Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In my Member’s statement today I talked about some of the downside of consensus government. Maybe it isn’t that consensus government is all bad, but maybe the Territory has evolved and maybe a change from consensus government would be a natural stepping stone, a natural evolution in the way that we govern ourselves here in the Territory.
I am not sure where changes to the way we govern ourselves would actually begin. I’m hoping that the Premier could help me out with this, because all of our systems and committee structures and rules of the House and everything are currently premised on a style of government called consensus government. If we wanted to transition to party politics in the Northwest Territories, certainly it would take a great deal of public consultation. It would take a signal from the public that this would be a more effective way to govern. But I would like to ask the Premier where the starting point would be on that kind of discussion and transition.
Thank you, Mrs. Groenewegen. The honourable Premier, Mr. Roland.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I guess the very beginnings can start just as they have with a Member raising the issue of consensus government and our processes. We have touted much about our consensus style of government when we go to other jurisdictions and meet around the issue of consensus government. Many Members from other governments from the opposition parties are very impressed, let’s say, with the ability to gain information from the governing body or Cabinet, so to speak, and share that up front. That also places restrictions on Members when you get that information to hold that in confidence until decisions are made and we can bring them to this level of debate in this House. I, as well, starting as a Regular Member, was rather pleased with my ability to get information up front. That also hampered my ability to speak to issues at certain times.
But we fully recognize that the Government of the Northwest Territories and the Northwest Territories itself is evolving when you talk about self-governments, you talk about the evolving governance structures. One of the areas I’ve engaged in is a political development forum with aboriginal leaders leading towards the possibility of a constitution. I would say debate would be good to have on consensus government, because there are times when we really need to move and make decisions on subjects that are time sensitive, that need to move ahead, and we find our processes do slow that down when it comes to decision-making.
So I would say the start of it would be a debate at this House. We could carry it out to a referendum to the public of the Territories to end in a vote and give direction, for example, to the next Assembly. It could be as straightforward as that. But one of the avenues I’ve initiated with regional leaders is a political development forum to begin to look at how we set a common vision for the North. Thank you.
Mr. Speaker, we have a wonderful Territory full of amazing opportunities. Mr. Speaker, the Premier has alluded to going to other jurisdictions, and I’ve been in that same situation where they’re almost in awe, you know, that we get together and we make it sound like we hammer everything out until everybody agrees when, in fact, that’s not exactly the way it is. Maybe it sounds a little more rosy than it is.
From the government’s side, normally the government is a governing party and they have party discipline and they have party protection, they have a party platform going into an election campaign, but, Mr. Speaker, from the governing side, even of this consensus government it’s been alluded here today in discussions about the Deh Cho Bridge, the government, it’s an untenable situation to have to be caught between sharing information with trying to accomplish a goal at the same time knowing full well that that information that you share could be used as a stick to beat you with. I mean, that’s basically what it boils down to. It creates an untenable situation for this side and that side. So, Mr. Speaker, I’d like to know what means does the Premier have at his disposal, or this government has at its disposal to begin this dialogue and debate. He talks about the Northern Leaders’ Forum, but in the general public what means do we have to begin a debate on the pros and cons of consensus government? Thank you.
Let me first recognize and appreciate the Member’s recognition of the times and challenges we face when we share information on initiatives that we’re thinking about going down and initiating and sharing that information and at times being held to account for information in its earliest days of forming and coming to setting direction as a government. We’ve got examples of that during this government itself, the 16th Assembly, which leads to huge challenges. When other governments in a party system want a direction set, a platform is set at a general election and the governing party can come in and then begin to make changes as it progresses and does its time. I would say the tools that we have before us, one, I’ve initiated a process with the regional leaders on political development forum, but we could, as well, at this forum put a motion on the floor for open debate for the public to hear and have it recorded about the discussion around consensus government or political structures. Thank you.
I do apologize. This is a big topic and maybe it was the wrong time to start it on the last day of session, but, Mr. Speaker, the idea of party politics, unfortunately, we have little snippets of party politics mingled, hybridized with this consensus government. For example, Cabinet solidarity; you know the Cabinet is always going to stick together. When you come over to this side, we’re not allowed to be called the opposition, just the accountability side of the House, Mr. Speaker. It’s an awkward situation, because that solidarity does not exist on this side of the House. And the balance of power with the number of Members we have. Mr. Speaker, 19 Members to represent the Northwest Territories, I’m sorry, may not be enough of a critical mass of people to really have the kind of balance of power that you need to have effective government. What kind of discussions would the Premier have with other leaders in the Territory about the idea of perhaps expanding the number of Members who sit in this House? Thank you.
The size of our House, we go through the general election and there’s the 25 plus/minus seat structure that’s in place. Again, it’s a standard across this country that we follow. There are a lot of similarities we have with other jurisdictions that have party politics. In fact, the Member has talked about Cabinet solidarity and though there’s is no official opposition, it’s always understood there’s an unofficial opposition, which has worked rather well, I’d say, during the 16th Assembly and other Assemblies in the past. But at the same time, we do need to have a look at how we go forward.
Again, the regional process of political development is one approach that we have before us that we can initiate that, and probably more to this Assembly, to this arena, is a motion for debate that could begin that discussion publicly. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Roland. The honourable Member for Yellowknife Centre, Mr. Hawkins.
