Thank you, Madam Chair. We welcome all of the input from businesses. We are more than open to actually having businesses sit together and look at it, but we need to work in partnership on this. This is a GNWT policy, so we would like to actually be part of the table instead of just letting it go freehand, so be open, but we want to be part of the discussion. Thank you, Madam Chair.

Thank you, Madam Premier. Member for Yellowknife Centre.

Thank you, Madam Chair. I can appreciate that letting go can be very scary, but I really feel that, if there was a panel that was tasked with coming up with best practices, that that would in fact produce very good results. I find that having the GNWT at the table, and I am reflecting on my own experience of co-drafting-type situations, is that they tend to be a boat anchor of barriers, slowdowns, and different kinds of opposition to what is going on, where there might be more free thinking if the businesses were able to work on this on their own. All they could do is come up with recommendations. It would be up to the government to decide whether those recommendations fitted their procurement policy. Thank you.

Thank you, Member for Yellowknife Centre. Minister of Infrastructure.

I completely agree with the Member. Perhaps, I was misunderstanding what you were saying before. Yes, I would a hundred percent commit to having the business community develop their own comments and thoughts outside the GNWT influence. I think that is where you are trying to get at. The only caution I have if we establish a panel is the business community is going to want to get paid and they are going to want to do this as a consulting thing, so I completely appreciate and will take that into consideration. I also just want to point out that I come from the business community. I know I won't be sitting in the details of everything, but I will be providing an oversight and not allowing that sort of, how do I diplomatically say this, not allowing the idea of not being able to change. I am pushing a change mandate on my department. Thank you.

Thank you, Minister. Member for Frame Lake.

Thanks, Madam Chair, and I want to thank my colleague from Yellowknife Centre for raising the recommendation from the Standing Committee on Economic Development and Environment that I sat on in the last Assembly. The idea was to have an ongoing advisory committee, panel, whatever you want to call it, so it's not just a one-time deal. That's not exactly engagement; it's an ongoing function. We had a Minister in the last Assembly who wasn't even prepared to admit that there was a problem. Despite numerous emails to individual MLAs and raising it in the House, he wouldn't even admit that there was a problem. I hope that you are going to adopt an ongoing approach to continual improvement that involves small business. Thanks, Madam Chair.

Thank you, Member for Frame Lake. Madam Premier.

Thank you, Madam Chair. You have a commitment from the Minister and myself that we will engage with small businesses. We are open to having a panel where they can write whatever they want. However, we are not committing if there is a cost to it. Ongoing feedback from the business community, ongoing feedback from all stakeholders is what we are asking for this government to do. That is something that is an easy yes. Thank you, Madam Chair.

Thank you, Madam Premier. Member for Frame Lake.

Thanks, Madam Chair. I think we are starting to get somewhere. I just want the Minister and the Premier then to look at that report from the standing committee in the last Assembly. I want to move on to one other area, though. Earlier today, the Minister for Infrastructure made this statement about the Tlicho All-Season Road. There was, quite frankly, some shocking statistics in here about northern employment, that less than half the workers on the Tlicho All-Season Road are Northwest Territories residents, and there are only 40 percent of the business contracts going to northern businesses. That is quite shocking. This is a project that we are managing, we are paying for. That is the best we can do?

I had understood last Assembly that the Minister had said there were going to be northern employment requirements in contracting requirements built into the P3, and this is the best we can do? I am shocked, quite frankly. The Member for Monfwi has raised this, as well. That is not even listed in here anywhere on this page that, when we are spending money on big projects, we have to build in northern requirements with penalties into the contracts or the P3 arrangements. That is a way of securing northern benefits. It is not even mentioned in here. I guess I am seeking a commitment from the Premier that that is something we are going to pursue. It is our money. We should be making sure that Northerners benefit from these big projects. Is that something that is going to be worked on in this Assembly? Thanks, Madam Chair.

Thank you, Member for Frame Lake. Madam Premier.

Thank you, Madam Chair. Absolutely. This government is not the last government. I won't stand here and say what the previous Minister of Infrastructure made commitments to. However, I will state that this government is committed to reviewing the procurement processes, all of our BIP processes, all of the policies around it. We also have, as I stated before, the Cabinet value that says northern jobs, northern contractors. We will stand behind that. Thank you, Madam Chair.

Thank you, Madam Premier. Member for Frame Lake.

Thanks, Madam Chair. We have to make sure that this is going to include training and apprenticeships, as well. This was something that the Federation of Labour, in the last Assembly, past president raised with the Regular MLAs. I think she even approached some Members of Cabinet about this. These big projects are opportunities for us to build in training and apprenticeship requirements, as well. I don't know if that was done on the Tlicho All-Season Road. It certainly didn't happen with Stanton, because I am playing hockey with guys who are being flown up from Ontario to work at that project. That was ridiculous, without any northern requirements for training and apprenticeships. How are we going to change that on the big projects moving forward? Thanks, Madam Chair.

Thank you, Member for Frame Lake. Madam Premier.

Thank you, Madam Chair. My understanding is the Tlicho Government actually were part of the negotiations on this P3 contract, so they were involved in it. I do want to make a clarification that our commitment is to trying to get jobs for northern residents, contracts for northern businesses. However, there are certain things, there is a specialization, perhaps, in the Stanton hospital that could have been argued. That is what I heard on the floor in the last Assembly. There would be areas of specialization. If we can't get it, we would have to go south, but that is not what we are trying to do. We are trying to keep the money in the North. Thank you, Madam Chair.

Thank you, Madam Premier. Member for Frame Lake

Thanks, Madam Chair. This is something I am going to be looking for in our spending moving forward, the contracting that we do, procurement policy. It kind of comes back to some of the performance measurements or indicators that the Minister of Finance has talked about, as well. If we are going to be spending money, we have to make sure that Northerners are going to benefit from it. I am going to be watching for this. The results from the Tlicho All-Season Road, those are shocking, and that is not what we should be here trying to do. I will just leave it at that. Thanks, Madam Chair.

Thank you, Madam Chair. The other thing is: I know the Member brought up about training and apprenticeship. It is something that has been on my mind, as well, and I am sure other Cabinet Members. When those policies are reviewed, we will be looking at it. I will make a commitment though, on behalf of my Minister that before we complete this work she will share it with standing committee for feedback from Regular Members, because we also made a commitment to work better with Regular Members. Thank you, Madam Chair.

Thank you, Madam Premier. Member for Hay River South.

Thank you, Madam Chair. I'm just not sure where to start here. I guess I have seen the ups and I have seen the downs, being in business most of my life. A panel is fine, I guess. I have never really had much to do with panels. They might work. What I would suggest and what I want to start off with the Minister of ITI is to have her come to Hay River, which she agreed to, and actually meet face-to-face with people because that is what it is about. You have to actually hear it from the businesspersons and the workers and things like that. When it is second-, third-hand, it just doesn't work. I would encourage, if we are going to spend money, I would rather see this government do that. Go out and talk to people. I think that I already got that commitment that the Department of ITI will be doing that and the Department of Infrastructure because it really impacts the communities. As long as she agrees to that, I am happy on that one. Thank you.

Thank you, Member for Hay River South. Madam Premier.