Phase one of the Prohibition Creek Access Road will cost $25.5 million and was contracted to HRN Contracting Ltd. The company is registered under the Business Incentive Policy but has ties to non-N.W.T. businesses.
Inuvik Twin Lakes MLA Lesa Semmler is asking how a contractor not registered under the territory's business incentive policy beat out four other bidders who are, to win a duplex construction job in Inuvik.
Posted: Feb 10, 2021 5:00 AM CT | Last Updated: February 10
Procurement is the way the territory contracts goods and services, including construction. (John Last/CBC)
Widespread changes to the N.W.T. s procurement policies are needed to make things more equitable for northern and Indigenous-led businesses, according to members of the territory s business community.
The territory, through a third-party review panel, will be reviewing all its procurement policies for the first time in a decade to identify what works, what doesn t and gather some innovative ideas on how to fix them. The review is also one way the territory is also looking to speed up economic recovery as the COVID-19 pandemic stretches on.
Posted: Jan 27, 2021 2:58 PM CT | Last Updated: January 28
Caroline Wawzonek, the N.W.T. s finance minister, launched a four-month review of the government s procurement policy.(Alex Brockman/CBC )
The N.W.T. is launching a four-month review into its procurement process, which it uses to hire contractors to complete projects.
The process has been criticized by northern businesses for not offering enough support, when businesses compete against southern rivals for contracts.
Caroline Wawzonek, the territory s finance minister, told a press conference Wednesday that the goal of the review which is expected to provide recommendations by the end of the summer is to understand how existing procurement policies are working and to identify innovative ideas to fix them.