Thank you. Mr. Minister.
Debates of Feb. 16th, 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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The Chair John Ningark
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. I would like to ask the deputy minister to answer, Mr. Chairman.
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 John Ningark
Mr. Lovely.
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
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. We do not specifically budget for premiums associated with the business incentive policy. We do not automatically assume that contracts are going to cost more because they are done by northern firms. The business incentive policy does not increase the cost of a contract, it simply provides some preference or premium to northern contractors so that they can compete more effectively. We do not actually budget for a premium associated with BIP. 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 John Ningark
Mr. Steen.
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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Vince Steen Nunakput
Mr. Chairman, if we do not budget for premiums how do we address the premiums? Surely we must be paying for them somewhere.
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 John Ningark
Thank you. Mr. Lovely.
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
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Over the years Members have asked questions about what is the additional cost. It is very difficult to determine whether there is an additional cost because of factors such as the uncertainty of knowing whether companies, outside firms like southern firms, have decided not to bid because of the existence of the
business incentive policy. There is no way of knowing whether we could have got it cheaper if we had more firms competing because they felt that they could not be competitive from outside the jurisdiction. We do not budget specifically for a BIP premium. We budget on the basis of how much we expect it to cost given the utilization of northern firms, the utilization of northern suppliers, the manufacturing directive and all those factors. 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 John Ningark
Thank you. Mr. Steen.
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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Vince Steen Nunakput
Mr. Chairman, I saw recently a report that suggested that this government awarded 95 percent of their contracts northern and that shows the success of BIP. How much of that 95 percent was, in fact, negotiated contracts, RFPs, sole-sourced, standing offer agreements, et cetera, rather than BIP?
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 John Ningark
Thank you. Mr. 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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Jim Antoine Nahendeh
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I am told that about five percent of the total contracts for construction are done through negotiated contracts. 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 John Ningark
Thank you. Mr. Steen.
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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Vince Steen Nunakput
Mr. Chairman, that was not my question. My question was, out of all the contracts that were awarded, the 95 percent that is suggested that we awarded northerly, it was suggested that because we have used the BIP we were successful in awarding 95 percent of our contracts to northern contractors. My question is how many of those contracts that 95 percent, were, in fact, negotiated contracts, RFPs, sole-sourced, standing offer agreements?
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 John Ningark
Thank you. Mr. 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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Jim Antoine Nahendeh
Mr. Chairman, we have to get back to the honourable Member with this information and the amount of detail that is required to review this. I take it as 90 percent of all the contracts went to northern that may include not only Public Works and Services, but may include the Department of Transportation, as well as the Housing Corporation. We are dealing mainly with the Department of Public Works and Services. I would like to ask the Member if he could give us some time here, we will try to get that information for him. 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 John Ningark
Thank you. Your time is up, Mr. Steen. Project management, operations and maintenance, total operations and maintenance, $7.609 million. Are there any Members who wish to speak at this time before I recognize Mr. Steen? No? Do you agree he speaks at this time?
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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Some Hon. Members
Agreed.
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 John Ningark
Mr. Steen.
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
February 15th, 1998
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Vince Steen Nunakput
Mr. Chairman, I do not have any further questions. I would like to point out that was not my time that was our time.
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 John Ningark
Thank you. Project management, total operations and maintenance, $7.609 million. Agreed?
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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Some Hon. Members
Agreed.
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 John Ningark
Mr. Henry, I would like to recognize you at this time. 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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Seamus Henry Yellowknife South
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, prior to this committee considering the item, asset management, within the Department of Public Works, I would like to take this opportunity to advise the House that I have an interest in a company which leases a building to the Government of the Northwest Territories. As such, I am declaring a conflict of interest pursuant to provisions of the Legislative Assembly and Executive Council Act. I will be withdrawing from the House and will not be participating in debate or consideration of this item. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
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 John Ningark
Thank you, Mr. Henry. Your declaration of a conflict of interest is noted. Thank you. Asset management, operations and maintenance, total operations and maintenance is $42.577 million. Do we agree? Mr. Ootes.