Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My

questions today are addressed to the Minister for Public Works and Services. I have commented in my Member’s statement and suggested that no guidelines exist for request for proposal changes. I’d like to start off with an easy question to the Minister and ask him whether or not he can confirm that my understanding is correct. Thank you.

Thank you, Ms. Bisaro. The

honourable Minister of Public Works and Services, Mr. Michael McLeod.

Thank you, Mr.

Speaker. Mr. Speaker, we have a lot of rules around requests for proposals, we have a lot of rules around the tendering process and sole-source contracting, and I would be pleased to provide that to the Member if she would like. Thank you.

I would thank the Minister for the

offer but I don’t really need those rules and regulations. I did ask whether or not there are any guidelines in regard to changes. I accept that changes may be necessary at certain times and I guess my question to the Minister is why the documents that go to request for proposal proponents do not contain guidelines or indications that changes may be necessary and what circumstances a change such as an extension of a closing date would be necessary. Why is that not included with the documentation that goes to our RFP proponents? Thank you.

Mr. Speaker, at the

time of providing the information and the drafters that put the information that we felt necessary for the people that were bidding, it wasn’t deemed necessary that we indicate that there is discretion that can be used to extend deadlines. I think, overall, if it makes sense to try to encourage people to meet what we’re establishing as a goal to have more people bidding on contracts...We certainly can provide it. It wasn’t warranted as something that we felt was necessary at the time. Thank you.

Thanks to the Minister for the

explanation. I do feel, though, that the Minister knows, and I think most proponents know, that changes are often necessary and whether or not an individual project requires an explanation that a change might occur, I think the tender document, the RFP documents, as a matter of course, should include anything, any sort of indication that changes may occur and under what circumstances they should occur. As I stated, I think we have to be clear and we have to be open about our process. We have to be able to have proponents know what is going on. Many proponents, by the time an extension comes along, have spent considerable time and money on their project. I would like to ask again, to the Minister, what exists in our current documents that will make it clear to proponents that changes may occur and under what circumstances those changes would occur. Thank you.

Mr. Speaker, I don’t

believe there is a list of circumstances at which the closing dates can be extended. I would have to go back and verify that it is clearly demonstrated that there is an allowance for extending and changing and making addendums to contracts. I would have

to confirm and follow that up with my officials. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. McLeod. Final

supplementary, Ms. Bisaro.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Thanks to

the Minister for committing that he is going to go back and look at this. I called for reconsideration of the RFP process and possible changes to the process and a reconsideration of the practices that PWS currently uses for RFPs. I would like to ask whether or not this is something the Minister could commit to. Thank you.

Mr. Speaker, we

certainly can reconsider. We are always looking for ways to improve our process. In this government, we are looking as part of our goals a way to promote and increase our competition on our tenders. Sometimes what makes sense is not really fully incorporated in our contract documents. I would be pleased to take another look at it and reconsider what we provide and how we provide it. Any input from the Member would be appreciated. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. McLeod. The

honourable Member for Kam Lake, Mr. Ramsay.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My

questions today are for the Minister of Health and Social Services. It gets back to my Member’s statement where I was discussing an issue that has come up with an individual who was diagnosed with a brain tumour, was awaiting surgery in Edmonton for upwards of four months, was scheduled to go down to Edmonton and receive that surgery last week, got down to Edmonton with her daughter, with her husband, and no surgery. As you can imagine, the individual is quite upset about how this happened and why it happened. Her new surgery is not scheduled now until sometime next week. The first question I have for the Minister and the Minister has known about this case for some time. I would like to ask the Minister if she actually did any intervention and the fact that it was taking so long to get this individual out for surgery in Edmonton. That is the first question, Mr. Speaker. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Ramsay. The

honourable Minister of Health and Social Services, Ms. Lee.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I can

advise the Member, without speaking in details about this situation, that the staff in my office have had a number of conversations with the person in question and the family. I have talked to the patient myself and her family. We have worked hard to help with the process. I share with the Member that

