Alfred Moses

Does the Minister know how old the building is in terms of building years and when it does need to be replaced in terms of our policies within our government? Thank you.

I just want to make a quick comment on the Productive Choices program. I do understand that when clients come and get funding, that the two choices they could possibly do is get some counselling or go do upgrading. In some instances what I’ve been hearing is that anyone who’s going through income assistance will go get their counselling. It’s not an effective counselling. They’re going there to get, possibly, a document signed, and then they take it to the income support office to get their funding. So they’re using up space which is really needed, because we have mental health issues in the...

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I, too, just want to make the same comments as my colleagues here in regard to the income support. It’s very disturbing to hear that the large clientele is between the ages of 19 and 29. That’s very shocking and disappointing. Kind of contrary to Ms. Bisaro’s comments, the line item for income assistance is down from last year’s estimates by $60,000. Is the department looking at, due to our economic downturn, the increase in our general rate application, the lack of jobs in the communities? Does the department see more applications for income assistance, and if so, how...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As much as I would like to continue questioning the Minister of Health on some of these questions, this is a bigger issue. It comes down to the Business Incentive Policy. My question today is for the Minister of Industry, Tourism and Investment. I just want to know, when RFPs come through to the government, who scores the BIP process of that RFP. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

When the contract was awarded out to the southern company, our local contractor in Inuvik was already told that he had got the contract after the BIP was awarded to the southern company. It’s pretty mindboggling. Anyhow, how can the department justify signing off on a contract when the initial contractor, the one who had it before, is appealing the process? During the appeal process, how can this government sign off on a contract, especially when it’s going to a southern company and our northern dollars are going south? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In follow up to my Member’s statement, I would like to ask the Minister of Health and Social Services a few questions on a process that brought this situation down to the floor. I’d like to ask the Minister what the steps and processes that the Department of Health and Social Services takes in awarding service contracts and is it a common practice between all contracts throughout the regions.

Thank you. I just want to make a comment that the Minister did say that there were those projects coming forward and they’re not particularly in this fund, that they’re in another line item. Now he’s saying he has to look for those funds. So I just want to put that for the record, that he’s looking and that it’s not actually there.

I know some of my other colleagues have some questions that they’d like to ask as well. I just want to put the importance of the Early Childhood Development Program and if we start focusing some of our dollars there, you see four lines down the inclusive schooling...

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. A couple of program delivery details on here that I had questions in regards to. The first one, obviously, is with the Early Childhood Development Program. Back in 2010-11 we were funding it more than what was asked, and 2011-12 it was at $7.208 million, and this year again nothing has changed and yet the Minister continues to speak about how important early childhood development is, and we’re waiting on some of those infrastructure and programs to help our communities and our early childhood succeed.

With this put in the budget, would the Minister be able to look at...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’m glad that the Minister had mentioned that. In speaking with my constituent, all he wanted was fairness. He wanted fairness for all northern contractors and he wanted to be a voice to say look, there is something wrong with this process. He wants any northern contractors who lose a contract within this government to seek answers and not just accept it for what it is. That is a message to all northern contractors to look for answers and know why they didn’t win the contracts.

With that said, I would like to ask the Minister if he is willing to do an overall training...

Mr. Speaker, so I guess it is kind of safe to say that when the BIP process is being scored, they are not scored the same from department to department or person to person or committee to committee, so there are some discrepancies on how this BIP policy actually works in all the departments within this government.

How can the Minister justify that a local company loses a contract to a southern company when the whole objective of the BIP process is to allow our local contractors a greater chance of securing these contracts and keeping the money in the North as well as creating jobs for our...