Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, I would like to offer some general comments regarding the computer procurement contract the department is engaged in. It's in line with what the Member for Yellowknife South already indicated. Mr. Chairman, it's really frustrating to hear about these sorts of stories over and over again where the department flagrantly and explicitly ignores its own business incentive policy. I guess it's not a surprise when the Minister has already indicated on record that he thinks the BIP increases are a cost of doing business, so it's really no surprise that this was not adhered to this time around.
I understand the department has indicated that this would not have fallen under BIP. This was a legitimate sole-source contract because of the fact that only one supplier could supply this. Mr. Chairman, that just doesn't wash. This is another case where the Minister is not paying attention to what it is they are supposed to do. They get a piece of paper in front of them. On the surface, it sounds good. The government has $1 million to spend on computer equipment and you will get the best deal if you get it from the biggest and largest company and we will save $100,000. If that's the case, we could bundle up all the money we spend on computer purchases and that could probably end up in the multi-millions and we could just call Mr. Gates or somebody in HP and say we have $10 million to spend on computers, what's the best deal you can offer us. To say we saved $100,000 is very short-sighted.
We are under such a strict budget that government departments get so much on computers and they feel pressured to do as much as they can with that computer money, but that really is not taking into consideration other important factors that government should consider. Government is not just a purchaser, I believe. The government money we spend on hiring people and buying things has a major impact on our industries and IT industry in the North is quite fragile. These contractors who try to make a living and turn a profit for their businesses, they need contracts like this to have a go at their business balance sheet. We see over and over where small businesses start a business and they do all the little projects and they have little training programs and they make thousands here and thousands there, but they can't participate in the major projects that could secure the viability of their business.
We have heard many times about government bundling projects into such a big scale, that small businesses cannot bid on it and it appears to me that this is a case where that's happened again. If the brains got together and worked out a contract proposal where it's made so big and difficult that not one small business in the Territories could take it or bid on it...It's not a hard job. But as a government it is incumbent on the government and a department like Public Works to think about what it means. They have $1 million to spend on computer contracts, should we just give it to a multi-million corporation anywhere because we are going to get the best deal?
Saving $100,000 is not taking into consideration a whole array of other things that the government should consider. Capacity building of IT industry in the NWT, there are multiplier effects on every dollar the government spends, every dollar the government spends multiplies into $3 or $4. It multiplies into different employment opportunities for people who are involved in the IT industry. It is the small computer businesses in the Territories who provide training. They provide support services to different levels of government in different communities. I don't think that DPW in a small community will call the HP guy or gal to come and fix their computers or provide network services.
I just want to put it on record that I am very disappointed that this Minister is engaged in another action that shows complete disrespect for their own policy, the government policy, the business incentive policy just as it happened with North Slave Correctional Centre. Contracts were bundled up there. It was stated by various Ministers that BIP was costing more money and that resulted in an electrician company, a long-term business, losing out on a bid on a very, very small percentage. I believe that the government or a department may gain $100,000 here or $100,000 there, but in the long run it is really sending out a negative message, a very discouraging message to small businesses that are maintaining business here.
In the long run, I think the government is losing out on the dollars anyway. The people are asking what are the consequences of government not adhering to its own policy. I don't know what the consequences are, but we are being told here that everything was above board, that this was a legitimate contract that was allowed to be outside of BIP. We could hear lots and lots of rationales and reasons why, but I think what we are really lacking is on the part of the Minister to really think about what it is they are doing or what their department is doing and evaluating pros and cons of the decisions they are making and implications that their decisions have on our businesses and our population that we should be mindful of in this Assembly.
So I was listening to the answers the Minister and the department were giving to Mr. Bell. I don't want him to have to repeat all that over again. Maybe I should ask the Minister why he couldn't have divvied up this project so more businesses could apply for it and at least give the businesses a chance to bid on it and then the department could figure out whether or not this was at all possible for northern businesses to supply. Thank you.