Yeah, thanks, Madam Chair. Just for the benefit of the public, if this fund is established I guess it will be up to the Board of Management to develop some rules around how it's allocated and, you know, ideas around whether it's first come first served, or there's some set aside for each MLA on application. I have confidence that the Board of Management will develop some rules around those, and those will come back to the MLAs to have a look at. I do want to make sure that access to this is done in a fair manner and that, you know, those that may not be that there might be some assistance in terms of filling out applications and so on, if it's to be that kind of a process, but I do have confidence that the Board of Management will develop a fair and transparent way of allowing Members to reasonably access these training funds. And that some of it could be for, like, group training as well. I know in the last Assembly, we did some training around legislative drafting and interpretation, which I found quite useful, and I suspect that there will be further opportunities along those lines that new MLAs will benefit from. And of course, this is only going to yes , I'll leave it at that. Thanks, Madam Chair.
Thank you, Member. To the motion.
Question.
Question has been called. All those in favour? All those opposed? Any abstentions? Motion is carried.
Carried
Member for Hay River South.
Thank you, Madam Chair. Recommendations 6 to 10 are about participation on standing and special committee by Regular Members.
Committee motion number 6, I move that this Assembly recommends that all MLAs, excluding the Speaker, Premier, or Ministers, are expected to participate on a minimum of two standing committees, not including the Standing Committee on Accountability and Oversight, and at least one special committee, if there are special committees. Thank you, Madam Chair.
Thank you, Member. To the motion. Member for Frame Lake.
Thanks, Madam Chair. So the purpose of this motion is to ensure that there's some equitable sharing of the duties and responsibilities within the Assembly amongst the Regular MLAs. We have a number of committees. There's no requirement currently in the rules for Members to actually sit on committees. So this will create not just an expectation but, I believe, a requirement that, you know, Members will serve on committees in the future. And that just ensures that we have a better distribution of the work amongst us all and that the work gets done as well. So that's the purpose of this, is to put in place some rules to make sure that those kind of expectations and requirements are clearly laid out at the beginning so everybody's on the same page. Thanks, Madam Chair.
Thank you, Member. To the motion. Member for Hay River South.
Thank you, Madam Chair. I support this motion. It makes it clear that all Regular Members are expected to share the workloads of standing and special committees equally. I should note that membership on the Board of Management will be considered as membership on a committee for the purposes of this recommendation.
The next motion I will introduce will add financial penalties for Members who choose not to sit on at least two committees other than the Standing Committee on Accountability and Oversight. Thank you.
Thank you, Member. To the motion.
Question.
Question has been called. All those in favour? All those opposed? Abstentions? The motion is carried.
Carried
Member for Hay River South.
I move that this Assembly recommends that the basic indemnity payable to every Member, with the exception of the Speaker, Premier, and Ministers, be reduced by $4,000.
And further, that Members, with the exception of the Speaker, Premier, and Ministers, receive a stipend of $2,000 for each standing committee they are a member of, to a maximum of $4,000. If a Member sits on more than two committees, there will be no additional stipend paid. Thank you, Madam Chair.
Thank you. The motion is in order. To the motion. Member for Hay River South.
Madam Chair, I support this motion. This does not increase any Member's pay above current levels but it will reduce a Member's pay if they refuse to sit on two standing committees or the Board of Management. Thank you, Madam Chair.
Thank you, Member. To the motion.
Question.
Question has been called. All those in favour? All those opposed? Any abstentions? The motion is carried.
Carried
Member for Hay River South.
Thank you, Madam Chair. I move that this Assembly recommends that if a Member is removed from a committee, the $2,000 stipend would be removed and prorated to the date of removal. If they become a Member of another committee, the stipend would be reinstated once they become a Member of that committee. Thank you, Madam Chair.
Thank you. The motion is in order. To the motion. Member for Hay River South.
Thank you, Madam Chair. I support this motion.
Thank you, Member. To the motion.
Question.
Question has been called. All those in favour? All those opposed? Abstentions? Motion is carried.
Carried
Member for Hay River South.
Thank you, Madam Chair. I move that this Assembly recommends that the Board of Management review the workload of all standing committees every two years and, if necessary, reassign Members to rebalance the Members' workload. Thank you, Madam Chair.
Thank you, Member. The motion is in order. To the motion. Member for Hay River South.
