Mr. Speaker, I believe that my position on northern and local involvement in government contracts is well known to most Members of this House. Government contracts are the major force in our economy. We must take all reasonable steps to maximize the benefits these contract dollars provide, in terms of northern and local training, employment and business opportunities.
I would like to let the Members know what the Department of Transportation has done and plans to do in this area.
For the fiscal year 1992-93, the department awarded 512 contracts valued at almost $48 million. Over 92 per cent of the dollar value went to northern contractors.
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Thank you. Of course, Mr. Speaker, the question I asked the department, is what are they doing with the other eight per cent? On review, it turns out that most of these contracts were for specialty services not available from northern businesses, like highway line painting, structural steel and the purchase of calcium and chloride. Taking these contracts into account, northern firms won 97 per cent of the contracts they bid on. In fact, only one major contract was awarded to a southern firm when northern firms had also bid. In that case, the price premium was simply too high.
Results so far for 1993-94 are similar. As of September, northern firms have been successful in gaining over 94 per cent of the $35 million in contracts. Once again, most of the remainder appears to be in the specialty areas where no northern firms are established.
Mr. Speaker, I think this record of northern involvement is a remarkable achievement for government contracting policy, for the department and, not least of all, for northern companies.
My objective is now to do better in the area of local involvement. For 1992-93, 29 per cent of our contract dollars went to local companies. The results for 1993-94 show 31 per cent. I want to see more of our contract dollars flow to local economies. I believe that local business, particularly aboriginal businesses, can do more in providing jobs, experience and training to local residents.
We have the tools to achieve this objective. We have the business incentive policy which is constantly being refined and improved. In addition, we will continue to use a variety of special contracting procedures which incorporate training programs and incentives to maximize local employment and subcontracting opportunities. As Minister, I have not been reluctant to seek Cabinet approval to negotiate contracts directly with local development companies, where appropriate.
We often pay a premium for these special approaches, but I believe this is an investment worth taking. Negotiating contracts involves an element of risk, like any business venture. There have been some failures and I am sure there will be more. Again, I believe the risk is worth taking.
I trust when the Members examine our record, they will look at the overall picture and see the many successes, along with the few that did not work well.
In conclusion, Mr. Speaker, I hope my colleagues in the House are as pleased as I am with the contracting record of the Department of Transportation. More importantly, I hope the Members will continue to support our efforts to improve local benefits of our contracting expenditures. Thank you.