Masi, Madam Speaker. [Translation] As Cabinet and Members, we work under this policy. It's in front of us to use, so when these Ministers come into our community, they have to give us notice, two weeks', and send us the documents. This is the question I want to ask the Minister. [End of translation]
As Members of the Legislative Assembly of the Northwest Territories, we adhere to what we call a process convention. Madam Speaker, according to the process convention, Section 11(b) states, "Ministers will, whenever possible, provide a minimum of two weeks' advance notice of any public meeting being held by their departments in a Member's constituency." That did not occur in my riding back in December. I'm just wondering, Madam Speaker, a question to the Minister responsible for the NWT Housing Corporation: is the Minister up to speed and also familiar with section 11 of the process convention that we have in place? Masi, Madam Speaker.
Thank you, Member for Monfwi. Minister responsible for the NWT Housing Corporation.
Thank you, Madam Speaker. My apologies. No, I'm not familiar with the process convention policy, but, back in December, we were just newly elected. This was a project that was coming around, that was coming to closure. It was the Whati community plan for strategic housing plans. At that time, I went and I asked my department if the MLA for Monfwi was contacted; at that time, he was out, he had prior engagements, but just for that celebration that had happened, the celebration did not go forward. There was a death in the community. The celebration was put to a stop, and we just had discussions about the plan, but the celebration did not go forward. We did have a meal, but it was silent. There was a death in the community. Thank you, Madam Speaker.
[Translation] The second question I have regarding the process convention is that it's stated in the policy that you give them notice for five days in advance to return your question or written question. They have five days to return that answer. [End of translation]
When the Regular Members request for information from ministerial offices, the general rule of thumb is that the turnaround time should be within five days or less. We understand that, sometimes, five days needs to be extended and, as long as the Minister's office lets Regular Members know about the necessary extension, we are generally fine with that. It has been well over two weeks since my request, so I'm just wondering if the Minister is familiar with the general rule of thumb, the five-day rule, within the process convention. It is very important to have this timeline turnaround.
My deepest apologies to the Member for the request that was not received within 10 days. I would like to ask him if he would be able to resend that request to me, and I will follow up with that immediately. My sincere apologies.
Yes, I definitely will do, and I clearly hear the Minister's apology. This is an area that, obviously, we need to improve; not only her department, but other departments, as well, so I'll be speaking to that in my probably last and final question.
Myself and my colleagues on this side of the House are getting extremely frustrated with how the government is operating and how our side of the House is being treated. In her letter to me, the Minister responsible for the NWT Housing Corporation mentioned that she would like to collaborate with me for the betterment of my constituents. Communication definitely needs to be improved in this area. Will this Minister responsible for the NWT Housing Corporation and her department commit to making improvements with respect to giving proper notice and on responding to queries from Regular Members? Clearly, Madam Speaker, this will be a message to other Ministers, as well.
I would just like to advise that I was actually in Behchoko in February, and we did meet with the local housing authority, and the MLA was present. It was his meeting request at that time. Going forward, I will keep the Members very aware of when the NWT Housing Corporation will be in their community, but going forward, I don't have a scheduled plan for community visits right now. Once our session is complete, I will be sure to forward that information to the Members.
Thank you, Minister. Oral questions. Member for Thebacha.
