Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’m going to use today’s opportunity to talk about the Financial Administration Manual. I’m going to frame it around the administration and the conduct built around that.
The public is concerned, certainly as I am, about the accountability of this manual and the transparency that’s brought with it. So I’m not going to speak to any specific example whether we’ve had problems in the past or even in the recent situation.
I’d like to focus my concerns around the administration and our guiding book, our bible, as such when it comes to finances and economics of the NWT. What happens if there is an error or breach, Mr. Speaker? The public is unclear and wonders how the balance is worked out. Is it swept under the carpet or how is it weighed and measured in a transparent way?
Clearly, independence, or I should say unclear independence, seems to be one of the questions that is railing out there. People wonder, do the staff guide their reviews under the scrutiny of their bosses when they are, in some cases, reviewing these situations. What is the transparency of these guidelines that provide a reasonable atonement? It’s not necessary about getting a pound of flesh, but we all have to know what measurements and guidelines we are being held accountable to.
The choice, as the public sees it, if there is a problem in some way, really comes down to a few options. Do nothing and that becomes a real option, or correct the error of the breach, and do nothing and pretend the error never happened.
So the government is left with the choice of two lesser evils. Do we do nothing or do we pretend nothing happened? I will ask questions to the Finance Minister later today and get some clarity on how we weigh and measure the Financial Administration Manual in an open and transparent way. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Hawkins. The honourable Member for Hay River North. Mr. Bouchard.
