Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The last few days, I have been asking questions from the Minister of Public Works about the contracting system in DPW. Frankly, I am disappointed and disillusioned with the fashion in which government handles the contract system. Some Cabinet Members may argue that they are trying to be fair to communities and to certain sectors. What is fair to some may not be fair to others. To me, certain parts of the contract system are very unfair.
Let me tell you about a northern contractor who came to see me about some concerns with regard to the construction management proposals. This is a company with many, many years of northern experience. They have handled large projects for the government. They have been complimented by the Department of Public Works for the excellent workmanship that they have done. Now this is their concern. In 1990, apparently this government introduced the contra-construction management proposal system. They bid on a number of these proposals and were not successful. They were asked, how was the criteria established for this, and they said it is done through a rating sheet. They asked to see if they could get the rating sheet, and they were told, no. Consistently no. Eventually, the project officer did, surreptitiously in confidence, show them the ratings sheet. Their rating for northern experience was one out of five. One out of five. This was a company that had done all sorts of work throughout the north.
Since that time, Mr. Speaker, they have not been successful on projects and they cannot get access to the rating sheets. They also are not told how much the successful bids were for, and this has been going on since 1990. Seven years afterwards. How can this closed tender system continue to be? That is my question. A company that is here in the north and many companies can not improve unless they see their ratings sheets, and unless they know how much the successful bid was for. The system is contrary to the philosophy of private enterprise and contrary to the philosophy of open government. Mr. Speaker, I seek unanimous consent to conclude my statement.