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Over half of money spent on contracts not tendered 607 sole-sourced contracts account for
$109 million of $364 million total for 2010-2011Janna Graham Northern News Services Published Monday, Nov 5, 2012
In that fiscal year, the government doled out almost $200 million in sole-source and negotiated contracts. The spending went to a range of services, from communications work to housing development, and was issued to both Northern and southern businesses. Total contracts were valued at nearly $365 million. All contracts must be issued through a competitive process, unless they meet specific requirements permitting a bypass of an open and competitive bid, according to a Department of Public Works and Services' policy. The highest negotiated contract was $21 million to Arcan Construction for upgrades to Diamond Jenness Secondary School in Hay River. In the case of negotiated contracts, the project must "lead to benefits for businesses or residents which could not reasonably be expected to be achieved through competitive contracting" and "contribute to the creation, growth and capacity of Northwest Territories businesses." Earlier this year, Yellowknife-based Det'on Cho Corporation was awarded a negotiated contract to complete the Ingraham Trail realignment - a project worth $15 million. Previously, the company received more than $2 million for various work including housing construction and fire suppression. Most of the untendered contracts last year, however, were awarded on a sole-source basis. In 2010-2011, 43 per cent of total contracts granted for goods and services were awarded to sole-source recipients. Those contracts ranged from approximately $5,000 to $72.4 million to B.C.-based Ruskin Construction for the Deh Cho Bridge. Ruskin was the subcontractor on the bridge and was handed the contract when New Brunswick-based Atcon Construction was taken off the project. Sole-sourced contracts were also given to former bureaucrats such as David Livingstone, who received $85,000 for a water strategy and trans-boundary negotiations. Livingstone is a one-time director of renewable resources and environment with the federal Department of Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development. He also was one of the authors of the NWT Water Management Strategy. Former premier Stephen Kakfwi was awarded $118,000 in sole-source contracts for consulting services through his company Kakfwi and Associates. Kelly Kaylo, president of Yellowknife-based K2 Communications, received more than $400,000 for marketing and website design for three GNWT contracts. Kaylo was appointed as assistant deputy minister, programs and operations with Industry, Tourism and Investment in December 2011. She is also a past vice-chair of the Northwest Territories Power Corporation. According to GNWT's policy, sole-source contracts must be valued at less than $5,000 or, for engineering or architectural contracts, at less than $25,000. Further criteria states that the goods or services "are urgently required and delay would be injurious to the public interest" and that "only one party is available and capable of performing the contract." Michael Asner, a Vancouver-based public procurement expert, said when it comes to sole-source contracting, "the significance isn't that it happens, the significance is that it happens and the justification is poor ... or that it's too large of a percentage of the annual (spending)." Asner declined to comment on the GNWT's spending specifically, but offered general insight on non-tendered contracts "If it was 50 per cent of the spend, you'd probably wonder what's going on here." An office within the Department of Industry, Tourism and Investment administers the contract registry and reporting system, which lists all competitive and non-competitive contracts of more than $5,000 awarded by the GNWT. At press time, the office was unable to comment.
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