Debates of October 19, 2007 (day 2)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I give notice that on Monday, October 22, 2007, I will move the following motion: Now therefore I move, seconded by the honourable Member for Nunakput, that the honourable Member for Great Slave, Mr. Glen Abernethy, and the honourable Member for Weledeh, Mr. Bob Bromley, be appointed as deputy chairpersons of Committee of the Whole. Mr. Speaker, at the appropriate time, I will be seeking unanimous consent to deal with this motion today. Mahsi.

---Applause

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I give notice that on Monday, October 22, 2007, I will move the following motion: I move, seconded by the honourable Member for Great Slave, that, notwithstanding Rule 4, when this House adjourns on October 19, 2007, it shall be adjourned until Tuesday, November 27, 2007; and further, any time prior to November 27, 2007, if the Speaker is satisfied, after consultation with Executive Council and Members of the Legislative Assembly, if the public interest requires that the House should meet at an earlier time during the adjournment, the Speaker may give notice and thereupon the House shall meet at the time stated in such notice and shall transact its business as it has been duly adjourned to that time. Mr. Speaker, at the appropriate time, I will be seeking unanimous consent to deal with this motion today. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Miltenberger. Notices of motion. Notices of motion for first reading of bills. Colleagues, before we go on to the next item on the agenda, the Chair is going to call a short break.

---SHORT RECESS

Colleagues, let’s get back to orders of the day. Motions. The honourable Member for Inuvik Twin Lakes, Mr. McLeod.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I seek unanimous consent to deal with the motion I gave notice of earlier today. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Thank you, colleagues.

WHEREAS the Members of the 16th Legislative Assembly are mindful that it is an honour and a privilege to serve the people of the Northwest Territories as legislators;

AND WHEREAS the trust and confidence the people have placed in conferring this office upon us demands the highest standard of conduct, integrity and honour;

AND WHEREAS Members are resolved to do our utmost to hear the voices of all our people; preserve our traditions and bridge them with new ways to build our future; provide legislation, policies and services for the good of the people as individuals, families and communities; promote the equality of all our people; distribute resources fairly and justly; and respect and honour our land and all its inhabitants;

AND WHEREAS Members recognize that we owe to this Legislature respect as well as dedication to ensuring the integrity of our government and to earning the confidence of the people;

AND WHEREAS Members recognize that we owe to our constituents our best efforts at effective representation as well as accountability, honesty, fairness and courtesy;

AND WHEREAS Members recognize that we owe to the public a responsibility to work for the well-being of all residents of the Northwest Territories;

AND WHEREAS Members recognize that we owe to our colleagues fairness and respect for differences, and the duty to work together with goodwill for the common good;

AND WHEREAS Members are resolved not to act, nor condone others to act, in ways that exploit, slander or discriminate against others;

AND WHEREAS Members acknowledge a vision and a responsibility to improve the lives of our people and to act in creative ways to overcome the hardships which destroy life and hope and the human frailties which fall upon us;

AND WHEREAS Members are resolved not to act, nor condone others to act, in ways which are dishonest or which exploit positions of privilege for personal gain;

AND WHEREAS paragraph 75 (a) of the Legislative Assembly and Executive Council Act provides that each Member shall perform his or her duties of office and arrange his or her private affairs in such a manner as to maintain public confidence and trust in the integrity, objectivity and impartiality of the Member;

AND WHEREAS past Assemblies have seen fit to adopt principles to guide Members’ conduct;

NOW THEREFORE I MOVE, seconded by the honourable Member for Weledeh, that this Legislative Assembly formally adopts the “Members’ Conduct Guidelines” as appended and which forms part of this resolution.

Thank you, Mr. McLeod. The motion is on the floor. The motion is in order. To the motion. The Member for Inuvik Twin Lakes, Mr. McLeod.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I will be very brief because the motion that I read basically says it all. There were a couple of points I did want to make. I brought this motion forward willingly because I truly believe that, as elected representatives, we have to follow the guidelines. This is just putting it on paper and putting the motion together, but we have to follow it because we should believe in it. We have to be able to come to work every morning, treat our colleagues with respect, treat them with integrity and some may wonder about that sometimes with some of the stuff that goes on in this Assembly, but we need to be able to go home in the evening, look ourselves in the mirror and have no problem with that reflection looking back at us because we’ve done what we set out to do. I believe in this motion. I try to abide by it. It’s not just the motion that I try to abide by it, it’s the honestly and the integrity. I think that’s something we need to bring to this Assembly. I think it’s something, in my couple of weeks here getting to know everybody, I think everybody here will agree to the same thing. We have to go about our work with integrity. We have to be honest. We’ve had issues in the past, but that’s where they should be left. They should be left in the past and we should go forward from here.

