Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Specifically, in other jurisdictions, do they also exclude politicians in the decision-making and awarding of those contracts? Thank you.
Debates of Feb. 13th, 1998
Topics
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
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Roy Erasmus Yellowknife North
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
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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
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Jim Antoine Nahendeh
Mr. Chairman, in the competitive bid process, to the best of my knowledge, and what I have been told by the experts in my department, is that the process is used in other jurisdictions. Thank you.
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
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The Chair Vince Steen
Thank you, Mr. Antoine. I am on Bill 8, Appropriation Act 1998-99, Department of Public Works and
Services, activity summary, directorate, operations and maintenance, total operations and maintenance, $8.839 million. Mr. O'Brien and Mr. Ootes in that order.
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
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Kevin O'Brien Kivallivik
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. In reference to two leases, in general, I will use the example of the Lahm Ridge, since that seems to be the hot topic these days. You indicated the Minister was not consulted on this transaction until after the fact. Can you tell us whether any other Minister of the Cabinet was consulted for input prior to the signing of this agreement?
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
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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
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Jim Antoine Nahendeh
Thank you. No.
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
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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
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Kevin O'Brien Kivallivik
Mr. Chairman, from that, I gather, the signing authority for a deputy minister is unlimited. Is that the case?
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
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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
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Kevin O'Brien Kivallivik
My question is, whether or not the signing authority for deputy ministers is unlimited, as it applies to long-term leases? Given the fact that they do not have to consult or get approval from their Ministers. Is that the case?
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
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The Chair Vince Steen
Thank you, Mr. O'Brien. Mr. O'Brien the question was asked and responded to earlier, but I will allow the Minister to give a short response. Mr. Antoine.
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
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Jim Antoine Nahendeh
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, the deputy minister does have signing authority, and the question was, is it unlimited. No, it is not. It is not unlimited. It is bound to the provisions of the Financial Administration Act which more or less paraphrasing some of it is that it has to comply within the activity of the department. It has to protect public interest, and it has to be done through the competitive process. As long as the deputy minister is adhering to the Financial Administration Act and the conditions laid out in there, he has the signing authority up to the budget amount and the activities in the department. Thank you.
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
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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
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Kevin O'Brien Kivallivik
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. You indicated that the deputy has the authority within the budget. Is that saying that this item here, this long-term lease was budgeted? Otherwise, how would you know what the cost would be? Thank you.
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
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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
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Jim Antoine Nahendeh
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Yes, this long-term lease was budgeted. It is done through the existing lease that we have, the requirements that this government needs to have office spaces available in Yellowknife. Yes, it was budgeted for in that manner. Thank you.
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
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The Chair Vince Steen
Thank you, Mr. Antoine. I would just like to remind the Members that if you get specific to a particular lease, you should wait when the chair requests you to wait until we reach assets management. The overall policies of contracts, how they are awarded and the involvement of the department at the top level is what was being addressed in this particular activity rather than the specific leases. Mr. O'Brien.
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
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Kevin O'Brien Kivallivik
Mr. Chairman, I made a comment earlier that I was referring to the Lahm Ridge as an example, but I am speaking in general terms. My next question then would be in reference to leases in general. Is it safe to say that all long-term leases over the last number of years have been signed without consenting or without consulting with the Minister of the day? In other words, are all long-term leases signed without consultation with the Minister?
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
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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
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Jim Antoine Nahendeh
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I would like to request Mr. Lovely, the deputy minister, to reply to that. Thank you.
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
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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
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Lovely
Mr. Chairman, I can only be categorical about the experience I have had with the Department of Public Works and Services. As I stated earlier, in matters such as lease extensions or signing leases after a competitive process has been completed, there is not consultation with any Minister. That is generally an accepted practice for any kind of contract for which the deputy minister has, to speak in generic terms, a responsibility. I cannot guarantee that my predecessors followed the same practice. In summary, I do not know prior to my own taking on the responsibility in this portfolio.
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
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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
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Kevin O'Brien Kivallivik
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. When the deputy minister takes on the responsibility and gets involved with putting this kind of a lease together, I know you indicated in most cases you do not bring the Minister into play. Is there anybody else that you consult with prior to signing such a major lease, whether it is five or ten years?