Thank you, Mr. Chair. One of the issues that I see coming to light here is that we have a major capital layout in regard to capital projects, but there also has to be a socio-economic component too. And it is capital layout that is out there ensuring that the communities benefit from these projects, not only from the infrastructure itself but also jobs and business opportunities. More importantly, it also ensures that communities do have an opportunity to build capacity around these projects by way of apprenticeship programs — getting people trained in different areas, either in regard to carpentry, wanting to be an electrician or whatnot.

The only opportunity for lot of our communities is these projects, which come along once in a while. Especially with projects in my riding in the past, I know for a fact that these contracts were negotiated in regard to that particular emphasis being put on those community projects. In Fort McPherson, Tetlit Zheh Construction did that project. The project at Aklavik was a joint venture between the aboriginal community and the aboriginal corporation.

Again, the whole emphasis around these major capital projects is to stimulate the local economies and not have somebody just swoop into town, get the contracts, bring their trailers into town, set up a camp and not use any of the community’s private sector hotels and whatnot. I think it is important that this government cracks down on the practice that’s out there now in regard to how these contracts are being laid out. Sure, you get requests for proposals, but when you start telling communities, “Well, sorry; we don’t think you’ve got the capacity, and you can’t negotiate a contract, and it has got to go to one company in the Northwest Territories,” I think

we are really undermining the whole emphasis of developing our economies.

I’d like to ask the Minister of Finance: what are we doing as government to track these capital projects to ensure that local contractors are benefiting from these contracts and not simply on the sidelines watching someone else do it?