This is a motion that I truly believe in. It’s a motion that I willingly brought forward and I wanted to be the mover of this motion. I believe in all the principles that it says in this motion. It’s a very broad motion. It shouldn’t be just a play on words. We shouldn’t just throw these words around loosely; accountability, integrity, honesty. These are words that we should believe in and we should bring them to this institution. I believe in this institution. We should bring them here and this is something we have to believe in, otherwise, if you don’t believe in all these principles, we may as well just stay home because we won’t be serving anybody any good if we come down here and we have the wrong attitude and we don’t believe in the principles of integrity and honour.

So it’s an honour, Mr. Speaker, for me to bring this motion forward because it’s something that I truly believe in and it’s just not a play on words for myself. Thank you.

---Applause

Thank you, Mr. McLeod. To the motion. The honourable Member for Weledeh, Mr. Bromley.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I wanted to support the honourable Member for Inuvik Twin Lakes, the Member for Inuvik. I would like to fully support this motion. He’d mentioned some words and I would also like to underline some that I read, trust and confidence, something we’ve spoken about amongst ourselves. That’s highly important. We need to hear the voices of all our people, respect and honour our land. The word “respect” is something I have heard many times from our elders. I think the biggest thing for me, Mr. Speaker, is the power of example. We are real leaders of the Northwest Territories. People are looking to the House for leadership. The power of example is huge in all we do and I think that’s the thing that really brings home my support to this.

Honour and privilege, dishonour can lead to a revocation of privilege. That’s something we should be keeping in mind.

Finally, working for the common good. To me, I really appreciate the work that’s gone into putting the Members’ Conduct Guidelines together and fundamentally I think it’s to ensure that we do focus on working for the common good. Thank you very much.

---Applause

Thank you, Mr. Bromley. To the motion. The honourable Member for Nunakput, Mr. Jacobson.

Mr. Speaker, I seek unanimous consent to give…Oh sorry.

To the motion. The honourable Member for Frame Lake, Ms. Bisaro.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I am very gratified to this motion coming before the House. I fully support this motion. As I look at the Members’ Conduct Guidelines, similar to the previous several Speakers, there are a number of words that jump out at me. Within our guidelines, it talks about fair, just, respect, honour, courtesy, duty, integrity and responsibility, just to name a few of them. I think it behoves all of us to take these conduct guidelines, that we must accept them. I agree that we need to lead by example and I think as well as agreeing to the letter of this particular set of guidelines, we have to live them and we have to honour the law within these particular guidelines.

It is our responsibility to respect, honour each other, this House, this institution, the people that we serve. I think that I get a sense that every Member in this House is likely to support this motion and I would strongly urge you to do so, if you aren’t already considering that. Thank you very much.

---Applause

Thank you, Ms. Bisaro. To the motion. The honourable Member for Kam Lake, Mr. Ramsay.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I fully support the motion in terms of the Members’ Conduct Guidelines and support what my colleagues have said here today. I think it was mentioned earlier this week that we want to, as a group of 19 MLAs, we want to end up four years from now with the same 19 Members that are assembled here today. I think that’s a goal that we should all try to get to.

There are some things being Members of the Legislative Assembly, we come here and on the floor of the House there are certain rules that are in place that protect Members. You can speak on behalf of your constituents. You don’t have to worry about repercussions or people saying things. You can deal with rules that are here on the floor of the House. For me, it’s how you carry yourself not only here on the floor of the House, but how you conduct yourselves outside of here in your personal life and in the hallways upstairs or in your communities. You have to lead by example. You have to have trust, you have to have honour and you need integrity. Mr. Speaker, these are virtues that I hold true to myself. I try to do everything I do with a degree of integrity. I believe government needs to operate under those same virtues and with those same principles in mind. Certainly, I believe we need to take a look at the direct appointment process. I think we have to put an end to nepotism in this government. We really need to have a look at that process and how friends reward friends and how families reward families. We are here to represent the people of the Northwest Territories, not our friends, not our families. We need to take a look at that, Mr. Speaker.

