Rocky Simpson

Thank you, Madam Chair. Has the department done any work, taking in the fact that we have a pandemic on hand? Have you looked at those numbers and thought about adjustments already? Thank you, Madam Chair.

Thank you, Madam Chair. I guess in the news in the past, we saw negative oil prices. Has that affected the price that the GNWT has been paying for fuel or gas? Because that's a question that constituents ask: why is the price at negative whatever, and we're still paying $1.00, $1.20 a litre, and in Edmonton, they're paying 50 cents a litre? I'm just wondering, and I understand that we're buying bulk and we have to kind of have it ahead of time to get it on the barges and move it north. Thank you, Madam Chair.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Will the Minister just commit to taking a look at the SMCC facility? You know, there may not be a lot of employees there who are in that predicament, but there may be a few, and it would be nice to have it addressed sooner than later.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I'm not sure where you're buying the fuel from, where we're buying it from, if it's a rack price in Edmonton or where it is. Have you looked at, I guess, the rack price in Edmonton versus rack price say, in Vancouver, and rack price somewhere else overseas, and coming up through the North? I'm not sure what the rack price is. You might be able to give us a number. It doesn't have to be a solid number, just maybe a range of what we are paying for rack price and where. Thank you, Madam Chair.

I have had concerns raised by some of the staff that their leave has been cancelled, and there is starting to be some burn-out. Is your department aware of this?

Thank you, Madam Chair. I wasn't pleased about the comment you made about the Minister of ECE.

---Laughter

Anyway, one thing that is important, though, is service. One thing that I've noticed the government lacking is that we tend to forget that we're there to provide a service to the people of the NWT and not the other way around. I'm hoping to see that change over the term of this Assembly. I'm just wondering: how do you see that? How do you see us providing that service and how can we change it so that we're there to help them solve problems and assist them in building capacity, assisting...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I guess, in saying all this, I think that it is important that the Department of Health and the Department of Infrastructure work together to coordinate moving ahead. Everything went so fast, and I understand that, you know, the Department of Health probably had to take the lead and do stuff without really having time to talk to anybody else, but now we have that time. How is your department working with the Department of Health to make sure that this goes ahead smoothly and quickly? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Madam Chair. I guess, you know, again going back to lessons learned, I was talking to somebody today, and on the Whati road there is in excess of $200 million worth of work, and right now my understanding is that it's less than 10 percent northern, and, of that 10 percent, most of it is diesel fuel and just flow-through type goods. What have we learned, I guess, if that's what is happening? Maybe I am off-base, but I would like to hear what you have to say on that. Thank you, Madam Chair.

I would like the Minister to provide me with some comfort that the department will start to use tools, such as negotiated contracts and sole-source contracts, to the advantage of our northern businesses. Right now, what is happening is we still see contracts from the North going to southern contractors. There is always a reason why; there is always an excuse why, and we have to put a stop to that. I am looking to the Minister and her department to tell me how she's going to do it, and as soon as possible.

Thank you, Madam Chair. I guess for businesses in the North, you know, we are always concerned that people will say they are charging too much, but the cost of doing business here and having a brick and mortar here is costly. We are paying higher rates all around. Somehow we expect that BIP is going to take that into account, and it does somewhat but not fully. Now we are not taking into account the downturn in the economy down south. There is a cost to that. How do we include that when we are putting tenders out there? That is why I think it's very important that we deal with BIP as soon as...