Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Earlier I spoke about some changes that the government should undertake that would help small businesses grow, help build our capacity, and keep Northerners working. These are cross-departmental issues, but I will address my questions to the Minister of Finance. As I stated, to bid on government tenders worth over $100,000, bidders must put down a five per cent cash bond or a 10 per cent security bond. Given that this requirement may unduly penalize small businesses that are just doing their best to get ahead or stay afloat in this economy, and given that there's other, more accommodating ways that to protect the government's interest, will the government commit to reviewing this policy and ultimately, increasing that $100,000 threshold to an amount that allows and helps small businesses to compete and grow. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We all know that in the NWT, government contracts account for a large portion of private industry revenue. By changing the way the government does business, we can alleviate some of the fiscal pressure on small- and medium-sized businesses, and help grow our economy from the ground up. For example, to bid on government tenders worth over $100,000, a five per cent cash bond or 10 per cent security bond is required. For a small operator who may not have access to conventional bonding, this can pose a significant obstacle. When people are just trying to make ends meet, they can't afford to have tens of thousands of dollars tied up for months at a time. This puts smaller businesses at a disadvantage, which should never be the effect of government policy. I recommend increasing the threshold for requiring bonds, while increasing the holdback percentage to ensure the government still protects its interest. Our policy on sole-source contracts also needs to be re-examined. According to the Government Contract Regulations, all purchases over $5,000 must go to tender. This is an antiquated amount that hasn't risen along with the cost of goods, and needs to be increased. The time and resources of small businesses and of the government are already being stretched, and these regulations only serve to further burden all parties with needless paperwork. One of the biggest opportunities to help small businesses has to do with how the government awards contracts for large multimillion-dollar capital projects. The argument is that it is more cost-effective to award these contracts to a single company. However, what often happens is that money flows out of the territory and local small- and medium-size companies miss out entirely. We need to stop looking at costs in simplistic terms and realize the true cost of our actions and our inactions. It may be more work and it may be a little more expensive to break up these big contracts, but by doing so we can give small local companies the opportunity to get a real piece of the action. This would keep money in the territory and would help us build capacity. Most importantly, it would put Northerners to work, and that's what we need right now. The money we spend on capital projects belongs to the people of the NWT, and we have an obligation to ensure we are using it to their utmost benefit. We can't continue to think that simply getting the lowest price on a project means we fulfilled that obligation. I've highlighted just a few areas that we need to re-examine, but there are many more. Our economy isn't the same as it was last year, five years ago, or 10 years ago. We need to constantly critique and improve how we’re doing business in the face of ever-changing economic realities. Later, I will have questions for the finance minister. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Your committee has been considering Tabled Document 3-18(2), Supplementary Estimates, Infrastructure Expenditures No. 4, 2015-2016; and Tabled Document 4-18(2), Supplementary Estimates, Operations Expenditures No. 3, 2015-2016. I would like to report progress with two motions being adopted and that consideration of Tabled Documents 3-18(2) and 4-18(2) are concluded and that the House concur in those estimates, and that appropriation bills to be based thereon be introduced without delay. I move that the report of the Committee of the Whole be concurred with.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would also like to recognize Kristine Vannebo-Suwala, the executive director of the Family Support Centre in Hay River. Thank you.

Mr. Speaker, your committee has been considering Tabled Document 1-18(2), Proposed Mandate of the Government of Northwest Territories, 2016-2019 as amended and would like to report progress with 17 motions being adopted, and that consideration of Tabled Document 1-18(2) is concluded. I move that the report of the Committee of the Whole be concurred with.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’m glad to see that the South Slave is getting some attention. What South Slave projects could potentially be considered as shovel-ready?

That doesn't quite address the border to Enterprise. Are there any shovel-ready projects in the South Slave?

It's good to hear we got work on those three kilometres.

---Laughter

Is there anything else that might be included in bundles one or two that would include any work or benefit to Highway No. 1 at all?

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I want to direct my question to the Minister of Transportation and ask: Why is Highway No. 1 from the border to Enterprise not on any of the existing and proposed Building Canada bundles?