Thank you, Mr. O'Reilly. Minister Sebert,

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I think I could commit to give the Members a response by the end of next week.

Thank you, Minister Sebert. Mr. O'Reilly.

Thanks, Mr. Chair. I guess I would hope for something a little bit quicker, but I will take the Minister's word. Can the Minister tell us how long this contract runs for? Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Mr. O'Reilly. Minister Sebert.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I can advise that the contract runs until March 31st, 2021. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Minister Sebert. Mr. O'Reilly.

Thanks, Mr. Chair. Well, that is a lot longer than I would have expected to hear. Can the Minister tell us: is there any sort of probationary period or ability for the department to back out of this arrangement? Indeed, the contractor, if things are not going the way either party expected, is there an escape clause in the contract, and when would it be triggered, or could it be triggered? Thanks, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Mr. O'Reilly. Minister Sebert,

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I am not aware of any escape clause. One of the things that NGOs generally want is a long period of the contract in length to last for a significant amount of time so they can have certainty in their plans going forward. Of course, contracts can be amended if both sides agree at any time, but I am not aware of any "out" clause but again, I have not seen the contract myself. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Minister Sebert. Mr. O'Reilly.

Thanks, Mr. Chair. Yes I guess I will go on record as having expressing some concern about this. As I understand, the RFP was for a one-year term, and now this is, I guess for four years. That is a significant departure from what the RFP had called for. Does anybody have any explanation of how we went from a one-year to a four-year arrangement? Thanks, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Mr. O'Reilly. Minister Sebert,

As I mentioned earlier, NGOs such as the John Howard Society generally want the stability of a long-term contract, so that's why this period of time was agreed upon. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Minister Sebert. Mr. O'Reilly.

Thanks, Mr. Chair. Did the department look at the option of actually reissuing the RFP for a longer period of time, or making other changes to the RFP rather than to enter into some sort of a negotiated arrangement? Thanks, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Mr. O'Reilly. Minister Sebert,

Yes. Of course, with the RFP, we were always aware of constraints on time that we needed to have something in place by July 1st. There initially was, of course, no applicants to our RFP. We then went out to NGOs. We are speaking to the John Howard Society, and it was their wish should they decide to take this up, which they did, that they be given a lengthy contract so that they would have some certainty for the future. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Minister Sebert. Mr. O'Reilly.

Thanks, Mr. Chair. Again, I will express some concern here that the Regular MLAs, we actually asked for the program to be reinstated for a full year, and the most the Minister would commit to was six months; and then, all of a sudden, it jumps from a one-year RFP to a four-year contract. That's a very significant change in course, so I will just leave it at that for now. The reason why I am going to ask this next question is, I understand, I have worked for NGOs. All of them sort of go through ups and downs over the years, but there have been some recent changes at the John Howard Society in terms of their leadership that might raise some issues around their capacity to deliver on a program like this. How can the Minister provide some reassurance that the minimum qualifications for this organization, or the ability to deliver on this, any minimum qualifications have been met, and that this organization actually has the capacity to deliver this very important program? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. O'Reilly. Minister Sebert,

Yes, Mr. Chair. I certainly concur with Mr. O'Reilly's observations that this is a very important contract, which it is, and there are certainly terms in the contract which the John Howard Society must adhere to, failing which they would be in breach of the contract. Now, the John Howard Society, I see some notes here, has been around for 150 years; not perhaps, delivering this exact type of program, but somewhat related program, so we do have some confidence in their ability to deliver, and should they fail to do so, they would be in breach of the contract. Thank you.

Thank you, Minister Sebert. Mr. O'Reilly.

Thanks, Mr. Chair. John Howard may have been around for 150 years, but how long have they been here in the Northwest Territories or, indeed, in Yellowknife? Thanks, Mr. Chair.