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Two Greenlandic dog-team trekkers are building bridges between Canadian and Greenlandic Inuit.
Visit the Great Sledge Journey III website: http://www.greennet.gl/~qimusseq/
JANE GEORGE
Nunatsiaq News
MONTREAL -- Two Greenlanders are invoking the spirit of Knud Rasmussen as they tour through Nunavik and Nunavut by dog team in a gesture of Inuit solidarity.
Ono Fleischer, 49, and Mathias Ingemann, 36, left Kuujjuaq on January 10.
They're using 28 Greenlandic dogs to pull two sledges that First Air flew to Canada for them.
The outfitters plan to end their Nunavik visit in Puvirnituq. They'll then fly across the Hudson Bay to Arviat and continue by dog team through communities in the Keewatin and South Baffin.
Their 4800-kilometre trek is expected to end in Iqaluit in early April.
This trip, called the "Great Sledge Journey III" or "Qimusseq," is inspired by the travels of Greenlandic explorer Knud Rasmussen (1879-1933).
Unlike most Arctic explorers, whose work was aimed at serving the economic and political interests of colonizing Europeans, Rasmussen used his journeys to gain knowledge about Inuit culture and language.
The collections of stories and legends that Rasmussen gathered on his journeys are now classics of written Inuit culture.
That's why the expedition's many sponsors include the Inuit Circumpolar Conference and Makivik Corporation.
The Greenlanders, who are due to arrive in Puvirnituq sometime this week, have already made their way up the Ungava Bay coast.
And "happiness" is how Fleischer summed up his reaction to the warm welcome that he and Ingemann received at their first stop in Tasiujaq.
In Salluit last week
When the two Greenlanders pulled into Salluit on Friday, February 6, across the sea ice, one younger resident said it was like "a dream" to see the teams and their drivers dressed in traditional Greenlandic polar bear fur outfits. Elders were thrilled.
In each community they have visited so far, people have turned out to witness the now-rare arrival of dog teams.
"We haven't has a real working dog team for a long time," says Salluit resident Josepi Padlayat, who helped organize his community's welcome to the visiting Greenlanders.
Padlayat says many people in Salluit were eager to meet the visitors. Some could remember sitting in snow houses, back in the 1950's, listening to Greenlandic radio transmissions.
The two dog teamers and their expedition coordinator, Karo Thomsen, also met with community members to talk about Greenland.
Fleischer and Ingemann, who had admired parkas at the local cooperative, were later delighted to get Nunavik-style parkas as a present from the community. Thomsen received an ulu.
Thomsen, the first Greenlandic woman to cross the icecap on skis, is coordinating the "Great Sledge Journey."
She's also writing a children's book about the journey as seen through the eyes of Avva, a Greenlandic sled dog.
Thomsen says that Nunavik is a big change from her home town, Nuuk, the capital of Greenland, which now has a population of about 15,000. In Nuuk, the weather is warmer and the sea never freezes.
And, says Thomsen, families in Nuuk are smaller and more isolated.
"It's really fantastic here," she says. "When you go to a different community and you stay with people you've never met, but it's like being home. It's really hard to leave the community."
Back to Nunatsiaq NewsIt looks as if nine of Nunavut's newly-hired deputy ministers will be either NWT or Nunavut residents. But only three of the eleven departmental bosses will be Inuit.
JIM BELL
Nunatsiaq News
IQALUIT -- Next Wednesday, Interim Commissioner Jack Anawak will confirm the names of the11 people he's hired to run the Nunavut government's bureaucracy.
Anawak said the 11 people have already been "pretty well" hired. But he said his office wants to complete negotiations with them on their pay and benefits packages before making an official announcement.
"We just want to make sure that everything is in place before we make the announcement," Anawak said.
The eleven successful applicants were culled from a list supplied by Caldwell and Partners -- a southern recruiting firm called in to help the interim commissioner's office -- and from people who applied directly to Anawak's office.
Anawak said that about 300 candidates applied for the deputy minister jobs.
Using a variety of reliable sources, Nunatsiaq News has been able to corroborate the names of nine of the 11 people hired for deputy-minister-level jobs within the Nunavut government.
