Robert Hawkins

It’s interesting how the Minister paints the light as if it’s been fair and open. To say it went on the web page, she is correct, but the fact is that the Inuvik Health and Social Services was chasing down this… Obviously it’s clear that they were chasing down this business to participate in a public tender. But if you read the public tender, it says a specific company; we’re using their catalogue and references and numbers. How does the Department of Health and Social Services expect them to compete fairly and openly with what clearly looks like a sole-source contract dedicated to one...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I seek unanimous consent to waive Rule 93(4) and move Committee Report 2-16(5) into Committee of the Whole for today.

---Unanimous consent granted

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Monday morning I was contacted by a constituent who was very concerned about a recent Department of Health public tender. Their business received a fax Friday afternoon from Inuvik Health to which they only noticed Monday morning and, by the way, Mr. Speaker, it closes this Thursday. To understand this situation and appreciate the complexity, I will describe it this way.

The tender was faxed to this office Friday, May 14th. The fax was examined on Monday morning, May 17th, and the tender closes on May 20th. Simply put, this business is only allowed four business days to...

I seek unanimous consent to waive Rule 93(4) and move Committee Report 1-16(5) into Committee of the Whole for today.

---Unanimous consent granted

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. May I remind the Premier that the Minister is ultimately responsible? That’s what I’m asking for, is the Minister step in, stop protecting a bad decision, stop justifying a bad decision, and stop managing by the rear view mirror by saying we’ll look into it after it’s done. Because you know, by that time it’s long past. Mr. Speaker, it sets up a reputation of bad governance, bad contracting.

Mr. Speaker, I don’t really want to hear about board reform. I think it’s a red herring and a waste of this Assembly’s time. The question really comes down to, and I ask the Premier...

I’m glad the Premier is rolling in on this issue, because I’m glad to see someone’s taking it serious. The fact is, when the Minister says we’ve been contacting -- yes, as of yesterday, the first time they’ve made any effort to get back to this company. They placed repeated calls to the contact on the tender of request to no answer, only until it’s brought to the Minister of Health and Social Services’ attention, when the clock is ticking.

Mr. Speaker, the only honourable thing to do is to pull this contract back, pause it and tender it in a fair way that doesn’t show the competitor’s inventory...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I am just curious. By what policy or what ministerial authority can this Housing Minister guarantee every single process was followed? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In my Member’s statement today I talked about the issue of oil tanks and the way that we should come up with a rebate program to help people with that expensive cost to replace them and certainly making sure that a good upkeep is kept on those tanks before an environmental problem comes. As I said in my Member’s statement today, an environmental problem with a leaky oil tank could lead to hundreds of thousands of dollars. Mr. Speaker, my first question to the Minister of Environment and Natural Resources is: does the Minister agree that helping people make responsible...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We’re all too familiar with the devastating effects of oil spills and millions of dollars that are needed to clean them up. An oil spill does not have to be as big as the Gulf of Mexico or, certainly, the Exxon Valdez to have serious financial and long-lasting environmental implications. Mr. Speaker, similar small scale catastrophes happen in our own backyard. Anyone who has experienced a fuel spill as a result of a leaky oil tank knows exactly what I’m talking about.

I’m aware of a recent resident who has paid over $200,000 to excavate contaminated soil in their very...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I didn’t hear the Minister would make sure that he sent out an e-mail or an information blast to departments who do manage this file. I mean, the point I’m trying to make is the information I got even from his department seems confusing and perhaps wrong, and he’s cleared it up for the record and I appreciate that. I just want to make sure that that information gets out to all the departments to make sure they’re hiring in the same manner the Minister has described today, because if that confusion is out there, people will be missing opportunities that they rightly...