Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to speak about something that has been brought to my attention and that of other Members in the House. It has to do with the government's procurement and contracting process. In the latest case, Mr. Speaker, it involved upwards of $1 million for purchasing computer equipment and services. As more and more information is being made known, it may prove to be the case that the government had no other option but to go to a large southern supplier, Mr. Speaker. It could be that the materials and services being bought were such that it was too sophisticated or required types of warranties and services that could not otherwise be had in the North.

But the main problem here is that the northern suppliers were not given an opportunity to have a say, yea or nay, as to whether they could partake in it or not. Mr. Speaker, the problem I'm having is that we have heard this type of argument before. Not too long ago, this government deliberately bypassed its own BIP policy because we believed the premium was too high. That resulted in a long-term northern business losing out on a contract by a very small margin. In the latest case, Mr. Speaker, the Minister has argued that this contract went through the sole source contract process and all the rules were followed. Once again, Mr. Speaker, we have the government making decisions without thinking through the implications of what they are doing and the messages they are sending out in doing it.

Mr. Speaker, I submit to you that there is a good broad philosophical principle to uphold in policies such as the Business Incentive Policy, and that is that we, as a government, are more than a mere consumer of products like computers or a builder of a facility. We have to understand that we cannot go about making purchasing deals that only look at what is the best value for the buck right here, right now. This has to be factored in along with a number of other factors that contribute to the public good that the government is supposed to fulfill. The government should know that there is an additional value called a multiplier on every dollar that is spent. Every government dollar spent in the community multiplies three to fourfold in jobs created, local businesses maintained and new industry fostered.

This is how we build community capacity, and if these projects continue to be too big and too sophisticated for the local IT suppliers to bid on, then those businesses will continue to stay too small and too unsophisticated in the government's books. That is not fair, Mr. Speaker, and that is not right. Mr. Speaker, I believe that we have to do better and we can do better only if the government and the Ministers' departments will just think through their choices, and I ask for that sort of action now. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

---Applause