Who are they?
Here are the nine northern residents expected to get deputy minister jobs within the government of Nunavut. Three of the nine are Inuit, and two are women.
Finance, Education to be run by southern hires
Nunatsiaq News has been unable to corroborate the names of the two people who will be hired to run the education and finance departments.
But we've confirmed that Nunavut's Department of Finance and Nunavut's Department of Education will each be run by deputy minister candidates hired from southern Canada.
Anawak said most of the eleven deputy ministers should be able to start work in Iqaluit by April 1, 1998, when they'll begin the work of building their respective departments.
He also said some of the candidates who didn't get deputy minister jobs may be offered assistant deputy minister positions.
Other sources say that Nunavut's deputy ministers will likely be paid salaries that range from $105,000-$145,000 a year, plus benefits.
With files from Annette Bourgeois
Back to Nunatsiaq NewsIs the Keewatin getting a new regional government? If so, is it in line with the Footprints model for Nunavut? These and many other questions remain unanswered as the GNWT gets set to carry out a community empowerment plan they're calling "the Keewatin pilot project."
DWANE WILKIN
Nunatsiaq News
IQALUIT -- Keewatin mayors and the Kivalliq Inuit Association will meet next week with GNWT officials to flesh out the details of a major proposal to transfer responsibility for many GNWT functions to the region's municipal governments.
Still very much at the conceptual stage, the proposal envisions a complete devolution of spending authority over the management, maintenance and operations of public buildings, schools and even health centres to local governments -- a shift that could, potentially, involve the transfer of hundreds of millions of dollars.
Mayors from four Keewatin communities were in Yellowknife last week to discuss the proposal, which, in principle at least, is consistent with the GNWT's policy of community empowerment.
Unanswered questions
In practical terms, though, the so-called "Keewatin pilot project" raises a number of unanswered questions.
"This is a big change for the government and I think it is a very good, positive change for the government," Manitok Thompson, Minister of Municipal and Community Affairs commented in a budget review committee hearing. "It is a better way of doing business."
No comprehensive plan has been submitted to cabinet yet, but the minister said she is seeking support from Nunavut's Interim Commissioner for help in the development and implementation of the project.
As it stands now, the Keewatin transfer proposal looks something like this:
The management, maintenance and operation of all community-based infrastructure would be tranferred from the GNWT to Keewatin community governments;
A Keewatin communities' association or similar structure would be set up to direct all regionally-based community infrastructure;
A single formula-financing agreement would be developed and used to determine the amount of block funding from the territorial government that would be needed to cover capital costs, and operation and maintenance requirements for all departments;
The Keewatin "communities' association" or individual community governments would be accountable for capital project decisions.
Representatives from the Keewatin Regional Health Board and the Keewatin Divisional Education Board will also meet with MACA representatives next week.
If the communities can agree on this proposal outline and if they are in agreement on a timeframe, MACA will develop the idea further.
Details and potential costs and savings will be identified and considered as the project is further explored, Thompson said last week.
Among other things, exactly how future formula-financing arrangements would be worked out with the hamlets remains to be worked out.
A new form of regional government?
Iqaluit MLA Ed Picco also wonders if the devolution of powers and responsibilities to a communities' association wouldn't constitute a new form of regional government.
If so, he suggested such a plan might conflict with the recommendations for governance structure in Nunavut, contained in the Nunavut Implementation Commission's Footprints 2 report.
Kivalliviq MLA Kevin O'Brien who represents Arviat, which supports the pilot project and Baker Lake, which opposes it, finds himself in a unique position.
"For example, with funding, how would we make sure that my two communities received a fair amount of capital and [operations-and-maintenance funding] to meet their needs? How would this be accomplished and what structure will be in place to oversee that there will be fairness?" asked O'Brien, who said he personally supports the pilot project in principle.
Though communities in the region would have more decision-making power, presumably they would still have to adhere to standards and regulations set forth by the territorial government.
Back to Nunatsiaq NewsANNETTE BOURGEOIS
Nunatsiaq News
IQALUIT -- Baffin health board members have voted to negotiate a five-year contract for southern medical services with a groups of Ottawa-based physicians.
