Minister of Justice.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would certainly like to hear more about this private space. I've heard a small amount today, and I think last week. I certainly would be prepared to discuss the matter with the RCMP. I don't think I can make any financial commitments as to whether we would be in a position to provide such a space. Thank you.

I know the Minister hasn't had a lot of time to consider this, but would he agree that privacy is currently a problem and a dedicated space may be a solution?

I certainly concur that privacy would be an issue and a problem and I certainly would be willing to meet with the RCMP to discuss solutions to that problem.

May I also suggest that the Minister of Justice talk to the Minister of Health about whether there could be a dedicated space or whether there is already planned a dedicated space in the new hospital for the use of the sexual assault evidence collection kit?

I certainly don't know whether there is any dedicated space in the plans for the new hospital. I will, however, be pleased to speak with the Minister of Health about this issue.

Masi. Oral questions. Member for Yellowknife Centre.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, can I get a commitment from the Minister to follow up on these questions when he does his other follow-up to oral questions from this session? Mahsi.

Thank you. I'd be happy to make that commitment.

Masi. Oral questions. Member for Kam Lake.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I'd like to thank the Minister of Infrastructure for putting such great confidence in me that a one-on-one meeting together will represent all the stakeholder interest in the procurement process and the government. Alas, Mr. Speaker, I am only one honourable Member of this House, and I'm going to ask if the Minister will reconsider his position from the previous sitting of this House and establish a special advisory panel on procurement that will draw expertise from public servants, NWT businesses, and procurement experts to make a better procurement system for the territory. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Minister of Infrastructure.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I don't think much has changed since last session. I will not commit to doing that. I'm willing to sit down, as I said, with the Member and discuss the problems that he's having with one of his constituents. I believe we have a very robust system in place for procurement in the Government of the Northwest Territories. Is it perfect? No, but we are working on that on a daily basis and trying to make things better for all residents in the Northwest Territories. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I'm a bit disappointed. I know the Minister is fond of advisory committees. He's established one for the Yellowknife Airport, so I was hoping he'd consider doing one for this issue as well. If not a committee, then, or a panel, would the Minister be willing to hire a consultant who can issue a comprehensive report that looks at government procurement policies and then we can take action on that report? Is the Minister willing to make that commitment?

No, I am not willing to commit to do that. As I've said in this House, I believe we have a good system in place. Is it perfect? No. We will continually work to improve it for residents in the Northwest Territories and businesses in the NWT.

I'm a bit disappointed. I know the Minister's very fond of consultants and helping the government do its work. What I'm trying to do by offering these suggestions is improve our procurement in a more public, transparent, and substantive way. If not any of these options I present on the table today, Mr. Speaker, will the Minister commit to coming to a constituency meeting or community meeting in my riding of Kam Lake that has many businesses and hearing the concerns directly from my constituents about the procurement? Will he make that commitment? I'll even provide the refreshments.

No, I will not go to a constituency meeting with the Member. We just did a tour with a number of MLAs and deputy ministers of his riding, particularly around manufacturers in the NWT. We have a public process to participate in procurement process in the Northwest Territories. We can allow input to there. People can write letters to me, as I've said, or contact me. As I've said in this House before, I believe the last time I spoke, I did not have one complaint around procurement in the Northwest Territories and, since the last session, I maybe had one or two complaints about procurement in the Northwest Territories. I'm not about to spend public money on a full-scale review of procurement in the Northwest Territories because a Member's constituent may have a problem. Maybe it is our fault and we will look into it, but I'm not going to spend public money in that matter.

Masi. Oral questions. Member for Kam Lake.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We've made progress today. The Minister has received two complaints. That's way better than zero complaints, but that's still just the tip of the iceberg. I appreciate that the Minister doesn't want to make this an expensive and an ineffective process, so I would suggest that we can work together to develop terms of reference that would ensure we streamline this process and make it work.

I'm disappointed that, even if I pay for the meeting, he's not willing to come to it, but I'll put it this way, Mr. Speaker: did the Minister hear the complaints from those vendors when we went on that tour together earlier this year? Did the Minister hear those complaints and is he taking action on them? Because several complaints were levied against the procurement system. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Yes, we've heard certain challenges from certain people in the manufacturing sector in the Northwest Territories. That's why we're coming forward with a manufacturer's strategy and, in the life of this government, we will address those in particular. As I've said, we have a very robust procurement system in the Northwest Territories; probably better than any province or territory in Canada. We will continue going down that road to help northern businesses meet the procurement to the Government of the Northwest Territories.

Masi. Oral questions. Member for Mackenzie Delta.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I also have questions for the Minister responsible for Infrastructure. In follow-up to my questions last week, I would like to ask the Minister: are the ferries in Tsiigehtchic and Fort McPherson ready for launch? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Masi. Minister of Infrastructure.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As of the latest information I had, we are still going through some refit stuff. There is actually some painting going on both of the ferries in the Member's riding. There is ongoing work and also site preparation to launch the ferries. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.