The chair recognizes a quorum. We are on item 7, the position of Deputy Premier. Are there any general comments? Mr. Levi Barnabas.

Thank you, Mr. Barnabas. Mr. Enuaraq.

(Translation) Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I also believe that there are some problems that are faced by the Premier. The Premier has to travel great distances in the Northwest Territories. She has to keep on delegating her authority to one of the Ministers. If we assign a particular Deputy Premier, I think the Deputy Premier should come from the East. I would like to see the Deputy Premier come from the Nunavut area.

The Premier should not be the only one responsible to vote in his or her deputy. We should all be accountable. The Deputy Premier should come from the Nunavut area. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Enuaraq. General comments on the Deputy Premier? Mr. Vince Steen.

Thank you, Mr. Steen. Mr. Ningark.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, during the last Assembly, when the Premier was absent from the House travelling to another jurisdiction -- in most cases, a good cause -- ordinary Members would question the Cabinet to see who was the acting Premier. Most Members from the old Assembly will remember there were times when no one would know who was the leader of the pack. Mr. Chairman, I think there is a need for the Premier, in this particular Assembly. I don't like to prejudge the possible outcome. There is a very strong possibility that the Premier may be chosen from the Western Caucus. I would like to make it very clear that it hasn't come to a vote yet and I don't like to sound like I am picking someone. I am not.

However, I think we should look at the possibility of having the Deputy Premier coming from the East, if the Premier is chosen from the West and vice versa. There are many times in this House when no one seemed to know who the leader of the government when the Premier was travelling. I know that the travelling demands on the Premier are very great and I know it will remain practically the same, in order to ensure the interests of the people of the NWT are heard from other jurisdictions.

If the Premier is chosen from the West, the Deputy Premier should be appointed from the East. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Ningark. Mr. Enuaraq.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. First of all, I would like to congratulate you on your new position as Speaker of the House. As you know, I nominated you, so my nomination must have been pretty powerful.

---Laughter

I just want to make a little correction, in case I was misunderstood when I was talking Inuktitut. All of us in the House don't know yet, who the Premier is going to be. I was just trying to say if the Premier was going to be from the West, I would prefer to see a Deputy Premier from Nunavut. I just heard that some of my colleagues have misunderstood what I said. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

Thank you for that clarification. Mr. Ng.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. First of all, I would like to say that I support the establishment of the position of Deputy Premier. There are many times that the Premier -- whoever he or she may be -- will be unavailable, travelling on behalf of the government and the residents of the Territories. I think we also have to give that individual, the Premier, the flexibility to decide his or her own Deputy Premier because, again, not knowing what the make-up of the Cabinet representation is going to be and not knowing how each of the Cabinet representatives are going to be able to handle the duties they are given, the Premier has to have that flexibility to decide who he or she thinks can best handle that position.

Having said that, I also recognize that the Premier, whether from the East or West, has to also, when making that decision, take into consideration, as we always have in this House, the East/West balance of power and responsibilities. So I would like to say that I support the position and I think it is up to the Premier to decide, ultimately, who his or her Deputy Premier should be. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Ng. General comments on the Deputy Premier? Mr. Erasmus.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I, too, support the creation of a Deputy Premier. I also support the position that the Premier chooses the Deputy Premier. This should not be an elected position.

At the same time, I also recognize the fact that we need to maintain a balance between the East and the West. The Premier should look at that. If the Premier is from the West, the Deputy Premier should come from the East and vice versa. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Erasmus. Mrs. Thompson.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I also support the position of the Deputy Premier and I support the Premier to select that person. We have to ensure that the Deputy Premier and the Premier would be able to communicate well with each other and work well with each other. I feel that the Premier should be able to select their Deputy Premier for that reason.

We have to make sure that the division process goes as smoothly as possible. I would like to trust the Premier to choose the individual he is working with. I support the idea that one would be from the West and one from the East. The Premier should consider that if he is from the East or the West. I feel that the Premier should be able to work well with the Deputy Premier and that he should have the responsibility of choosing his own Deputy Premier. Thank you.

Thank you, Mrs. Thompson. Mr. Arlooktoo.

Thank you. Mr. Chairman, I will be making a motion at this time if that's okay and then I'll speak to it.

Mr. Chairman, I move that the Tentorial Leadership Committee agrees that the Premier should choose his/her Deputy Premier;

And further, that the Premier should strongly consider the issue of East/West balance when making his/her selection for the position of Deputy Premier.

Thank you, Mr. Arlooktoo. The copies of the motion are being circulated. Mr. Arlooktoo, your motion is in order. To the motion.

Thank you. Very briefly, I very much believe that the Premier should be given the power to select the Deputy Premier. I don't think it does much good to tie the hands of the new Premier from the very beginning by perhaps selecting a deputy who perhaps a Premier may not be that comfortable working with. As a couple of the other speakers have said before, when we pick the Premier, we're giving that person the trust that they will be keeping the East/West balance on Cabinet as we will in this House. To further emphasize that, that is also said in the motion, that the East/West balance should be maintained. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Arlooktoo. Mr. O'Brien, to the motion.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I, too, agree with my colleagues here that there should be a Deputy Premier, and also that this is the first step in increasing the authority that the new Premier will have. What I'm saying is that the Premier should have the full authority to select his or her new Deputy Premier. If the Premier should be elected from the East, the deputy should come from the West and vice versa. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

Thank you, Mr. O'Brien. Mr. Antoine, to the motion.