Minister responsible for Safety and Public Services, Mr. Nerysoo.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. No, it's not departmental policy that issues of that significant concern are not actioned for more than a year.

Supplementary, Mr. Dent.

Mr. Nerysoo.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I can't make that guarantee to the honourable Member. I will advise the honourable Member, though, that I will look into the matter and ensure that the department will deal with this issue in a more timely manner. I will advise the honourable Member on the solution we may be able to use to allow the cases of the honourable Member's constituents and other constituents to be appropriately addressed in a better and more expedient fashion.

Supplementary, Mr. Dent.

Mr. Nerysoo.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I will ensure that I will respond to the honourable Member and Members of the House. The matter of responding to clients may take a bit longer, but I will try to ensure that I respond appropriately to the honourable Member.

Thank you. Item 6, oral questions. Mrs. Marie-Jewell.

Minister responsible for forest management programs, Mr. Morin.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The request for proposal was exactly that, a request for proposals from Northwest Territories companies to respond to the fixed-wing firefighting needs of the Northwest Territories government. We did have people submit proposals. They were evaluated by the department and, consequently, Buffalo Air was awarded the fixed wing contract.

The request for proposals is so that people can propose to use how they would like to deliver, for example, so many gallons of water per minute...(Microphone turned off) The department made a decision to accept the proposal and it is a five-year contract. Buffalo Air was the winner and they will be carrying out that contract. Thank you.

Supplementary, Mrs. Marie-Jewell.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I'm not disputing the fact that Buffalo Airways got the contract. In fact, at no point in time have I ever indicated disappointment in Buffalo Airways getting the contract. I want to make it clear to the Minister that the issue is not with regard to Buffalo Airways. The issue is with regard to the standards that are requested as requirements in his request for proposals. I would like to know whether the standards set out in the request for proposals' minimum standards for bidders are only general guidelines which bidders do not necessarily have to meet. Thank you.

Mr. Morin.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Through the request for proposals for fixed-wing bombers and Bird Dog planes, we did require certain standards. For example, we did put into the proposal that possibly you would need 12 doors that opened at two seconds and things like that, but we would consider alternates. That was very clear in the request for proposals. We would consider alternates on how the service is delivered to the Northwest Territories through a northern operator's company. We did look at the proposals, we considered them and they were evaluated extensively. In the end, we accepted Buffalo Airways' proposal. It saved this government approximately $5 million over a five-year period. We feel confident that they meet the standards we can live with to fight fires in the Northwest Territories. Thank you.

Supplementary, Mrs. Marie-Jewell.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I don't seem to be getting a total answer to my question. Would the Minister agree that the request for proposals' standards that have been requested are only general guidelines which bidders do not necessarily have to meet? Thank you.

Mr. Morin.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Once again, in the request for proposals we did stipulate certain things. We requested from the bidders who were responding to the proposal to either meet those requirements or to give us alternatives on how they would do it differently. That is the whole idea of a request for proposals. That is what we did and we accepted a proposal from Buffalo Airways and we feel confident they meet the standards that we feel comfortable with in order to fight fires in the Northwest Territories. Thank you.

Final supplementary, Mrs. Marie-Jewell.

Thank you. It seems to me, Mr. Speaker, from the Minister's reply that the request for proposals' standards are only general guidelines that the government adheres to. I would like to ask the Minister who determines what standards are acceptable for safety reasons. Thank you.