Robert Hawkins

People in Yellowknife would like to pay the price the expert down in…(inaudible)…had suggested, which was about $1.14 or so, in that range in Yellowknife. A couple of weeks ago when I raised this particular issue – and this is not a point of criticism, but I’m going to ask what the Minister has done since then. This is the area of consumer protection. This issue was a new area for him and he wasn’t familiar with it. He has been Minister for some time in this particular department. In the last two weeks, what has he done to educate himself in these particular areas as to his authority about...

Thank you, Madam Speaker. It’s almost been two weeks since I raised the issue of gas prices here in Yellowknife and the requirement possibly of legislation, or I should say regulation on this particular issue, the only way to get to the bottom of it. The day after I raised the issue, I had a couple of Ministers – they must have been lost – on our end of the hallway for some reason or another, but a couple of Ministers had asked, did my comments in the House change the price of gas and I’ll have to tell you no, it did not, because I filled up my vehicle the other day and I noticed it’s still...

Madam Speaker, I had asked for information, even to be blacked out, to prove that they had actually complied with the contract bidding process. As I said and I continue to say, part of the Appendix B had to be filled out that demonstrated they had a northern component. This is just an awarding of a sub to a southern company to yet again come do northern work.

Will the Minister comply with my request, which is by e-mail, asking for them to prove that they filled out Appendix B? The way it stands now, they did not and nothing says they complied fairly. Thank you.

Thank you, Madam Speaker. My questions will quite obviously be for the Minister of Transportation, if anyone was listening to my Member’s statement. I am sure they were listening very carefully, of course, as to how important it was. Everyone was.

That said, I had asked the Minister’s office for detail on schedule B, or I should say Appendix B, to prove that the contractor had won the electrical bridge contract fairly and squarely. Maybe the Minister could, for the education of the House, say who officially won it and did they have northern content as required in the tender process. Thank you.

Thank you for that. I appreciate the Minister’s response. The issue of what’s possible, is this a concept that the department could get behind and evaluate, investigate and perhaps provide some consideration for the board? I’m not going to split hairs, 90 tags, 110 tags. Let the experts help drive that answer that makes sense. Caribou tags at 100 tags per outfitter, which I think we’re only talking about five outfitters here that are probably active that could be saved. Is that something that your department could investigate and see whether they could support and perhaps provide some...

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I’d like to pick up with the same subject Ms. Bisaro has raised. Specifically two areas I’d like to discuss.

In my Member’s statement and questions back in October, I talked about identifying what’s considered a number that will trigger our system to be re-engaged on an outfitter participation level. That would be question one. Recently in some discussions with some outfitters, as few as a hundred tags could make that much of a difference and we would no longer have to subsidize their lodges. It could get them back into business. Two questions there.

Would the Minister...

I’ll take it as notice, the answer.

What I’m asking is, will this information all be sent to my office. It can be blacked out hiding proprietary information. I understand that. But there needs to be proof that they complied with the requirement as stated out in the tender, which is to demonstrate that they have northern content. That is the critical issue, to make sure that information is conveyed before the final contract has been signed. Thank you.

Thank you, Madam Speaker. Will the Minister help me and help the House by allowing himself to go get educated in his area of authority on this particular issue? Thank you.

In the interim, at the suggestion of my colleagues Ms. Bisaro and Mr. Dolynny, they suggested setting up a petition. As such, I have done that on the Legislative Assembly website. Of course, don’t worry, a press release will be on its way very soon.