Thank you, Mr. Speaker. A good time for me would be 7:30 breakfast tomorrow morning, if the Member is available.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I thank the government for also forwarding the negotiated contracts and new rules and procedures basic outline to the MLAs. I also thank the Minister for the commitment that he just made of his people working and his staff working with the communities and the development corporations to put forward the information to justify the negotiated contract. That should be all civil servants jobs, Mr. Speaker, to work with the people to develop their proposal to present to the government. I would also like to ask the Minister, at this time, Mr. Speaker, if he will commit, through this Legislative Assembly, to immediately meet with myself, with his deputy minister of MACA and his deputy minister of DPW in

order to finalize the talks on the negotiated contracts in my riding which he put out to tender and is closing in three days' time. I would like to know if he is interested in meeting to talk about that issue. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My question is for the Honourable Vince Steen, Minister of Public Works and Transportation. Mr. Minister, it has been a long standing practice of this government to negotiate contracts with local development corporations in the smaller communities. The reason previous governments, as well as this government, today developed this policy and the reason they implemented negotiated contracts to start with, is to ensure that the limited dollars, the limited capital dollars that we do have within our budgets stay within the communities they are allocated to. Also, the reason for this is to ensure that our development corporations and our communities get training on the job, they benefit from the ability to run the jobs and they do not only sweep up the floors after outside contractors. I ask the Minister today, Mr. Speaker, through you, has there been any change in the negotiating policy on negotiating contracts with this government? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to recognize the Honourable Kelvin Ng, Minister of Finance for the Nunavut Government and our past colleague. Thank you.

--Applause

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and I thank all the Members of the Assembly for allowing me to conclude my statement. This government has brought into existence the Community Empowerment Policy and this policy, Mr. Speaker, they work with communities so communities can take control of their own programs and services. Communities now take care of their health program delivery, their social service program delivery. Building of buildings is not that hard. Communities can do that as well. It is a benefit to this government for communities to negotiate contracts and for community members to build those buildings and community development corporations to build those buildings. There is no way that our community development corporations can compete against major cities and major communities like Yellowknife and Hay River. Our communities are very small, isolated, and we work within our own boundaries. We want to carry out our own projects, do them with our own people and do them well. I believe this government would benefit in the long run by continuing its negotiation policy and Negotiated Contract Policy with our communities. It would show good faith on this government's part by negotiating contracts with our communities.

I am quite aware, Mr. Speaker, that the Premier and many other Members of Cabinet have been talking about a new partnership, and that partnership must mean the carrying out of negotiated contracts as well. A new partnership does not mean that you abandon the development corporations in our communities. It is very important that we carry out our negotiated contracts in our communities and all people move ahead together in the Western Territories. Our capital budget is not designed for Yellowknife or the big centres alone. It should be designed for our communities as well. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

--Applause

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I rise today to talk a little bit about the history of the Government of the Northwest Territories. As Members are all aware, the Government of the Northwest Territories was moved north quite some time ago in the early 60's. At that time we had a commissioner by the name of Mr. Stewart Hodgson. He was the one who implemented and brought North the civil servants and set the government up in the Northwest Territories. At one point in my career, Mr. Speaker, I had the opportunity to talk to the Prime Minister of this country. One of the things that stands out in his mind, is when the

Northwest Territories had one elevator, he can remember it quite clearly when he was the Minister of Indian Affairs, but yet we had two elevator inspectors. That was caused by transferring the bureaucracy from one level to another.

What I would like to talk about a little bit today, Mr. Speaker, are negotiated contracts, the Business Incentive Policy, and the development of government by the people of the Northwest Territories. It seems like a long time ago now, Mr. Speaker, but it was not that long ago that the majority of the contracts in the Northwest Territories were tendered. I can remember quite clearly back in 1986 when we had a million dollar project in the riding of Tu Nedhe and when everything shook out of the wash, because it was tendered, a Yellowknife firm got it and the community and the riding of Tu Nedhe benefited less than one percent of the capital cost. That is one of the reasons the government of the day made the bold decision to start negotiating contracts.

They also made a bold decision of implementing a Business Incentive Policy. The government of the day had decided at that time it was a benefit to our communities to negotiate contracts. It is a benefit to the government to negotiate contracts. Everybody always hears why we have so little money left to spend on capital projects. The money that we do spend on capital projects should stay in the community. That same capital project money should be used to help train the community, help implement programs in the community, and help people grow in the community by carrying out their own projects. Mr. Speaker, this government in its wise decision has developed a policy on community empowerment. Mr. Speaker, I seek unanimous consent to conclude my statement. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I am well aware, Mr. Speaker, that we do supply services to the Nunavut government and the Nunavut government is a customer of this government, basically, we are supplying a service. I am well aware of that and I congratulate and commend the government for assisting our neighbours to the east, but also I am well aware, Mr. Speaker, that our contractors and our manufacturers in the Western Arctic are basically having the door shut in their face in being able to tender or get any work in the Nunavut Territory. Will the Minister assure this House and make a commitment that not only will he look at the Procurement Policy of this government, but that they may attempt to do something about the policy to correct it prior to the construction season going into full swing? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and I thank the Minister for that commitment of looking at the Procurement Policy, and the Manufacturing Policy and Business Incentive Policy fitting underneath the overall Procurement Policy of the Northwest Territories' government. But, Mr. Speaker, as you are aware and the Minister is aware, as well as every other Member of this House, it is now, May 12th today. Construction season starts when the snow leaves, building season starts when the snow leaves. It is springtime, we are into our new capital commitments to the Northwest Territories, building roads, building buildings, and it does not do us a lot of good just to look at the policy, what we have to do is to do something about it.

Would you be able to, as a Minister and as this government, take action to ensure that the drainage to southern Canada ceases from the Northwest Territories? Our people are capable, more than capable of doing the work in the Northwest Territories. As well, to make sure that our manufacturers and our contractors are on an even footing when they compete with southern Canada and the new Nunavut Territory. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I do wish the government and the Minister the best of luck in their deliberations with the Nunavut Government. We are all politicians here and we all understand who we represent and what our constituents expect of us. I would not be holding my breath too long, Mr. Speaker, hoping that the Nunavut government would be awarding contracts to western contractors or western manufacturers at a premium price over southern manufacturers. We are no longer part of the whole Northwest Territories that did exist prior to April 1, 1999. The Minister is quite correct when he says there are two separate governments now, the Nunavut government is separate.

We have to start looking, Mr. Speaker, at our own contractors, our own manufacturers, to enable them to compete in Nunavut or the Yukon Territory and southern Canada. Will the Minister commit to taking a serious look with the private sector at our Manufacturing Policy and our Business Incentive Policy to enhance it and make it work so that it has measurable, measurable benefits to the west, and also so that it ensures that our people compete on even footing with other contractors from southern Canada and Nunavut? Thank you.