Again, I fully support the conduct guidelines that are before us today and look forward to living under the rule of those guidelines for the next four years, Mr. Speaker.

---Applause

Thank you, Mr. Ramsay. To the motion. The honourable Member for Range Lake, Ms. Lee.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I am happy to also support this motion. I will make a very short comment to say we all know that we can have all the rules and we already have the laws in the books, outside and inside of here. We can all be on very good behaviour without rules. No rules in the world can govern the best behaviour if it’s not the person who is making the decisions acting to the best standard of integrity. I want to just say that I think, with or without these guidelines, I think a lot of Members are honourable; most Members are. We all work here very hard and everybody has worked really hard in the last Assembly and I am sure we will do that as well. We know of some circumstances where we need to recheck the rules and I am glad at the very beginning of this Assembly that we are able to have this discussion and approve that. It’s the minimum standard and I would just like to add my voice to thank the Members for bringing this forward and I will be voting in favour of this motion. Thank you.

Thank you, Ms. Lee. To the motion. Honourable Premier, Mr. Roland.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, as well, I would like to thank the Members for bringing this forward. I believe it’s something we all have to live by and as we heard already, it’s not only saying the words, but it’s going to be living the words in the example we set to those who watch us and have given us the privilege of serving them in this institution. So I want to say I support this and I expect that as Members of the 16th Legislative Assembly, we are going to be showing people and walking the talk, so to speak, that we are going to live by what we said and that means there are times when we will come to a disagreement in this forum, but we are going to respect each other in our positions and work with each other to ensure we serve the people of the Northwest Territories to the best degree possible. Thank you.

---Applause

Thank you, Mr. Roland. To the motion. Honourable Member for Mackenzie Delta, Mr. Krutko.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I also support this motion. I believe, as a Member of this House, we are expected to act on a higher standard as to how we are seen in the eyes of the public. More importantly, Mr. Speaker, with that power, we should not be seen to be exploiting others or other individuals who have lesser standards in our society, people with less standards of living or poorer conditions. If anything, we are the voice of the people. We have to be seen to be acting for the well-being of all our residents regardless of what their stature is.

Mr. Speaker, I have been here for four terms and it is sad to say that every Legislature I have been in, we have had a situation where we were all tarred with the same brush and it’s sad to say that’s all that the people can remember of a certain Legislature is how we conducted ourselves in a bad manner, which leaves us all with a sour taste in our mouth.

Again, to uphold the rules, we do have to set a higher standard to the people of the Northwest Territories, our constituents and the common good of all our people. We must do what we must do best. Never lose sight that you are under a microphone. You are being looked at of setting a higher standard than every one of our residents, because we are 19 Members who will be establishing the laws of this land and also expected to enforce those laws and we are not above the law.

---Applause

Thank you, Mr. Krutko. To the motion. Honourable Member for Nahendeh, Mr. Menicoche.

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. I, too, rise in support of this motion. I’m very happy that we can come up with guidelines that get straight to the point, that tells the public that we’re here, we’re here to represent you fairly, we’re here to work with our colleagues fairly, and I believe that’s all the public asks of us to give us their confidence, their trust, their honour, and the privilege to serve on their behalf. Like many of my other colleagues that are speaking here today, they ask one thing, is that we do not shame them. I believe the guideline like this will help us as a reminder as we do our duties here as the Members of the Legislative Assembly. Mahsi cho.

---Applause

Thank you, Mr. Menicoche. To the motion. The honourable Member for Tu Nedhe, Mr. Beaulieu.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I, too, support the Members' Conduct Guidelines. We've all come from the various communities, many of us from small communities, and with the limited resources the government has important that the words in here, hearing the voices of all our people, equality to all our people, resources fairly and justly distributed, and also best efforts to represent as accountable, honest, fair and courtesy, and to strive to be honest in the role with the people and will not act dishonestly. I’d like all of those things from the Member from Tu Nedhe. Thank you.

---Applause

Thank you, Mr. Beaulieu. To the motion. The honourable Member for Hay River South, Mrs. Groenewegen.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I’d also like to stand to speak in support of the principles and standards that are laid out in the Members' Conduct Guidelines. It’s been said in this government before and we can always remember that we need to lead by example and that we are the role models. We are under the scrutiny of all of the people we serve, the people of the Northwest Territories. We do have our private lives, but our private lives aren’t very private in the sense that people do look to us for that leadership. I’ll say I’ll coin that phrase again that we must set a high standard and lead by example. Thank you.

