Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to recognize Dana Edjericon, Archer Collinson, and Chinelle Besarra, who are Pages from our Range Lake riding. You do a wonderful job, and we are really appreciative of the service you provide to the Legislative Assembly. Thank you.

Masi. Recognition of visitors in the gallery. Member for Nunakput.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I just want to welcome my aunt, Eileen Ruben, from Paulatuk; my daughter, Madeleine Nakimayak, from London; and my mom, Helen Nakimayak. Welcome. It is good to have you here. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Masi. Recognition of visitors in the gallery. If we missed anyone in the gallery, thank you for being here within our Chamber. I hope you are enjoying the proceedings. It is always nice to have an audience in the gallery. Masi. Item 6, acknowledgements. Item 7, oral questions. Member for Mackenzie Delta.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Follow-up to my Member's statement, I have a few questions for the Minister of Municipal and Community Affairs. I would like to ask the Minister: how have MACA and the hamlet communicated Fort McPherson's financial issues and the next steps to correct them to the residents of the community? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Masi. Minister of Municipal and Community Affairs.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, we work with the community. We explain to them the situation that was in the community and some of the changes that had to be made, that we made some adjustment to some of the rates in the community. I can be glad to say that the financial situation in the community has improved. We are looking at reinstating the council and mayor in the fall. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, with earlier discussions with the Minister, I know that we are awaiting the audit to get things back to the way it used to be. I would like to ask the Minister what is being done to stabilize local water rates and other municipal services in the community.

Mr. Speaker, we are not interested in getting things back to the way they used to be because the way things used to be was they had a huge deficit in the community, and we are not interested in getting back into that situation. The adjustments that were made to the water rates in the community reflected the cost of doing business in the community. We had heard, when we had made the adjustment, that there was some concern with the elders' rates, so we adjusted that. My understanding was the rates were adjusted again on April 1st. I think they may have even come down. But I will confirm that.

What I meant to say was the actual water rates that people paid before. Mr. Speaker, people in the community are paying twice as much as any other community in the Northwest Territories. Mr. Speaker, will the Minister agree to look into the most recent issues and help Fort McPherson manage its water services in a way that is affordable and adequate for the residents?

Mr. Speaker, as I said before, the water rates in the community reflect the cost of delivering water in the community. For a long time the community had very low water rates that were never adjusted and there was a bit of a sticker shock when they were adjusted, but I commend the community of McPherson. They stepped up to the plate and they realized that they were doing their part. We can review the whole thing, but to go back to the water rates that they had before would probably just put them back into the position that they were in before.

Masi. Member for Mackenzie Delta.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I know in the community meeting that was held this spring the department said that they would look into possibly getting water from the Peel River which would bring down the cost of delivering water in the community. Is the department looking at that for this coming fall? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, we will work with the new council and mayor once they're elected if that is a priority of the community to change their water source and then we will look at that. We've had a number of communities across the Northwest Territories take advantage of the water treatment plant program and we can work with the community if it's a desire of theirs. Because I take the Member's point and I think I've heard from the community as well that I think there is a distance to drive to get water to the community, so we'll explore that option with the new mayor and council when they get sworn in, and if it is a priority of theirs then we'll try and advance it.

Masi. Oral questions. Member for Nahendeh.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, yesterday we heard the Minister of Transportation speak about saving $2 million on a contract in my riding. Mr. Speaker, can the Minister please tell us if he actually spoke to the two companies about the cost of them operating this contract as a negotiated contract? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Masi. Minister of Transportation.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The short answer is no, as this was put out as a tendered process and it goes through procurement and they do their business. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I thank the Minister for his answer. Mr. Speaker, if the Minister of the department hasn't spoken to these companies I'm not sure how we saved $2 million by going to a public tender process. To me, if it's a negotiated contract you work out a price, but he didn't do that so we can't really say that we saved $2 million. So, Mr. Speaker, can the Minister please explain how we saved $2 million with this project going out to a public tender?

What I can do is I will commit to the Member that I can pull together that information on how we came up to that number and supply that to the Member.

Again I thank the Minister for his answer. They'll be a lot of stuff coming from his office or his department in the future I hope, and I thank him for that. Mr. Speaker, it is my understanding as part of the BIP process, southern companies make commitments to have a certain percentage of northern content. Mr. Speaker, can the Minister please explain how the department ensures that that percentage of the bid is adhered to?

The procurement process allows for the BIP that's supplied on to contracts in the Northwest Territories, and that is supplied through the Public Works and Services when it's put out to tender and that's how the bids are adjusted accordingly. Southern bidders do not qualify for northern content or the BIP process and the northern people do.

Masi. Member for Nahendeh.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and I thank the Minister for the education about the BIP process. I totally understand the BIP process; what I'm asking for the Minister to explain how the department guarantees, when Southern company says they're going to put 60 per cent of the cost to Northerners so the money is vested back into the communities, how does the department guarantee as part of the bid or contract when they sign it, because that's what they bid on, is adhered to? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.