Robert C. McLeod

As part of the review and in my conversation that I will have with the department, I want to ensure that the government gets value for money. If it means a different type of reporting, then that is something that I would commit to having a discussion with my officials about because, at the end of the day, I want to ensure that the government gets value money and there are also opportunities for a lot of smaller businesses to take advantage of some of the sole-source contracts that we have.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the Member is correct. We did raise the limits. It has been well received by a lot of businesses across the NWT. Of course, there are always concerns with a lot of the initiatives that we take on. I have committed the Department of Finance to review the impact of the increase. The procurement committee is just developing the terms of reference and are looking at getting an independent contractor to review the policy.

I look forward to having the conversation with the Member because we're always interested in some of the concerns that are raised across the Northwest Territories. Not only on this particular issue, but other issues. I look forward to having that conversation. I will commit that I will follow up on any discussions that we may have as far as the timeline. As I said before, we're developing the terms of references and, as I become aware of the timeline when we actually get this out, I will keep the Member and this House informed. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I'd be happy to, if Members have questions on the P3 process. I would be happy to provide a briefing to the Members or I could have a conversation with the Member from Sahtu. We believe that P3 projects, we've had three of them: one is in the operations phase; one is in the construction phase; and one is actually in the procurement phase. Then we have three that we are looking at a feasibility study/business case for them. We'll continue to provide Members with regular updates on the P3 projects as we go forward.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the P3 policy was enacted in May of 2011. I'm not sure the whole contents of the particular policy, but I do know, when they're putting a proposal together and it is presented, there are a number of factors that are taken into consideration. One is choosing a successful proponent. I would have to confirm it, but I think the question that the Member asked would be one of the items that they look at.

I would think not. The P3 projects that we do bring forward are usually very large projects that exceed the $5 million limit.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, decisions about caribou management are a shared responsibility of the NWT and are made in collaboration with Indigenous, territorial, and federal governments and boards that have responsibilities for wildlife management and land-use planning decisions. Overall population and herd-specific management plans define monitoring and management actions in the NWT and play a key role in overall caribou management. As part of our government’s mandate, Mr. Speaker, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources has made commitments to implement an updated...

I will give direction to the department to ensure that we have staff on hand to answer any questions that may come up during the meeting.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my understanding is that they had called the spill line and ENR officers went to the site. ENR, we are the lead regulatory agency that ensures responsible parties like the city maintains operations. They meet departmental standards for the protection of people, property, and management, so our officers were on the scene right away. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I wish to table the following document entitled "Public Accounts, 20162017, Sections I, II, III and IV." Thank you, Mr. Speaker.