Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I have another set of questions for Minister of Health and Social Services.
So the ten-year contract for air ambulance services in NWT was signed last May with Access Air Ambulance, a joint venture between Air Tindi, several Indigenous development corporations, and Advanced Medical Solutions, which was bought a few days later by a non-northern company. The total value of the latest contract was $425 million, almost three times the value of the previous ten-year contract for air ambulances.
So my question, through the contract Access Air Ambulance has committed to achieving substantial levels of NWT content as per the Business Incentive Policy. Can the Minister tell us what does substantial levels of NWT content mean exactly? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Member from Yellowknife North. Minister responsible for -- or sorry, Minister of Health and Social Services.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And so according to the BIP online, substantial levels means the contractor must show meaningful, not token, use of northern capacity; for example, through NWT registered subcontractors, local staff, and services delivered from the Northwest Territories. The goal is to maximize economic benefit for the Northwest Territories residents, support local jobs and skills, and recognize the higher cost of doing business in the North. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Can the Minister tell us what happens if HSS or the health authority or GNWT decides that the contractor has not achieved substantial levels of NWT content; what happens in that case for a ten-year contract such as this? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, as this is an essential service to the residents of the Northwest Territories, it is where our most vulnerable are having to be moved from small communities to the regional centres, regional centres that need to have access in the capital, and to the southern -- to Alberta. Within this -- you know, I'd have to get back to the Member on how procurement is done. I am very familiar with a lot of the portfolios; however, procurement is not one of the things that I delve down into on a day-to-day basis. So I would have to get back to the back. Thank you.
Thank you, Minister of Health and Social Services. Final supplementary. Member from Yellowknife North.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I can certainly appreciate that so I appreciate the Minister getting back to us.
And so, finally, particularly given that the number of air ambulance rides that are required has actually been slightly decreasing over the last three years, can the Minister commit to providing detailed justification for why taxpayers are suddenly paying three times the amount for this contract? For example, what new services are going to be provided, why those new services are necessary. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, as I can recall from the conversation yesterday that we were starting on this, I don't have all the details. What I do have is that from what was mentioned, we had in the old contract fixed costs that cushioned the price inflation and the volume in the numbers. The new contract had to address the new volumes, inflation, and the contract was based on volumes from ten years ago -- only the contract was based on volumes from ten years ago. So this new contract includes new planes that travel faster, can travel longer distance, less down time for planes and staffing based on staffing configurations. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Minister of Health and Social Services. Oral questions. Member from Yellowknife Centre.
