Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the Member said the government has taken a position that the proponents were all advised that an inverse ratio would be used. That's not the case. This was not a situation where the RFP was identified that an inverse ratio would be provided. According to the BIP monitoring office, that is not an unusual process to use when a fixed price or a set price is used in an RFP. So when you advertise that you are looking for a fixed price, it's quite common to use the inverse ratio.

According to Public Works, this methodology is not prejudicial to northern proponents because the cost of infrastructure is accounted for in the evaluation of the value of northern and local goods and services. In terms of the BIP preference, that was reviewed as well. The way in which that was calculated in this case for Northstar, and I am advised that there was a mathematical error found in the analysis, but it actually worked to the benefit of Northstar.

So I am afraid that while there is an assertion here being made that this is not fair and not right, the advice that we have gotten from Public Works is that it's quite standard and that, in fact, it doesn't prejudice northern contractors.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the deputy minister, when the issue was raised with her, did in fact ask Shepell-fgi to ascertain that the names that they had in their proposal were properly listed. Shepell came back and, at that point, said, we have mistakenly included one name, and apologized for that and asked us to remove it from the proposal. At this point, we are advised that there was one name, but that is the only one that we are aware of. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I am advised that there is a difference between a tender document and an RFP. The expectation of the tender is that the proponents who are bidding on the tender will have contracts in place with the subcontractors. An RFP is an identification of those who will be used. There isn't the requirement to have those contracts in place. In this case, as long as the successful proponent meets the set level of northern contractors to make sure that they were appropriately awarded the contract, the advice I am given is that we don't have grounds to redo the competition. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The issue is not one of whether or not an individual had more merit to provide the services or not, because the individuals whose names were submitted as subcontractors were not assessed by the department as to their qualifications as long as they met the standards that were required. So whether one individual was removed from consideration in one of the RFPs, it didn't affect the outcome in any material way. Even after removal of that person from one RFP, the BIP office confirmed that it would not have changed the outcome in the application. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. When Northstar came to me and identified their concerns, I asked the BIP monitoring office in ITI to review the process. I have subsequently asked the Department of Justice to review the process, as well as the Department of Public Works and Services to review the process. All three have come back to me and advised that there is not enough that was wrong with the process to warrant overturning it. As Public Works has said, there were a number of procedural issues with the RFP, but while they may lend themselves to an error of public uncertainty about the process, they did not constitute any error in the issuance of the final RFP or in the resultant contract. So that is the advice that I have been given. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. To the first question, the costs of the proposal was one of the four important aspects that was evaluated, one of the four areas. The proposal was put out with a fixed cost in it. The proposal was advertised as having a budget set at a certain amount, and proponents were asked to respond to tell us what could be provided within that budget.

The issue of how much of the expenditures will be remaining in the North, again, there will be some variety, I guess. We will have to watch and see how much stays in the North. We have a responsibility, now that the contract has been awarded, to monitor that the expenditures are as they were set out in the proposal and ensure that subcontractors who are resident northerners are used to the extent that were proposed in the proposal. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Shepell-fgi does not, to the best of my knowledge, have a resident or an office in the Northwest Territories. They did, however, list a number of subcontractors who are registered with the BIP. So BIP would have been allocated for those subcontractors in their proposal.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. There were three respondents to the public call for request for proposals and all were evaluated on four criteria: the capability of the proponents, the methodology or approach proposed by the proponents, the level of service, and cost. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Disability Awareness Week takes place from May 27th to June 2nd. The purpose of this week is to recognize people with disabilities and to highlight their abilities and contributions to our communities across the Northwest Territories. The month of May is also Speech and Hearing Awareness Month.

This year's theme for Disability Awareness Week is Building Access One Block at a Time, focusing on education, technology, employment, recreation, transportation and housing. This theme fits in well with the disability framework and action plan for persons with disabilities. That framework established five priority areas: education, culture, income, disability supports and housing.

The social programs departments and their regional authorities work with many non-governmental organizations and together we strive to improve services for persons with disabilities.

The NWT Council of Persons with Disabilities has expanded its community outreach programs into the Sahtu region this past year. This program is now operating in Wekweeti, Gameti, Fort Simpson, Whati, Inuvik, Hay River, Behchoko and Fort Smith. Mr. Speaker, every indication points to success for these programs throughout the Northwest Territories. Because of this expansion, more people with disabilities are accessing assistance and services.

The Canadian National Institute for the Blind, the Yellowknife Association for Community Living, the YWCA, the Autism Society and the Learning Disability Association are also vital organizations dedicated to serving the needs of disabled persons. This government has also partnered with the Rick Hansen Foundation. The government will provide the foundation $20,000 annually for the next five years. This funding will be used to assist people living in the NWT with spinal cord injuries and other disabilities.

I encourage everyone to watch for activities that highlight Disability Awareness Week in their communities. I would also like to acknowledge the work of our NWT speech language pathologists, audiologists and the Canadian Hard of Hearing Association Yellowknife Branch during this week and applaud the help they provide throughout the year for those with speech and hearing challenges.

We honour and thank persons with disabilities throughout the NWT for their contributions and the strength they provide to our friends, families and communities. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

---Applause