The Baffin Regional Health and Social Services board made that decision during a teleconference Wednesday.
Last month the board gave tentative approval for the move from Montreal to Ottawa if it could be proven that's it's cost neutral.
"We're satisfied with the cost issue," health board chair Dennis Patterson said Wednesday, shortly after the decision was made. "Now we've got to make it work."
No contract has been signed, but the board gave unanimous approval for officials to begin detailed negotiations with the Ottawa Health Services Network.
The board agreed to enter into a three-year contract, which is expected to begin April 1, with an option to extend that to five years.
Patterson added he expects savings in physician and hospital costs as a result of improved case management. He added residents can also anticipate shorter hospital stays.
The Ottawa service also proposes to incorporate more medical services at the community level which should reduce the need for patients to travel south for medical treatment.
The board will put a transition plan in place in an effort to ensure continuous medical service for patients. The Montreal-based patient residence will close, but a press release issued late Wednesday was sketchy on details.
"This decision will result in the eventual closure of Baffin House in Montreal after a transitional period," the release states.
Back to Nunatsiaq NewsPublic Works Minister Jim Antoine says the controversial Lahm Ridge deal is part of a larger plan tabled last week in the legislative assembly.
DWANE WILKIN
Nunatsiaq News
IQALUIT -- Bureaucrats in the GNWT's Department of Public Works and Services expected to negotiate a long-term lease for the Lahm Ridge Tower in Yellowknife five months before the building changed hands.
Last fall, the Yellowknife office building , along with a lucrative long-term lease with the GNWT, ended up in the hands of a company controlled by Roland Bailey and Mike Mrdjenovich -- Yellowknife businessmen with close ties to Premier Don Morin.
That prompted a firestorm of controversy over the past week and a half, as MLAs have peppered the cabinet with numerous questions about the deal.
Deal worked out with previous owners?
But Public Works Minister Jim Antoine has tabled documents suggesting that public works officials had agreed to negotiate a long term lease with the previous owners of Lahm Ridge Towers -- not with a numbered company controlled by Bailey and Mrdjenovich.
Antoine told MLAs last week that the public works department already had "a fairly good idea" about which long-term leases the GNWT would keep with private landlords by July, 1997.
That appears to explain why the government decided enter into the controversial $10 million long-term lease on the Lahm Ridge building at a time when most other GNWT leases and contracts were frozen.
The GNWT also has 76,000 square feet of empty office space on its hands.
Office space review
According to Antoine, the decision to reopen lease negotiations was apparently based on a review of the GNWT's office space requirements by the public works department that started in January, 1997.
Antoine then tabled the government's so-called "Yellowknife Office Plan" in the assembly last week.
The plan, which Antoine explained was approved by cabinet in January, 1998, calls for "a combination of short, medium and long-term leases" to satisfy the government's need for office space up until the year 2002.
Responding to questions from ordinary MLAs, Antoine insisted that the deal was not conditional upon the sale of the building to 974102 NWT Ltd, the numbered company controlled by Bailey and Mrdjenovich.
Bailey, a former deputy minister of the executive is currently working on a contract with the GNWT to manage the Aurora Fund, while Mrdjenovich owns the house in Yellowknife that Morin rents.
In response to questions from Yellowknife Centre MLA Jake Ootes, Antoine said that it was the building's former owner, Al Marceau of Lahm Ridge Investments Ltd. who contacted the Department of Public Works last summer to start negotiating a lease extension.
Marceau had been renting the building to the GNWT on a month-to-month basis since 1995, after a previous lease with the GNWT had expired.
Antoine said the GNWT was aware during the negotiations that Marceau was also talking about selling the Lahm Ridge building and that "it is obvious his intention all along was to negotiate the lease, and then sell his property to another company."
Marceau has since left the Northwest Territories and is said to be living in British Columbia. As of our press-time this week, Nunatsiaq News had been unable to contact him for comment.
Morin lashes out at MLAs
In his own member's statement last week, Premier Morin accused some members of the Legislative Assembly of using the Lahm Ridge deal to wage a campaign of innuendo against him.