---Applause

Thank you, Mrs. Groenewegen. To the motion. I will go to the mover of the motion for closing remarks. Mr. McLeod. I’ll go to the Member for Yellowknife South, Mr. McLeod.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I, too, would like to commend the movers of this motion. As a new Member of the Legislative Assembly, the Members' Conduct Guidelines that have been put forward lays out all the attributes that I would aspire to in serving in this Legislative Assembly. So I will be supporting the motion. Thank you.

---Applause

Thank you, Mr. McLeod. To the motion. The honourable Member for Nunakput, Mr. Jacobson.

Mr. Speaker, I’m in full support of the Members' Conduct Guidelines and, like my previous colleagues in front of me stated, for myself it’s an honour and a privilege to serve the people of Nunakput in the Northwest Territories.

---Applause

Thank you, Mr. Jacobson. To the motion. I’ll go to the mover of the motion for closing remarks. Mr. Robert McLeod.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I want to thank all my colleagues for their comments and their belief in the motion that we just put forward. It was mentioned a couple of times, you know, the sad truth is it doesn’t matter how much good work an Assembly does -- and the 15th Assembly I believe did some good work -- but some Assemblies are remembered for the wrong reasons. The report I seen on past Assemblies, they seem to focus on all the negative stuff. I believe with this group that we have here, and my colleague from the Mackenzie Delta made another interesting comment saying that, you know, I’m trusting in all of you because anything that any one of us do in here, as David said, we all kind of get painted with the same brush. I will watch my conduct because I don’t want anybody painting you all with the same brush because of my conduct, especially if it’s negative conduct. I expect the same from everybody.

So I thank all the Members here and I look forward to the next four years. I think we have a good group. I think there’s going to be some good work done. I want the 16th Assembly to be remembered for the good work it did and nothing else. Mr. Speaker, I would also ask for a recorded vote. Thank you.

---Applause

Mr. McLeod, Inuvik Twin Lakes; Mr. Ramsay; Mr. Krutko; Mr. Menicoche; Mr. Jacobson; Mr. Beaulieu; Mr. Bromley; Mr. Hawkins; Mr. Lafferty; Ms. Lee; Mr. Miltenberger; Mr. Roland; Mr. McLeod, Deh Cho; Mr. Yakeleya; Mr. McLeod, Yellowknife South; Ms. Bisaro; Mr. Abernethy; Mrs. Groenewegen.

Thank you, Mr. Clerk. Will all those opposing the motion please rise. All those abstaining from the motion please rise. The results of the motion at the vote: 18 for, none against, none abstaining. The motion is carried unanimously.

---Carried

---Applause

Motions. The honourable Member for Nunakput, Mr. Jacobson.

Mr. Speaker, I seek unanimous consent to deal with the motion I gave notice to earlier today.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

WHEREAS this Legislative Assembly is required to appoint Members to the Board of Management in accordance with subsection 36(3) of the Legislative Assembly and Executive Council Act;

AND WHEREAS appointments to the Board of Management are required to be made during the First Session of each Legislature;

NOW THEREFORE I MOVE, seconded by the honourable Member for Weledeh, that the following Members be appointed to the Board of Management of this Assembly:

Hon. Paul Delorey, Member for Hay River North

Mr. Tom Beaulieu, Member for Tu Nedhe

Mr. Robert McLeod, Member for Inuvik Twin Lakes

Mr. David Ramsay, Member for Kam Lake, and

Hon. Norman Yakeleya, Member for Sahtu.

AND FURTHER, that the following Members be appointed to the Board of Management as alternate Members:

Ms. Wendy Bisaro, Member for Frame Lake,

Mr. Jackie Jacobson, Member for Nunakput, and

Hon. Jackson Lafferty, Member for Monfwi.

Thank you, Mr. Jacobson. A motion is on the floor. The motion is in order. To the motion.

Question.

Question has been called. All those in favour? All those opposed? The motion is carried.

