Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to talk today about us politicians. Obviously, nowadays there’s quite a bit of controversy in the political news about politicians and some of us politicians are all being painted with the same brush.
I want the NWT public to know that, as Members here, we hold our jobs very seriously and the accountability that we hold is to a very high standard. When I first got here at this job a couple of years ago, I found out the NWT has some of the most stringent regulations for expenditures for MLAs. Our regulations require all MLAs to go through all our purchases and be vetted through corporate services. We have to account for all and get approval before we spend any money related to our constituency budgets.
When I first got here, I found this very cumbersome. I found it frustrating, but now I know these rules and regulations are in place to protect us Members, but also to ensure the integrity of this Legislative Assembly.
All MLAs must complete an annual residency assessment. That, as well, is held in high standard in the country. Corporate services attends annual events and often gets requests from jurisdictions to see our regulations both on our expenditures and the residency assessment, Mr. Speaker.
I know the politicians’ expenditures are a hot topic around the water coolers and at the coffee shops, but I just want our constituents to know that the NWT Legislative Assembly has some of the most stringent regulations in place and that we hold these regulations in high regard, not only for our Members but also for the public’s expenditures. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Bouchard. The honourable Member for Weledeh, Mr. Bromley.