"I categorically deny any wrongdoing or interference in the Lahm Ridge Tower lease by myself, my cabinet colleagues and by my deputy ministers," Morin said.
"I challenge the member from Hay River [Hay River MLA Jane Groenewegen] or anyone else who may believe there is wrongdoing, to file a complaint against me with the Conflict of Interest Commissioner -- that is, if they have the guts and political backbone, and if not, let's get on with the business of good government."
Hay River MLA Jane Groenewegen says she has no intention of filing a conflict-of-interest complaint against anyone at this time.
Back to Nunatsiaq News
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A delegation of political and business leaders from Manitoba arrives in Iqaluit next week looking to tap into Nunavut's economy.
DWANE WILKIN
Nunatsiaq News
IQALUIT -- They're calling it a trade mission, but the delegation of Manitoban business leaders travelling to Nunavut next week anticipates more fact-finding than deal-making.
Altogether, some 18 representatives are due to arrive in Iqaluit next Tuesday accompanied by two provincial ministers, two mayors and a half-dozen senior bureaucrats.
The question on everybody's mind is: What does Nunavut want?
"We're there to learn and to listen," said Mike Ogborn, vice-president of Omnitrax, a Denver, Colorado-based company which operates 1,300 kilometres of railroad between Churchill and two northern Manitoba towns, The Pas and Thompson.
"It's really important for us to consult with the citizens of Nunavut and then be able to say, 'Well, maybe we can help you in this way -- what do you think?'"
Ironically, it was the threat of losing contracts for medical and fuel re-supply services in the Keewatin region last summer that finally stirred interest in Nunavut among Manitoban officials.
"It was a really strong wake-up call for us," Ross Thompson, manager of community and northern development with the Government of Manitoba, said.
"People in Nunavut were saying, 'If Manitoba really wants our business, they'll show us how and why we're important.'"
The potential for trade and partnerships with the North, particularly as infrastructure development in the new territory accelerates, is attracting interest from all sectors, including transportation, health, mining, housing, education and tourism.
The Manitoba government figures that trade with the NWT already generates $57 million in labor income alone.
And Jack Wilson, regional vice president of the Manitoba Chamber of Commerce/northern region, puts the value of goods shipped to the NWT through the port of Churchill at upwards of $250 million a year.
In fact, future traffic patterns at this port on the western Hudson Bay coast could well have an influence on the way products and services are delivered to Nunavut communities.
For one thing, the distance by air from Churchill to almost any point in the eastern Arctic is shorter than it is from Montreal or Ottawa, and the town is equipped with an airport.
That means that any product could, presumably, be shipped by road and rail as far as the Hudson coast, then flown into Nunavut communities at competitive rates.
"Omnitrax is being very aggressive about promoting the port and the rail line, and wanting to increase its volume of freight," Wilson said.
"We see a kind of a tie-in."
Whether goods are to be shipped or flown from Churchill, Omnitrax's Ogborn thinks opening a direct line of product from Winnipeg to the communities of Nunavut could be a benefit, both in terms of service and perhaps in price.
"We think that's a very viable opportunity for the citizens of Nunavut to explore," Ogborn said.
Omnitrax's strategy in the short run will be to increase exports of wheat and barley through the port, Ogborn said.
The next step will be to bring more product in a more efficient and economical manner through the port to serve the Keewatin and the rest of Nunavut.
Depending on how talks with potential clients in the North pan out, Ogborn said Omnitrax would also consider investing in the port to permit container shipping.
All shipping of dry goods in containers destined for the eastern Arctic currently originated in Montreal or Quebec City.
Back to TopNunatsiaq News
IQALUIT -- Keewatin residents might soon see some stability in health care delivery within their region.
The GNWT health department and the Keewatin Regional Health and Social Services board signed a letter of intent last week outlining what help the department is committed to giving the board.
The declining state of health care in the region came to public attention last month after the resignation of the board's former chair, Betty Palfrey and the dismissal of its executive director, Jim Egan.
