Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My questions today are for the Premier. Open, transparent and meaningful public consultation is critical to the operations of a public government. It must exist. Both prior to being an MLA and since being an MLA I’m concerned about the inconsistencies in public consultation that this government is administering. There seems to be a wide variety from information sessions to real public consultation. For certainty and for ongoing public consultations, I think it would be important for this government to develop protocols on what a public consultation is and which all departments, boards and agencies would be bound to. So my question for the Premier is: will he commit to, in the life of the 16th Assembly, develop with the Department of Executive a protocol on public consultations so that people know what a public consultation is, so it’s clear, so it’s transparent and so that people have confidence that their input is heard and recognized? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Abernethy. The honourable Premier, Mr. Roland.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Government of the Northwest Territories does have a consultation package in place. We worked through in Intergovernmental Affairs and the intergovernmental group as well as Aboriginal Affairs and Executive and Justice to look at a number of agreements around the country to inform all departments of our consultation requirements for our policies and legislation. Thank you.
I would like to thank the Premier for that response. I would like to ask the Minister to share that with committee. Even though it exists, my question still stands around the consistency. If you look across the government, there doesn’t seem to be consistency in application of public consultations. By way of example, the Workers’ Safety and Compensation Commission is on the workplace safety standards. Clearly, that’s public consultation and people’s input is being sought. The Wildlife Act, on the other hand, there’s a lot of concern that it’s not in there. So how is the Premier going to ensure consistency in public consultation processes throughout the Northwest Territories conducted by the Government of the Northwest Territories?
If the Member is asking about the difference, different levels of consultation, we have a broad public consultation process for all the people of the Northwest Territories. If he’s drawing the difference between the Workers’ Safety and Compensation process as well as the Wildlife Act, quite clearly if you look at the Wildlife Act, that’s gone to every community in the Northwest Territories and has had broad consultation on that. On top of that, one of the other areas we have to fulfil is where there are land claim agreements and self-government agreements, that requires an additional level of consultation before we go to drafting legislation. So we match that as well. Thank you.
There is concern about consistency in public consultation. If you go out into the public, the Wildlife Act is a prime example. I’m curious how the Premier can ensure the public that their input is being heard in all forms of public consultation, in particularly something like the Wildlife Act. What are we going to do to ensure that application is consistent and people’s voices are heard? This doesn’t mean the government has to agree with everything they hear. It is a public government, there are lots of people’s opinions, but we need to ensure people are heard and acknowledged. So how does the Premier intend to ensure consistency? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
We do have a policy within the Government of the Northwest Territories on consultation. All departments have that and we ensure that we work with departments in fulfilling our commitments. As well, this Assembly has a process of doing that. Once legislation is introduced, there is a whole different forum for public consultation on that and bringing the bills back to this Assembly. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Roland. Final supplementary, Mr. Abernethy. The honourable Member for Mackenzie Delta, Mr. Krutko.