things could have worked out more smoothly than it has been. We don’t know the details about where the miscommunication has happened. I have asked the officials to sit down with the patient and the family so the family has a chance to explain about what the process has been so that we can minimize the chances of this sort of misunderstanding happening again. I understand that meeting is happening this afternoon. The lady was given a number of options of different times to meet and this afternoon is the time she chose to meet. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the Minister

for having her departmental staff meet with this individual and her family. I was at that meeting this afternoon. That is why I was late arriving to the House today. It was a very productive meeting. I think they understand the situation, but it gets back to my earlier question. There was an indication at the length of time it was taking to get this woman out to Edmonton to have surgery on this brain tumour and it was taking a tremendous amount of time. The Minister knew that. The question I had to the Minister was: Did the Minister intervene in that case to ensure that she would have her operation last week on May 22nd , Mr. Speaker, not three

weeks later? Thank you.

Mr. Speaker, I think the

Member is well aware, and everybody here, that those appointments are scheduled by the physicians. I actually happened to be at a Rotary Club breakfast two weeks ago and a gentleman came up to me out of nowhere and just coincidentally thanked me for the service he received, because he was diagnosed with a brain tumour in December and all in all it took him six weeks and 19 hours of operation. He couldn’t say enough about the service that he received. I think that is really difficult for us here to talk about details of any file. I think it is on a case-by-case basis and the important thing is that I am putting the patient and the family together with health care providers so that they communicate well so that she understands exactly what the procedure is she has to go through and how she can be supported. That is the role I have played. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, what I am trying to

say here is: if the Minister intervenes in a file, obviously the department and the health care providers are going to understand and appreciate that the Minister has had some concern regarding that file. When it is scheduled that this woman goes out to Edmonton to have surgery and if she doesn’t have surgery, that suggests to me that the Minister didn’t intervene in the first place. The question I have for the Minister was whether she intervened in this case. Yes or no. Thank you.

Mr. Speaker, I have to

completely reject that premise and the assumption

that the Member is making. I want to tell the Member -- and he knows and all the members here know -- that when we get calls from the Member and all the general public, we look into every one of those situations and we try to accommodate that as much as possible. If the Member is asking if I did, as a Minister, call Alberta and say get her an appointment, that is not a role of a Minister of a government. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Ms. Lee. Final

supplementary, Mr. Ramsay.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I am not

making any assumptions here. I am not suggesting anything. All I am saying is if the Minister had looked into this situation, the woman would have had her surgery on May 22nd as scheduled. They

would have had her out to surgery. The Minister would have instructed her staff to get this woman out, to get her the surgery that she needed. She wouldn’t have shown up in Edmonton and not had the surgery and had been scheduled for three weeks later. That is what I am saying. Obviously the Minister wasn’t in control with this file or the woman would have had surgery when she was scheduled to have surgery. She should have made sure that that had happened, Mr. Speaker. Thank you.

Mr. Speaker, as I have

indicated, the woman had been in contact with our office. Our staff had been in contact with her and her family. She called us and told us that she was going down to Edmonton for the procedure. I understood that everything was in order. She came back and told us that that in fact didn’t happen. Mr. Speaker, it is not correct that the Minister is in charge of who is getting what surgery in what place. That is a medical decision. We just want to make sure that when somebody brings a problem to our attention, that we look into that. I just wanted to make sure that this person gets case conference with all of the concerned people so that she could express her concerns about what has happened and from going forward, because she will need more support, and she will get the assistance that she needs. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Ms. Lee. The

honourable Member for Tu Nedhe, Mr. Beaulieu.

Mahsi cho, Mr. Speaker.

...(inaudible)…Highway No. 6 about the safety issues for travelers on this highway and the dangerous sections of the highway. I have questions for the Minister of Transportation. Mr. Speaker, can the Minister put enough money into the infrastructure plan this coming business plan

review to finish all of Highway No. 6 to chipseal stage? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Beaulieu. The

honourable Minister of Transportation, Mr. Michael McLeod.