Health Minister Kelvin Ng, in signing the letter, commits to have officials from his department initiate and assist in the recruitment of a permanent executive director for the board.
Chris Keeley, a senior bureaucrat within the GNWT, was appointed interim executive director Feb 9. He's expected to hold that job for about four months.
Health department officials will also develop recruiting and retention strategies for staff, giving particular attention to nurses and social workers.
GNWT staff will oversee the implementation of a communications plan and the management of plans to construct health centres in Arviat and Rankin Inlet.
Ng also committed to reviewing the organizational structure, including accountability, of the board, as well as looking at the possibility of re-opening contract talks with the University of Manitoba's northern medical unit.
Back to TopThe Lahm Ridge Tower affair: public debate or smear campaign?
Last week, Premier Don Morin challenged MLAs to either make a formal conflict of interest complaint against him, or to drop their incessant questions about a lucractive GNWT lease awarded to two of his close associates.
Nunatsiaq News
Statement by Premier Don Morin, Wednesday, February 4
Minister's Statement 40-13(5): Lahm Ridge Tower Lease
HON. DON MORIN: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I rise today to tell you that I am fed up with the speculation and innuendo which is being repeated in this building, in the press, and on the street about the Lahm Ridge Tower lease.
This is damaging the reputation of not only myself as your premier but to cabinet and the legislature as a whole. It is also damaging and disrespectful to senior managers in the Government of the Northwest Territories and private citizens and it is untrue.
First, Mr. Speaker, I categorically deny any wrongdoing or interference in the Lahm Ridge Tower lease by myself, my cabinet colleagues and by my deputy ministers.
--Applause
Second, the lease extension was and is a good deal for this government. But you know this, all the information has been put on the table.
The minister of public works and services has tabled a chronology of events regarding the Lahm Ridge Tower office lease in this assembly. The minister and deputy minister of public works and services have been candid and forthright in responding to questions on this issue. Despite this, rumours and innuendo continue to flow.
Finally, Mr. Speaker, we do have a process to deal with citizen's concerns about conflict of interest.
I challenge the member from Hay River or any one else who may believe there is wrongdoing to file a complaint against me with the conflict of interest commissioner, that is, if they have the guts and political backbone, and if not, let's get on with the business of good government. Thank you.
-- Applause
Excerpts from Hay River MLA Jane Groenewegen's reply, Wednesday, February 4
Member's Statement 156-13(5): Lahm Ridge Tower Lease
MRS. GROENEWEGEN: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Today I would like to thank the honourable premier for his statement. Mr. Speaker, I would like to respond to the premier's statement. The speculation [and] innuendos that are being repeated are being repeated in far more places than in this building and in the press.
I am sorry if this innuendo is damaging to anyone's reputation, because it should not be. Mr. Speaker, I did not create this situation that is being spoken out and questioned. I am merely trying to ask questions to clear up the perception that was out there, long before I started asking questions in this house.
Mr. Speaker, I have an obligation to raise the concerns and questions of my constituents in this house. I have tried to capture these concerns in my questions, which I believe have been fair questions.
The premier states, "and it is untrue". What is untrue, Mr. Speaker? All of the events that have been questioned are real events.
We have only been seeking details and further information. Maybe the lease extension was a good deal. We can still ask about it, cannot we?
It would be damaging to our reputation as elected officials if we did not respond to the concerns of our constituents. Finally, Mr. Speaker, I want to ensure you that the member from Hay River lacks no guts and in spite of being called to the premier's office, with the assistant deputy minister as the premier's witness, and the premier outlining that he would take appropriate action if I crossed the lines of impropriety in my search for answers.
I still, Mr. Speaker, adhere to my fundamental right to ask respectful questions in this house, and I will continue to do so.
-- Applause
I also would like to inform the premier that I have no intention of filing a conflict of interest complaint against anyone at this time. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
-- Applause
Iqaluit MLA Ed Picco's reply, Thursday, February 5
Member's Statement 168-13(5): Questions Posed in the House
MR. PICCO: Thank you Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker I would like to take this opportunity to speak to the issue of questioning in this House.
