The reasoning is the fact that ITI has the responsibility for parks. And the legislation for parks has provided this tool to help establish conservation areas and so on. I think people in the Northwest Territories feel it has been long overdue, whereby our government does need tools so we can establish and protect areas that are important to the people in the Northwest Territories. That was the rationale for putting it with ITI.

Thank you, Mr.

McLeod. The

honourable Member for Hay River South, Mrs. Groenewegen.

Thank you, Mrs. Groenewegen. The honourable Minister responsible for Industry, Tourism and Investment, Mr. Bob McLeod.

Thank you, Mr.

Speaker.

That’s just a statement of fact — 76 per cent of all the contracts go to companies in those four communities. That’s all it is: a statement of fact, Mr. Speaker.

I thought it might have some relevance to the consideration of eliminating the BIP, and I just didn’t know what the connection was, so thank you.

It’s just a statement of fact. Well, that’s an interesting fact. I think that everything is relative to the people who live in those larger centres. They are still, in many times, small companies, medium-sized companies, that are struggling, that are looking at competing with big-box stores or southern suppliers. The BIP goes some ways toward ensuring that those dollars are spent here in the North to provide Northerners with jobs, and that money goes around in our communities. I just wanted to state that.

To the consultation that took place previously — very costly, very expensive consultation: will that be dusted off and considered? These folks who are being consulted might be getting weary of this, and I’m sure the answers will all be the same.

I can remember going back at least three governments, maybe four governments, that have looked at the BIP issue. We will certainly utilize all of the information that was used in all those previous governments.

I guess I should point out that the landscape has changed, and the Government of the Northwest Territories is not as significant a player when it comes to contracting. Also, we have the advent of MOUs with aboriginal corporations, aboriginal governments.

All of those things have changed, so I think it’s a very appropriate time to look at this whole issue.

Mr.

Speaker, indeed, the

landscape has changed and will change very significantly going forward. For a community like Hay River, which is close to the Alberta border, you don’t have to go very far south until you can tap into much more cost-effective business overhead. Just go to High Level, Alberta. There’s natural gas. There’s much, much cheaper power.

I don’t think we want to drive businesses that have invested in the North out of the North, and there’s some real merit in keeping them in the North.

Mr. Speaker, I would like to ask the Minister: if he thinks that $200,000 is such a small amount of money, or paying at a premium anyway, because the landscape has changed and we’re not the big players anymore.... If it’s only a $200,000 premium, why bother with such a small amount? Why make such a drastic change for northern businesses competing for a savings of $200,000?

I guess the BIP premium of $200,000 is a reflection of the problem I see in the Northwest Territories with the lack of competition

resulting in significant cost overruns on major projects.

As I mentioned yesterday, the Business Incentive Policy is not the only avenue to provide for northern preference. There are other ways of doing so, and we’ve indicated that we will be looking at other ways of providing for northern preference.

Thank you, Mr.

McLeod. Final

supplementary, Mrs. Groenewegen.

Thank you, Mr.

Speaker.

I will certainly be looking forward to this Minister including Regular MLAs in this discussion.

For myself, Mr. Speaker, I believe we should be strengthening incentives to northern companies to stay in the North, to start in the North. We have been just constantly diminishing our support to northern business. I think that this, in fact, needs to be strengthened and enhanced.

I’d like to ask the Minister: will he commit today, on the record, that Regular Members of this House will be fully consulted on the options before any implementation takes place?

I’d like to re-commit to that, because I

recognize that we need to build

significant relationships and support if we’re going to get anywhere with making any changes. The most important people to work with would be the Members on the other side.

Thank you, Mr.

McLeod. The

honourable Member for Inuvik Twin Lakes, Mr. McLeod.

Thank you. I’d like to follow up on the questions some of the Members were posing on the Business Incentive Policy. I’d like to ask the Minister.... I

just heard him, in an answer to

Mrs.

Groenewegen’s question, say northern

interests will be well looked after. I’d like to ask the Minister if he meant negotiated contracts by that statement.

Thank you, Mr.

McLeod. The

honourable Minister responsible for Industry, Tourism and Investment, Mr. Bob McLeod.

Thank you, Mr.

Speaker.

I don’t think I’d be as definitive as that, but as part of the change in the landscape, it’s a fact that we do have Memorandums of Understanding with at least two aboriginal governments whereby the government has committed to work toward a guideline of achieving 50 per cent of contracts with

the aboriginal governments. That has changed the landscape of contracting.

Negotiated contracts and sole-sourced contracts are still policies of the Government of the Northwest Territories, so they are part of the mix as well.

There are many companies up here that have been here for a while, but they’re not in partnership in any MOUs. I’d like to ask the Minister: what happens to those companies?

The practice so far, with the two Memorandums of Understanding on government contracting, has been that we are committing to tender 50 per cent of contracts in those areas where we have Memorandums of Understanding.

I appreciate his answer, but the fact is that a lot of these companies qualify for BIP. I’d like to ask the Minister: regarding contracts that go out now, is there an indication that we’re getting a lot of tenders from outside the Northwest Territories? Speaking from experience, I know the BIP policy does help you when you’re in smaller communities. It might be a 5 per cent difference in the smaller communities, which is not much in the overall big picture, but it does help the smaller communities. I know that for a fact.

I think that was my question to the Minister: is there an indication, on tenders that have been out, that we’re getting a lot of out-of-territory bids on them?

We’re still very early days in this review, but our experience is that on the contracts that have been tendered we have very limited response. For the majority of them — up to 60 per cent — there are only two companies that respond, and in about 15 per cent we have no companies that respond.

In the areas of the larger contracts — and possibly because of the fact that the Business Incentive Policy has been in place for 24 years — there is very little interest expressed by other companies, because 20 per cent is a significant number to overcome.

In goods and services, I think, with the advent of the Internet and so on, there’s probably more interest shown in those areas.

Thank you, Minister McLeod. The time for question period has expired; however, I will allow the Member a final supplementary. Mr. Robert McLeod.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, I appreciate that. I’d like to ask the Minister if the NWT Construction Association.... Did his department talk to them at all about how they feel about the Business Incentive Policy?

It is our intention to talk to all the stakeholders in the Northwest Territories. The Department of Public Works has had ongoing discussions with the NWT Construction Association, not specifically with regard to the Business Incentive Policy but more as to contracting and construction in general. We have talked to the Chamber of Commerce. We will be talking to all of the stakeholders.

Thank you, Minister McLeod. Item 9, written questions. Item

10, returns to written

questions. Item 11, replies to opening address. Item 12, petitions. Item 13, reports of committees on the review of bills. Item

14, tabling of

documents. Item 15, notices of motion. Item 16, notices of motion for first reading of bills. Item 17, motions. Item 18, first reading of bills. Item 19, second reading of bills. Item 20, consideration in Committee of the Whole of bills and other matters, Bill

8, Tabled Document 37-16(2), Committee

Report 6-16(2), Committee Report 7-16(2).

By the authority given me as Speaker by Motion 10-16(2), I hereby authorize the House to sit beyond the daily hour of adjournment to consider the business before the House, with Mr. Abernethy in the chair.