Transcript of meeting #1 for Territorial Leadership Committee in the 17th Assembly.
The winning word was work.
Questions By Members
Election of the Premier
Questions By Members
Election of the Premier
Norman Yakeleya Sahtu
Thank you, Mr. Chair. I’ve been a chief and a chief negotiator for the Sahtu land claims. I understand how tough it can be to bring different points of views of people and to move ahead with tough positions. I want to ask the candidates what steps are you willing to take to work with the Aboriginal governments to reach a devolution deal.
Questions By Members
Election of the Premier
Questions By Members
Election of the Premier
Michael Miltenberger Thebacha
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. There are some processes that are already in existence with the regional leaders that I think are worthy and should be continued, bringing them together on a regular basis. But I want to come back to the issue of we have demonstrated collectively as a public government with the Aboriginal governments that we can deal with very complex, demanding issues – wildlife, water, species at risk – through a process where we had working groups, collective working groups, hands
on a pen drafting legislation, extensive consultation to do a Water Strategy. That’s the approach I believe we have to use and talk to the Aboriginal governments about to remind them of the good work that we have done. It’s that type of demonstrated successful process that I think we have to look and build off of. Thank you.
Questions By Members
Election of the Premier
Questions By Members
Election of the Premier
Bob McLeod Yellowknife South
Thank you, Mr. Chair. We’ve already started a process through Caucus, and I think that everybody was very pleased with the discussion and we will build on that. Once we decide who the Premier and the Cabinet is, I think very early on we’ll talk individually with the Aboriginal leaders. I think that we would need to have a follow-up meeting to the one that we had in Ndilo very quickly. We also have to find a way that involves Members so we can get the support to go forward. I think that there are a number of ways that we can find to show that we are working together, and I think everybody knows that when we work together we can get a lot of things done, and any time we’ve made progress on major difficult issues it’s been by finding a way to work together. I believe that by having a dialogue, by interacting bilaterally and collectively I think that we’ll be able to move forward and work with the Aboriginal governments. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Questions By Members
Election of the Premier
Questions By Members
Election of the Premier
Kevin A. Menicoche Nahendeh
Thank you very much, Mr. Chair. I believe that an Aboriginal devolution commission that’s resourced by our government can work towards this goal of Mr. Yakeleya’s question. Firstly what it does is it recognizes Aboriginal governments as governments. Even though it’s resourced by the GNWT, I believe that they can set their own mandate and goals. Establishing this commission does not mean that the Aboriginal governments actually agree with the agreement-in-principle, but all they’ve ever said is they want to understand it, they want to review it and I believe that this is the opportunity to do that. I would support that and I would bring that to the Assembly through a committee system looking for support and how we can best manage this and hopefully get an agreement where we can move forward with this new commission so we can work with our government and look to a solution of getting the agreement-in-principle agreed to by all partners in the Northwest Territories. Mahsi cho.
Questions By Members
Election of the Premier
Questions By Members
Election of the Premier
October 25th, 2011
Bob Bromley Weledeh
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. An issue that has generated a lot of interest and anxiety amongst older adults in the NWT over the
past several years is the matter of seniors’ health benefits. What is your position on the seniors’ health benefits program, and if you are considering changes, what modifications are you contemplating for our consideration? Thank you.
Questions By Members
Election of the Premier
Questions By Members
Election of the Premier
Kevin A. Menicoche Nahendeh
Thank you very much, Mr. Chair. I’d like to thank Mr. Bromley for that question, and it certainly did create lots of debate in our last Assembly. However, with the new approach that I was talking about as Premier, it would not be the old approach where Cabinet would take the issue of seniors’ health and issues and reductions and changes, to say here are the changes we’re about to make, what do you guys think. I think it’s far better to bring the issues to the committee system and say here’s the issue, how can we best manage it. I will certainly commit to that and continue in all the areas as Premier of the Northwest Territories. Mahsi.
Questions By Members
Election of the Premier
Questions By Members
Election of the Premier
Michael Miltenberger Thebacha
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. The issue of supplementary health benefits was dealt with in the last Assembly. There was an agreement in the House about what steps would be taken. At this juncture I don’t have any indication, I don’t have any particular personal plans, or plans as MLA, or plans as Premier to bring forward any revisions. If there were to be revisions resulting from the work that committees are going to do and that is going to result from the work of this House, I mean, those we would look at. We have learned a lot in terms of the process in the 16th Assembly. But
at this particular juncture that agreement that was reached in this Assembly on supplementary health stands and I don’t see any urge, I don’t see any big push at this juncture to make any changes. Thank you.