As an ordinary MLA, it is our job to provide a counter to the cabinet and to support the government in its job as it directs government business.
Politicians quickly think twice when a tough issue presents itself. For example, abortion or capital punishment. The same sex benefits vote caused such a situation in this assembly earlier.
We are elected to take a stand. The public does not want members to back away from something because it is controversial and in this house we have seen that with questions on the Keewatin health care, the Aurora Fund or the Lahm Ridge Tower issues.
The whole idea of a legislative assembly or democracy, is the right of free speech and the ability as an elected member to ask questions.
Many times questions have been answered in committee, but those meetings are not open to the public and thus it is accepted that a question put to the government on a particular topic may be to allow the public the opportunity to hear the answer for the first time.
Mr. Speaker, I have been criticized in the past by some of my colleagues for asking too many questions. I have been told that the things I have said outside this house could be construed as libelous.
Mr. Speaker, I have been told that things published in the paper, although not directly attributed to me, could have been slanderous. I have been told that certain Internet forum writers could be me and the statements made by those writing might be a case of defamation.
Mr. Speaker, for the past couple of months, I have questioned many of the things I might have said. Mr. Speaker, I have thought twice about asking certain questions in this house because it might upset or cause me problems.
Mr. Speaker, in speaking to one of my colleagues, and my friends back home, they informed me that I was experiencing a case of libel chill. Mr. Speaker, it could prove fatal.
Mr. Speaker, I have tried to be honest in my questions. I have tried to offer constructive criticism and will continue to raise questions and represent my community to the best of my abilities.
Mr. Speaker, libel chill may be fatal, but not representing my constituents or the people of the Northwest Territories by asking questions and helping keep government accountable is also fatal. That, Mr.Speaker, is not acceptable. Thank you.
-- Applause
Excerpts from Yellowknife Centre MLA Jake Ootes' replay, Friday, February 6
Member's Statement 175-13(5): Premier's Statement Regarding Lahm Ridge Tower Questions
MR. OOTES: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to express my concern about the premier's statement of February 4, regarding the questioning by ordinary members over the Lahm Ridge Tower lease.
Mr. Speaker, the premier's statement caused me concern as an ordinary member. He challenged the member for Hay River to file a conflict of interest complaint.
I can only conclude that we have fundamentally different views on the rights and obligations of government and ordinary members. As the premier said, we do have processes outside of this House for dealing with citizens' concerns, in fact we have several, we have courts and commissioners and adjudicators.
As he said, it is true that anyone may make a complaint to the conflict of interest commissioner.
I have the greatest of respect for these institutions, but Mr. Speaker we have another process, one that goes back centuries.
It is called democracy. Democracy means responsible government, and that means that those individuals not in a governing position have a responsibility to question and be a sober second thought.
Responsible government means several things, but foremost, to me it means that ministers of government are accountable to the people through their elected representatives, the ordinary members of this House.
Government must be fair and just and it must be seen to be fair and just. There are few opportunities for government to directly answer questions to the people, questions of the people.
If there are rumours and innuendo and if the rumours are misconceived, I would have thought that the government would welcome the opportunity to clear up the misconceptions. Instead the Premier chose to challenge one of the members.
Mr. Speaker, whether or not government welcomes this opportunity, ordinary members will continue to ask questions in this house, whether it is pleasant or unpleasant for government.
It is our responsibility and our duty as ordinary members. We will continue to exercise our duty. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
-- Applause
Editor's note: The above statements are taken from unedited issues of the NWT Hansard.
Back to TopBits and pieces
JOHN AMAGOALIK
Ross Rebagliati of British Columbia won the first ever gold medal for Olympic snowboarding at Nagano, Japan. People who make and sell snowboards in Canada must be grinning from ear to ear. At press-time, Rebagliati had tested postive for traces of marijuana in his system and may not get his medal. Those grins may be turning into frowns.
The separatists in Quebec want the government of Canada to fork over more than $700 million so that Hydro Quebec can repair hydro transmission lines which were destroyed during the recent ice storms.
The government of Canada has said it will give money to help pay for what was damaged, but says that Hydro Quebec doesn't really qualify for assistance because it makes a lot of money and should be able to secure the necessary resources to repair its lines.
