Daniel MacIsaac
Northern News Services

NNSL (Mar 08/99) - MLA Jake Ootes is calling for the GNWT to make its system of awarding work contracts more open and accountable.

Ootes said he has had numerous complaints from his constituents regarding the government's negotiated, request-for-proposal and other contract processes.

"The issues are always generally the same," Ootes wrote to Premier Jim Antoine in a Feb. 19 letter. "Why don't contactors receive feedback on reasons for their unsuccessful bid? Why, when public dollars are being committed, are contract expenditures not made public?"

Ootes said last week that the government awards four kinds of contracts -- request-for-proposals, negotiated, sole sourced and open and competitive public tender. He said the matter is a significant one for the North -- the total value of contracts awarded during the fiscal year ending March 31, 1998, alone was $305 million.

Ootes said the problem mainly concerns requests-for-proposals and negotiated contracts. Ootes said project applicants must complete forms that rate them on criteria such as experience and base-of-operations -- the GNWT favours local contractors -- but Ootes calls the system unaccountable.

"Unsuccessful applicants don't get back the rating sheets," he said, "so they can't improve on areas where they've fallen short or understand why the successful contractor got the contract."

Ootes said he doesn't fault the government workers awarding the contracts but rather the system itself. He adds, however, that many companies are reluctant to openly voice their frustrations out of fear of backlash in subsequent applications.

"I was with the GNWT years ago, and it's time the problem got figured out," said John Purdy of the Nunavut Construction Corporation in Iqaluit.

Bill Aho confirmed that the problem is certainly nothing new. President of the NWT Construction Association and representing more than 150 firms across the territory, Aho said members have been complaining about the system for a long time and feel contracts are awarded more because of good fortune than by reason.

"We have approached every politician in the NWT over the past 10 years on these contracts," he said. "It's been a sore point between our industry and the government and has caused a situation where we, as an association, and the government haven't worked as closely as we could to benefit both sides."

Aho said there's no mystery why Ootes and other MLAs have managed to take up the issue now.

"I think it's because of the conflict of interest inquiry that we just went through that brought it to the forefront," he said.

Ootes said he would pursue the matter when the legislature sits later this month.