The Premier.

Thank you. No, we have not changed the tendering process as far as I know. We have not made any decisions at all to change the way we do the public tendering process. Thank you.

Oral questions. Supplementary, Mr. Morin.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Normally, when you go out to tender, you have your money approved from this Legislative Assembly. I guess I have a concern, Mr. Speaker, because last week in the Globe and Mail, on July 21st, a southern-based newspaper, this government is paying for huge ads in there now. What are they paying these huge ads for? Because we do not have people qualified in the Northwest Territories. We do not have architectural firms qualified. We do not have contractors qualified. We have to look for them in southern Canada now. What are they tendering? The Government of the Northwest Territories intends to construct a new North Slave Correctional facility complex in Yellowknife and a correctional facility in Inuvik. That is how we find out about it, Ordinary Members, that a decision is made. Is this your normal way of doing business, Mr. Premier? Is this a normal way this government does business? Thank you.

Mr. Antoine.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I will take this question as notice. I did not look at the Toronto Globe and Mail of that particular date the honourable Member is talking about. I have to talk to the honourable Members and the Ministers on this side about that. Perhaps there is a very good explanation for doing it. I will get all that information and get back to the Member.

The question is taken as notice. Also, again to remind the Members that the normal way of conducting question period is to ask your preamble and then your question. Not your question and then your preamble. Oral questions. New question, Mr. Morin.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My question again is to the Premier. When one of your Ministers deliberately misleads Members, what are the ramifications of that? Thank you.

The Premier, Mr. Antoine.

Thank you. I guess if there is a real deliberate attempt to mislead the Members in the House and there are very serious circumstances, we will have to know the nature of it and the background of it. All previous Premiers know that if any Members of the Cabinet are doing that, then it is your responsibility to make sure that any accusations or hypothetical accusations are there have to be really substantiated before you consider what kind of action you are going to take. Thank you.

Oral questions. Mr. Krutko.

The Premier, Mr. Antoine.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, this particular project that the honourable Member is questioning

me about was approved in the Main Estimates. I think the suggestion here was that originally in the Main Estimates, it was suggested that we do major renovations to the existing correctional facilities in looking at how it could be done cheaper and how could it be more efficient and effective. The Minister responsible has been talking about different ways of doing it. It was even suggested that it be a P3 process. There are these different ways of how we could do a major project. Now, the suggestion is that instead of doing a major renovation, it may be a lot more cost-effective and efficient. In fact, it might be a lot cheaper to build a whole new stand-alone facility. These are the considerations that we are looking at. I am told that it is in our prerogative, as a Cabinet, to consider the best way to do this project, and this is what we are doing. Thank you.

Oral questions. Supplementary, Mr. Krutko.

Mr. Antoine.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, this item here, I am not too familiar on the chronology of events. The Minister responsible has been dealing with this area here, and I am going to have to take the question as notice. I think what the Member is talking about is, were the Members notified and so forth? I am not too familiar with that. He is asking about a process on how we do things. I think that any time there is a major initiative, the Members should be informed. I need to know the chronology of events. I will take the question as notice and get back to the Member with all the information. Thank you.

Thank you. Again, to remind the Ministers that once their question is taken as notice, that is all that needs to be heard. Oral questions. Mr. Morin.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My question was also to the Premier. The scope of work of this project, the Yellowknife Correctional Centre, has changed drastically. It has changed from a renovation of a building to a brand new facility with no footprint on the ground, nothing holding it in this town. The money voted in this Legislative Assembly was voted to renovate an existing building for Yellowknife. That is what it was voted on. Now, you are looking at a brand new building. I understand that the Minister made a short comment on looking at moving it in other areas.

This government has the responsibility not only to keep its costs down, but it also has a responsibility to the people of the Northwest Territories to look at economic diversity in the Northwest Territories. We cannot put all our money in Yellowknife for the simple reason that is the cheapest place to do it for now. We should also be looking at the South Slave. We should be looking at other regions in the Northwest Territories that are harder pressed with our hardship right now, our economic times, than Yellowknife is. I ask the Premier if he will consider going over this with his Cabinet colleagues and his Minister of Justice to consider the other people in the Northwest Territories besides Yellowknife and consider putting it in another community outside of this community because there is nothing holding that capital project to this community anymore. It is a new facility. You can build it anywhere. You can build it in the South Slave cheaper than you can build it in Yellowknife.

The Premier.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the honourable Member is absolutely correct that we, as a government, should look at all the places where we could look at and sharing the little bit of money that we have in the government here. The question there is that will I sit down with my colleagues on this side of the House to reconsider this initiative here. This is an initiative that has been ongoing for some time now and we could certainly look at it again and discuss with Cabinet the merit of this proposal. I do not really think the scope of the work, being a major renovation into being a stand-alone new building that has to be considered and I think that is what we are trying to do here. Certainly we could sit down and discuss this again. Thank you.

Oral questions. Supplementary, Mr. Morin.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. When you change drastically the scope of work on any project and you are changing to a brand new facility, you are changing the whole intent of how those dollars were presented in this House and how they were voted on. I do not know how Members of this Legislative Assembly would have voted on this specific item. Nobody is going to know that, but what I do know, is that this government has a responsibility to other communities in the Northwest Territories other than our capital city of Yellowknife that is getting all of the diamond facilities, investment into both gold mines, paved highways, highway projects, millions and millions and millions of dollars going into this city during an election year. What I asked the Premier is not only to consider moving this project to one of the other communities, after all there are other communities that live outside of Yellowknife. There are other communities. Look at moving it out of the capital city into one of the other regions that need an economic boost as well. Will the Premier consider that prior to us passing

the supplementary in this House?

Sometimes, Mr. Speaker, it takes a bold move on government and it takes a move on the government other than just to think and agree with your briefing papers, it takes a move on government to make a political decision that is best for all of the public interest, not only the public interest of Yellowknife that Mr. Kakfwi is talking about. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.