The separatists are accusing the government of Canada of attempting to sabotage its independence movement by making it harder for the PQ government to eliminate its deficit. Would you like some kleenex Mr Bouchard?
Fans of the Beach Boys. Ross Wilson, lead guitarist of The Beach Boys, died of cancer recently. All you young people who are starting the habit of smoking please note that he died of lung cancer at the age of 51. Give it up. It's not worth it.
Most people know by now that US President Bill Clinton is not exactly innocent. But the people who have made the accusations and those who are after his head are really no better than he is.
If Saddam Hussein is not nervous, than he's not human. If he doesn't back down and allows unfettered inspections for biological and chemical weapons, his regime is going to be hit hard.
Me. The best hockey players in the world are finally playing in the Olympics. Anything less than gold for Canada will be very disappointing.
Back to TopThe proper role of MLAs
Premier Don Morin may well be enraged at the barrage of questions that MLAs have been firing at him and other cabinet ministers over a lease that the GNWT has signed with the owners of the Lahm Ridge Towers office building in Yellowknife.
He may also be enraged at what he calls "speculation and innuendo" -- by which he appears to mean all the various rumours that have circulated throughout the territories since last fall, when the Lahm Bridge deal was struck.
All this is natural and understandable. Morin has every right to defend himself, his reputation, and the actions of the government that he oversees.
But he has no right to interfere with legitimate public debate on that or any other subject in which the public has an interest -- especially if that debate is taking place among legislators whose sworn responsibility is to ask questions on our behalf.
Many Nunavut residents may believe that the Lahm Ridge Tower affair is not relevant to us. It is after all, a deal involving Yellowknife business people, Yellowknife politicians, and a Yellowknife building that will soon accomodate a western territorial government.
But when Premier Morin rose on February 4 to unleash his highly-publicized attack on MLAs and others who have questioned the Lahm Ridge Tower lease, the nature of the debate changed.
What began as debate over a lucrative office space lease handed out to two close associates of the premier became a debate over the proper role of MLAs within the consensus system of government.
And that -- given that we'll be electing our own legislature in about a year -- is highly relevant for us.
Shortly after he got the premier's job, Morin made a big show out of tearing down the door that separates cabinet offices from those occupied by ordinary MLAs. He talked a lot about a new "collegial" way of governing, in which cabinet members and ordinary MLAs would work together as equals.
In doing this, Morin was obviously attempting to invoke the spirit of consensus government -- a philosophy most Nunavut residents expect to see practiced in our own legislature.
Unfortunately, Morin and his government have done little to show that they understand consensus -- at least the traditional forms of consensus decision-making practiced by Inuit and many other aborginal peoples.
In a real consensus, the views of each and every individual are given equal respect, no matter how divergent from one another they may appear to be. In real consensus, no one leaves the room until everyone's views have been incorporated into the final decision.
But a "consensus" that has been achieved by intimidation, backstabbing, double-talk, browbeating and ridicule is a phony consensus. And it's a phony consensus that Morin has been attempting to foist upon us with his talk of "collegial" government.
For example, it was highly improper for him to use an assistant deputy minister of justice, as a "witness" to a meeting that he had with Hay River MLA Jane Groenewegen.
Although Morin may not have intended to do so, it creates the impression that he is prepared to use the weight of the GNWT's justice department as a tool for intimidating MLAs whose questions he finds inconvenient. It's also improper for any non-elected civil servant to appear to take sides in a dispute between two politicians.
In the end, Morin and other officials finally did what they were asked. They supplied MLAs -- and the public -- with the information they were asked to provide. It turns out that this information appears to exonerate Morin of any improper involvement in the Lahm Ridge lease.
Fine. But Morin must realize that there are many of us who believe people who aren't friends of cabinet ministers deserve a chance to get government contracts too. He, and others in government, must also realize that we expect our MLAs ensure that this happens.
If MLAs are prevented from doing that, we won't have consensus and we won't have democracy. What we will have is a third-rate, economy-class tyranny.JB
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Last updated
February 13, 1998
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