---Carried

Motions. The honourable Member for Yellowknife Centre, Mr. Hawkins.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I seek unanimous consent to deal with the motion I gave notice of earlier today.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

WHEREAS section 44 of the Legislative Assembly and Executive Council Act states that the "Legislative Assembly may establish such standing and special committees to aid and advise it as it considers necessary";

AND WHEREAS the standing and special committees of the Legislative Assembly are established in the Rules of the Legislative Assembly;

AND WHEREAS the Legislative Assembly has chosen to make revisions to the standing committees;

NOW THEREFORE I MOVE, seconded by the honourable Member for Frame Lake, that the Rules of the Legislative Assembly be amended by rescinding Rule 85 and substituting the following:

Standing and Special Committees

85 (1)

At its first sitting after a general election, the Assembly shall appoint a Striking Committee of five Members to report and recommend, with all convenient speed, Members to comprise the following standing committees of the Assembly:

on Economic Development and Infrastructure;

on Government Operations;

on Priorities and Planning;

on Rules and Procedures;

on Social Programs;

and any other standing and special committees as directed by the Assembly.

(2)

The Standing Committee on Economic Development and Infrastructure shall consider the following matters with respect to the departments of Aboriginal Affairs and Intergovernmental Relations, Environment and Natural Resources, Industry, Tourism and investment, Municipal and Community Affairs, Public Works and Services, Transportation and the Northwest Territories Housing Corporation:

(a) review multi-year business plans and budgets, bills, boards and agencies, including the Workers' Compensation Board of the Northwest Territories and Nunavut, the Northwest Territories Power Corporation, the Northwest Territories Business Development and Investment Corporation and the Public Utilities Board;

(b)

review departmental performance, including that of boards and agencies; and

(c)

consider any other matter referred by the House.

(3)

The Standing Committee on Government Operations shall consider the following matters with respect to the departments of the Executive, Finance, Human Resources and the Financial Management Board Secretariat:

(a)

review multi-year business plans and budgets, bills, boards and agencies;

(b)

review departmental performance and official language issues, including that of boards sand agencies;

(c)

review, as necessary or appropriate, the annual and other reports of the statutory officers of the Legislative Assembly, including the Languages Commissioner, the Information and Privacy Commissioner, the Equal Pay Commissioner and the Human Rights Commission;

(d)

examine the reports on the annual financial statements and public accounts of the Government of the Northwest Territories and the report of the Auditor General

(i)

in the event that the Assembly is not in session, the Speaker may provide the Auditor General's report and the Minister of Finance may provide the public accounts to the committee for review, which may include public hearings, in advance of tabling; and

(e)

consider any other matter referred by the House.

(4)

The Standing Committee on Priorities and Planning shall:

(a)

review issues which have government-wide implications, including the overview of the budget and fiscal framework;

(b)

review Government of the Northwest Territories reports on financial and performance results and program and policy evaluations to ensure anticipated outcomes are being achieved and accountability is maximized;

(c)

coordinate sessional business scheduling and planning in cooperation with appropriate ministerial representatives;

(d)

coordinate committee public consultation efforts with respect to budget and fiscal matters;

(e)

coordinate committee strategic planning efforts;

(f)

monitor and evaluate ministerial performance issues;

(g)

consider the budgets and financial management of any boards and agencies that are outside the responsibility of any standing committee; and

(h)

consider any other matter referred by the House.

(5)

The Standing Committee on Rules and Procedures shall:

(a)

review the reports of the Chief Electoral Officer on the conduct of elections, plebiscites or votes conducted in the Northwest Territories in accordance with statute;

(b)

review, as necessary or appropriate, the annual and other reports of the Conflict of Interest Commissioner;

(c)

review and make recommendations on the implications and impacts that the implementation of self-government agreements will have on the powers, structures and procedures of the Legislative Assembly; and

(d)

inquire into such matters as may be referred to it by the Legislative Assembly, the Speaker or the Board of Management.

(6)

The Standing Committee on Social Programs shall consider the following matters with respect to the departments of Health and Social Services, Education, Culture and Employment and Justice:

(a)

review multi-year business plans and budgets, bills, boards and agencies, including the Status of Women Council and programs for seniors, youth and persons with disabilities;

(b)

review departmental performance, including that of boards and agencies; and

(c)

consider any other matter referred by the House.

AND FURTHER, that Rules 87(1) and 87(2) be amended by striking out "Accountability and Oversight" after "Standing Committee on" and substituting "Priorities and Planning".

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Hawkins. A motion is on the floor. The motion is in order. To the motion.

Question