Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I wasn’t planning to make a statement today, but this is the beauty of politics in the North. I also received a call from Mr. Baxter in Inuvik. I don’t know the details of the contract. I don’t live there and it’s not my constituency, but there are some basic questions that could be asked about this, because there is a principle involved here. We recently had a situation in Hay River where there was a large contract that looked like it was going to go outside of the Territories, but due to some complications with the Alberta bidder, the work stayed in the North and we were very happy to hear that. And I really appreciate the Minister of Public Works and Services understanding, as he does, of these kinds of issues.
We do fight to ensure that maximum opportunities for northern residents and businesses do accrue. If the processes are not in place to ensure that contracts are benefiting Northerners, then we need to ask questions about it.
As I said, although this is not my constituency, we have all agreed to a process with respect to the Inuvik school on the premise and commitment that this work and these contracts would benefit NWT companies and that the content would be northern. The phone call that I received alleges that components of the work related to the Inuvik school was not even tendered and that the contract for the work that Mr. Krutko speaks of actually is being provided through a company in the Yukon. I really hope that this is not the case and, as I said, of course, I don’t know all the details, but there are a few questions that can be asked which are very straightforward and should have straightforward answers. I will be asking those questions to the Minister of Public Works and Services today.
The relevant questions are: Was this work contracted? Was this work put out to tender as per the specifications of the northern content which lead this to be a negotiated contract with the general contractor? I’ll be asking those questions. If the answer’s no then we do have an issue.