Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I note that the Minister is not only intelligent, he is also very perceptive. That is exactly what the problem is. People speculate when they do not know for sure what goes on behind those closed doors. It is interesting, and I am sure the public is already aware of this, but almost every policy of this government has a rider on the end of it that says, subject to the discretion of Cabinet. We put a tremendous amount of our confidence, trust in the integrity of the people making those decisions. We elected you and unequivocally we obviously trust the actions. There comes a point where it cannot be just carte blanche trust and you cannot just say trust us. We want to see some processes to back that up. I agree, negotiated contracts, sole-sourced contracts, there is a place for them when you are trying to achieve certain things such as developing community-based business in communities where there is not a strong business presence. There is a place for it. It seems like a lot of the contracts that are being awarded by RFP now are not necessarily in those kinds of communities. The competition is not amongst people who are aboriginal and are just trying to get a start in government. They are amongst mature companies where you would think that a public tendering process would be sufficient. Is there a place for a weaning off and away from that type of proposal call, particularly in communities where there is a long standing and mature business community? Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Jane Groenewegen on Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
In the Legislative Assembly on October 23rd, 1997. See this statement in context.
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
October 22nd, 1997
Page 109
See context to find out what was said next.