Thank you, Madam Chair. Madam Chair, the Board of Management does not assign Members to committees or review their workload. This work is done by the committees themselves, Regular Members, and Caucus. As such, I recommend that this recommendation be defeated. Thank you, Madam Chair.
Thank you, Member. To the motion. Member for Frame Lake.
Yeah, thanks, Madam Chair. I think this was probably the result of perhaps just a misunderstanding on the part of the Commission Members. The Board of Management doesn't determine committee membership. And the balance, that's really up to the Regular MLAs ourselves to do with regard to the standing committees. We do that work, and we do it you know, we've done it a couple of times, more than that even in the lifetime of this Assembly, where we've had Members new Members arrive as a result of byelections and we just kind of assess people's interests and then assign people. People can volunteer to serve on various committees. And the Board of Management, though, is a different creature. There's representation from both Cabinet and the Regular MLAs on there, and they're the ones that create the rules for us and look at how the building and the institution itself operates. But it's really up to the Regular MLAs to determine membership of our own standing committees.
With regard to special committees, sometimes they include Cabinet representation and where they do, those are discussed at Caucus, and then nominations come forward to the floor of the House. So that's another area that the Board of Management really doesn't get involved in. So I agree with my colleague from Hay River South that I will vote against this. But I know that the work is still done by the Regular MLAs themselves and through Caucus. Thanks, Madam Chair.
Thank you, Member. To the motion.
Question.
Question has been called. All those in favour? All those opposed? Anyone abstaining? The motion is defeated.
Defeated
Member for Hay River South.
Thank you, Madam Chair. I move that this Assembly recommend that the deputy chair for all the committees, with exclusion of the deputy chair of the Committee of the Whole, receive a stipend of $3,000.
Thank you, Member. The motion is in order. To the motion. Member for Hay River South.
Madam Chair, the deputy speaker is the chair of Committee of the Whole. The deputy chair receives a stipend for that position and does not receive any additional stipend for chairing the Committee of the Whole. There are two deputy chairs for the Committee of the Whole who are each entitled to receive a stipend for their roles as deputy chairs. I disagree that the workload for deputy chairs of standing committees is enough to warrant additional compensation. This is the only recommendation that calls for an increase in Members' compensation, and I recommend that it be defeated. Thank you, Madam Chair.
Thank you, Member. To the motion. Member for Great Slave.
Thank you, Madam Chair. Madam Chair, I'm a bit conflicted on this one. I don't agree with us giving ourselves raises during a time such as now, when we all talk about our bad economy; however, given the nature of this Assembly and the fact that there's been so much unprecedented turmoil that oftentimes chairs have had to, you know, step aside, and I know that my colleague some of my colleagues have really stepped in as deputy chairs to fulfill that role. I will disclose that I am a deputy chair, and I have not had to step in too much because my chair has been very present for the social development committee. So I will support this motion. Hopefully people will not see that as being selfserving but more so that I believe some of my colleagues actually deserve this. Thank you, Madam Chair.
Thank you, Member. To the motion. Member for Frame Lake.
Thanks, Madam Chair. I'm not going to provide any comments on turmoil; I think those are probably best left to folks outside of the House and their own views. But just to be very clear, this is not about increasing or decreasing the wages of any of us sitting in this Chamber. This is about setting the rules for the next Assembly. And that's what the implications of all of these motions are. It's about changing the rules for the next people that come in after us so none of this is about us, quite frankly. So I do have some sympathy with deputy chairs and the work that they've done, and I've served as deputy chair and I've chaired many meetings even though I'm not even a deputy chair, in the course of this Assembly. But that's just part of the workload and expectations that we set for ourselves. So I will be voting against this motion. Thanks, Madam Chair.
Thank you, Member. To the motion.
Question.
Question has been called. All those in favour? All those opposed? Abstentions? Motion is defeated.
Defeated
All right, Member for Hay River South.
Thank you, Madam Chair. Recommendations 11 and 12 seek to increase the basic allowance for maintaining a second home in Yellowknife, otherwise known as a capital accommodation allowance for Members who live outside of Yellowknife. Thank you, Madam Chair. Madam chair, this recommends that the basic allowance for maintaining a second home in Yellowknife, if required, should be increased from $31,000 per year to $32,000. Thank you.
Thank you. The motion is in order. To the motion. Member for Hay River South.
