Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I have a written question here entitled "Sole Source Contracting for Northwest Territories Health and Social Services under Procurement Criteria 1.8.2(a)."
Government contract regulations require that contracts be issued through a competitive process, unless they meet the regulatory requirements for sole source contracting. The GNWT can enter into sole source contracts based on narrow criteria. One of these criteria states that performance of the contract is urgently required, and delay would be injurious to the public interest:
- What budgetary total and portion of amount and rate of the Northwest Territories Health and Social Services Authority's contracting is awarded under the sole source criteria 1.8.2(a) provision which states "performance of the contract is urgently required and delay would be injurious to the public interest;”
- What is the average length of time of contracts awarded under sole source criteria 1.8.2(a);
- What is the rate of sole source contracts awarded under criteria 1.8.2(a) that undergo change orders;
- What is the average rate of increase of change orders awarded under criteria 1.8.2(a); and
- Given a significant amount of sole source contracts awarded by NTHSSA under criteria 1.8.2(a) are largely for training, goods, and some ongoing services, why are long-term sole source contracts used rather than short-term contracts to address urgent needs followed by a competitive contract process for long-term needs?
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.