core assets? Included in the sale is the Knoll Group, to which REFF has generally been linked. This has resulted in dealer and customer concerns about the future of distribution and supply consistency. Did the Minister or his officials carry out an analysis of whether consistent replacement, repair and upgrading services will be available for these products after they are installed?

Mr. Morin.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Prior to putting out the furniture tender for the Legislative Assembly, the furniture design process took over 20 months of research and development. Some of the criteria established for the standards to select the furniture were the quality and durability of the construction and the ease of installation; simple basic design; freedom from current fads or details; an off the shelf system for inventory reasons; furniture additions easy to match

to the existing furniture; wood product to compliment the building design element; and, it was supposed to be in the medium price range. A number of furniture systems were examined and considered to be appropriate quality. The technical standard which was established meets the above criteria.

The REFF product was chosen because of the availability to replace damaged furniture. They carry it in stock and you just have to order it. That stock is supposed to be there in the future. Thank you.

Supplementary, Mr. Todd.

We have all been talking about restraint for this last year. If there is only one outfit which is able to provide this furniture, have we not in the tender call set the standards too high, given the current time of restraint?

Mr. Morin.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I do not believe we have set the standards too high. It is in the medium price range. The furniture is supposed to last 50 years and the building is supposed to last 100 years. I believe we have got the best value for our dollar, and there is more than one supplier that supplies that quality of furniture in that price range. I believe that it was a level playing field, everything was equal for all bidders. Those who chose to bid a lesser quality knew the risk of doing that and the bid was rejected. Thank you.

Final supplementary, Mr. Todd.

Given the Minister's answers, would the Minister indicate whether an appropriate opportunity was provided to other suppliers bidding on this contract to demonstrate or showcase products other than REFF to determine whether they could meet the required specifications?

Mr. Morin.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Yes, they did. Prior to the tenders, most of the bidders were notified about standards and quality. They all sent in samples after the tenders closed. I would be quite happy to show the Members the samples. There is quite a difference in the samples and in the quality. I still think that we got the best furniture for the price. It is in the medium price range. Everything was done equally so that all people had an equal opportunity to bid. Thank you.

Oral Questions. Mr. Gargan.

Mr. Morin.