Mr. Speaker, my questions today are for the Premier. I would like to ask the Premier if he provides any guidance or direction with respect to Ministers’ conduct in this House.
Thank you, Mrs. Groenewegen. The Hon. Premier, Mr. Roland.
Mr. Speaker, as we conduct ourselves in this Assembly, we would review any particular incidents that occur. We know, for example, there’s a process of being ready and available for Members during question period as well as Committee of the Whole, and overall conduct of Ministers. Yes, if there were an issue that came up, we would sit down and have a discussion and see where we could correct things, if that were the case.
Mr. Speaker, the Premier has been in this House as long as I have. It has been a commonly accepted practice, if not a rule, that members of Cabinet do not use this House as a forum to discuss their constituency issues. Is that the Premier’s understanding?
We know for a fact that Members that become Ministers are somewhat tied down to a process — what they can do — in trying to work on behalf of their constituency. But there’s still an avenue for Members to address issues in the House, whether it’s through Members’ statements or speaking to motions that may come up from time to time. We generally vet that to see where that may go and would reflect on that as we come out in the discussion.
Mr. Speaker, I’d like to ask the Premier if there is any reasoning why, in his mind or that he knows of, it would have been a practice of this government for many years not to have Ministers use this House as a forum to promote the interests of their own personal constituencies.
Mr. Speaker, I’m not aware of — maybe I don’t understand the question — a rule or practice that stops Ministers in Committee of the Whole from having a discussion on issues that may affect their constituencies. In the formal House, as we are now, we’re unable to, for example, question government direction or where it’s going. But in Committee of the Whole we have from time to time had Ministers and Members as well question what is occurring at that time, whether it’s a motion in the House or an item under debate.
Mr. Speaker, I fully understand why Members would be questioning things in Committee of the Whole. I would suggest that Ministers using Committee of the Whole as an opportunity not to be wearing their Minister’s hat, so to speak — to be promoting or expressing views on issues of their constituencies — has been extremely rare. It’s probably only happened a couple of times in my 13 years in this Assembly. So if we are going to have a change in that practice or that convention, I would like to ask the Premier if his voice will be the one that will represent the Members on the other side of the House with respect to how that practice will be going forward.
We haven’t changed the convention or rule of the Legislative Assembly. From time to time Members have, when it’s a motion in the House that affects their constituencies, spoken to it. It’s not been a very common occurrence, but there is no convention or rule that says that won’t be done. If there’s a need for further clarification, we’re prepared to sit down and have that discussion.
Thank you, Mr. Roland. The honourable Member for Mackenzie Delta, Mr. Krutko.
