Letter from Alasdair McKay to :
24th Oct 94
Mr. Ron MacDonald, M.P.
.
Dear Mr. MacDonald,
.
I have received the attached letter of 14th Oct from the
Hon. Anne McLellan, Minister of Natural Resources. I note that the Minister
has clarified the division of responsibility between her own federal
department and the N.S. Dept. of Natural Resources. It seems that in the case
of the "M.D.A." in question, the N.S. department is considered to be the
Implementing Agency and that the award of any contract arising out of the
agreement falls under the jurisdiction of the province.
.
I enclose copies of letters from W.D. Hogg (Deputy Minister, Supply and
Services, N.S.), The Hon. Don Downe (Minister, Natural Resources, N.S.) and a
copy of a summary of the contract in question. I also enclose correspondence
dating from 1992 which makes clear the interest I had expressed in work of
precisely the same nature as is covered by the present contract. I have
recently discovered that another local company, at about the same period in
1992, had also made known its interest in doing the same work.
.
You will note that the value of the contract is $70,000.00. Dr. Savage
and other members of his government have stated publicly that contracts
valued at $50,000.00 or more, whose administration is under the control of
the provincial government, will be handled by a process of public tendering.
The award of this contract is at variance with this clearly stated
policy.
.
There is no particular reason why the Hon. Anne McLellan should be
intimately familiar with all policies of the N.S. government, but I think
that it is reasonable for me to ask you to draw to her attention the fact
that, in this case (where, as she has affirmed, administration of the
contract in question is the responsibility of the province), the N.S.
Department has not followed such contracting procedures as are specified by
the N.S. government, and are currently being widely publicised by its
ministers. You may, for your own information, wish also to note that the
supposed mandate of the N.S. Research Foundation as an agency for the
support and development of small private industry has been flouted.
.
I note your continued involvement with affairs in connection with Japan,
and I note also Dr. Gerrard's activities there and his statements about
training opportunities open to Canadian scientists in Japan. Perhaps I could
ask you to remind Dr. Gerrard about the failure, in some instances, of
Canadian research establishments to recognise such value, as is clearly
demonstrated by my own experiences (see attached letter to the chairman of
STA). I would also be interested in hearing about any commissions which you
or he might have upcoming in the sphere of Canada - Japan relations in
technical fields.
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Yours sincerely,
.
Alasdair McKay
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