Questions By Members
Election of the Premier
Questions By Members
Election of the Premier
Bob McLeod Yellowknife South
Thank you, Mr. Chair. As I indicated in my speech, I really believe that we need to support the seniors who have paved the way for us and that we will continue to provide a continuum of care by making sure that the supplemental health benefits are there. I think, in the 16th Assembly, we dealt with it, and in the 17th Assembly I feel that supplemental health benefits provide for healthy seniors and reduce costs when it comes to seniors, and I think that as the 17th Assembly we will continue to provide for the seniors as we go forward. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Questions By Members
Election of the Premier
Questions By Members
Election of the Premier
Jane Groenewegen Hay River South
Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and thank you for the three Members of our Assembly who have put their names forward for Premier today. I thank you for doing that.
Mr. Chairman, we call this consensus government, and the first thing we do today will be elect a Speaker, a Premier and six Cabinet Ministers. They will go off to a room, called the Cabinet room, on their own. The other Regular Members will go off to a room and they will be called the Priorities and Planning committee.
Each one of us is elected here as 19 Members. Various perspectives, all different backgrounds, different experience. Like Mr. Miltenberger, I’ve been here 16 years. The people out there are calling for reform. If this is truly consensus government, what would the candidates for Premier see as a forum or a mechanism to get the 19 of us more in the room talking about issues so that we do not have initiatives come forward after much money and much effort and preparation and put into them where there was not early buy-in and then ultimately these things are voted down on the floor of the House? That’s the kind of waste that I would like to avoid. How can we work more closely together as 19? How can we bring more consensus to the system? Thank you.
Questions By Members
Election of the Premier
Questions By Members
Election of the Premier
Bob McLeod Yellowknife South
Thank you, Mr. Chair. In the 16th Assembly we, I think halfway through the
process, developed a protocol on how we should work together, and I think that really improved the way things operated. We already have a Caucus process. I think that we should review those protocols. I think that we need to have an understanding of how we can best work together, because a lot of times we bring things forward over a period of time and we feel we need responses fairly quickly. Other times there are issues that come up where we have to deal with it right away, and I think we should have an understanding on how we could deal with those kinds of things, where, if we have to deal with something right away, how can we reach out, because we’re not always here together. I think we’re here certain times of the year so… I think we’ve talked about it in the past. How can we deal with issues if the Members are back in their constituencies?
We need an understanding and I think on my part a rule of thumb would be to be very inclusive and to share as much information as we can, taking into account different issues like Cabinet confidentiality and so on, and to seek input from Members wherever possible and to work together to get things done. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Questions By Members
Election of the Premier
Questions By Members
Election of the Premier
Michael Miltenberger Thebacha
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I don’t think most MLAs will remember this fact, except maybe Mrs. Groenewegen, that when we got here in the 13th Assembly there was a door
between Cabinet and the Regular Members that had an alarm on it. Every time it was opened it would ring so that you would know either that there was a Regular Member on the Ministers’ floor or that there was a Minister in the hall, and be careful.
One of the first things the 13th Assembly did was
take that door down. But sometimes it has seemed over these last four Assemblies that there has been an invisible door, and what we have to do is we have to collectively agree that we are going to work together, that we are really on the same side. This is consensus government. That we structure our committees, both in Cabinet and with the Regular Members, so that they link and are compatible. That we have a commitment by all of us, Ministers and Regular Members, that those hallways go both ways. That we take the time to spend time in the hallways.
We’re a small group of people. We are easy to get a hold of. You have to have that arrangement, that collegial arrangement. I’m a big fan of 6:30, seven o’clock in the morning breakfast meetings with anybody who wants to come to sort out those types of things, and we have to have that link that we are on the same side. We know we have tough decisions and we have to make those structures compatible.
As Minister McLeod indicated, we have the protocols. Those are only as good as the paper that they’re written on and they’re only as good as we make them. So we have to commit, as I am here today to commit that I will continue to do and be as cooperative, inclusive and collaborative as I have been and have tried to be for the last 16 years. That’s the only way forward in consensus government. Thank you.
Questions By Members
Election of the Premier
Questions By Members
Election of the Premier
Kevin A. Menicoche Nahendeh
Thank you very much, Mr. Chair. Yes, we have mentioned the Protocol Agreement and the 16th Assembly worked hard on
that document. As it is read, it really does establish our consensus-style government here between the executive and our committee system. One of the first things I would do is have Cabinet adopt that strategy, and the other candidates have indicated.
Some of the issues that I’ve seen myself is that we’re not often here when crises arise, so it’s the best way to manage that. But, still, if we adopt that Protocol Agreement and initiate it right off the bat, I think that we can avoid the surprises that Regular
Members feel. I’ve experienced that, as well, that government is trying to pull the wool over our eyes, and that’s not what consensus government is about. It’s about working together. Thank you.
Please only include contact information if you would like to hear back.
