Richard Gleeson
Northern News Services

Yellowknife (Mar 31/00) - NWT Family Services is scrambling to redefine itself after losing its biggest customer -- the territorial government.

The non-profit organization discovered last week it did not win a three-year contract to provide a wide range of personal counselling services to government employees and their families.

NWT Family Services, which has provided the service for the last four years, was the lowest of three bidders on a request for proposals the government originally issued Dec. 6.

Three proposals submitted in response to that request were not reviewed, said government press secretary Judy Langford.

"The three proposals we received were all way above the price estimated for this service and all of the proponents were asked to go back and re-submit," said Langford.

NWT Family Services submitted the lowest bid on the initial round -- $191,000 per year for the three years.

All three companies re-submitted lower bids. The contract was awarded to a newly-created company, North Star, which proposed services at a cost of $315,000 per year.

"It struck our board of directors as amazing that the government would chose to spend half a million more for this contract after the contract proposers indicated cost was a big factor," NWT Family Services executive director Rod Taylor said Tuesday.

Langford said North Star won the contract because it offered more experienced staff and more extensive service in communities outside of Yellowknife.

Taylor said NWT Family Services, wary of the government cost-consciousness, proposed telephone counselling services in smaller communities.

Two of the three owners of North Star are former employees of NWT Family Services. They left the organization three years ago, while it was in the midst of a painful restructuring that included combining contract work with general counselling services for little or no cost.

Taylor said NWT Family Services still provides the general counselling to the Yellowknife community on a sliding scale based on income. Prices for each session range from nothing to $75.

It also provides one counsellor a day each week to the Yellowknife Women's Centre, provides counselling and group workshops to the YWCA and support services to the Aboriginal Healing Circle and Tree of Peace at no charge.

Responding to questions from Yellowknife MLAs Bill Braden and Charles Dent, Premier Stephen Kakfwi said the government provides NWT Family Services with roughly $200,000 annually in core funding. Kakfwi said the judging of the contracts was reviewed and the decision stands. The premier said a review is currently under way of government procurement practices.

That is cold comfort to NWT Family Services and the organizations that rely on them for support.

Last Friday the organization was told to inform all government employees the cost of counselling they receive there will not be covered by government after today.

"We're in a very urgent situation," said Taylor Tuesday. "This organization has to decide how it looks and how it sees itself by April 1."