Debates of October 26, 2006 (day 16)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I would like to direct my questions today to the Premier. Probably just going back in history a little when our government had a lot more wealth than it does now and the concept was that people got together and they sat around the table and they had little horse-trading sessions and they decided which communities and which regions were getting jobs and programs and capital projects, and they divvied up this big pot of money and everybody went away from the room relatively happy. Well, as we all know, that’s not the way things really work around here anymore because we don’t have that much money. If you want to have jobs and programs and capital infrastructure in the community, it’s usually a long planning process that was brought forward by a capital planning team. It’s brought programs that are brought forward in a way that I believe would guarantee some level of fairness and equity to how things are distributed, how the wealth is distributed throughout the Northwest Territories.

But being a consensus style of government, each one of the Members who sit in this House are all independent and we’re free and we don’t have any party kinds of disciplines. We’re free to stand up and express our opinion on every subject that comes up. We can raise subjects, we can respond to subjects, we can respond to what Cabinet Ministers say, we can applaud them when we think they say something good, and we can criticize them when we think they do something wrong. For that, in this style of government, there needs to be an understanding in the public that this government would not condone any reprisals when a Member is not supportive of something the government is doing, and I’d like the Premier to confirm that for us today. Thank you.

Thank you, Mrs. Groenewegen. The honourable Premier, Mr. Handley.

Return To Question 196-15(5): Speaking On Matters Of Accountability And Integrity

Mr. Speaker, I think things have changed a lot since the old days that Mrs. Groenewegen refers to because we do not do business that way. It’s a very well laid out process and there is fairness to everyone. There will be and has been, to my knowledge, no reprisals from our government and we will police that very carefully if we ever hear anybody starting to make those kinds of threats or whatever, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, our obligation as a government is to provide fair, equitable service to everybody regardless of where they live and regardless of what their MLA may have said or not said. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Handley. Supplementary, Mrs. Groenewegen.

Supplementary To Question 196-15(5): Speaking On Matters Of Accountability And Integrity

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I do appreciate the Premier’s confirmation of that fact, because I do think that there are people out there who think to the contrary. The other thing is, in the distribution of the work that we do here in the Assembly, some are Regular Members and some are in Cabinet. Again, another perception that’s out there in the public is that somehow being at the Cabinet table is beneficial to your riding more so than the rest of us who sit around here. I have said many times, I see us sitting around here as equals. We assign certain responsibilities to Members of the Cabinet, but again there are some constituencies here in the North which are feeling a little vulnerable, particularly right now, and I don’t think people should feel that way, because, again, I don’t think that’s the way the government does their business. That’s not my observation. So to the issue of Cabinet versus Regular Members, again I’d like the Premier to confirm that there’s not special consideration given to the wishes or the asks or the plans brought forward by Cabinet Ministers. Thank you.

Thank you, Mrs. Groenewegen. Mr. Handley.

Further Return To Question 196-15(5): Speaking On Matters Of Accountability And Integrity

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I can confirm for the Minister that there is no special privilege given to a Minister’s constituency over that of someone else. Some may disagree with that sometimes, I don’t know. But, Mr. Speaker, I can say that in my experience in fact it has been a disadvantage to be on Cabinet because sometimes you can’t represent your constituency the way you would like to because it conflicts with your role as Cabinet Minister.

Mr. Speaker, on things like capital plans and so on, we review those, we go through them with the committees, we welcome and are waiting for committee reports and recommendations to us. So, Mr. Speaker, everybody is treated equally here, whether you’re on Cabinet or not. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Handley. Short supplementary, Mrs. Groenewegen.

That’s it, Mr. Speaker. Thank you.