Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I rise today to speak about the responses given by the Minister of Health to my questions in the House yesterday. In my questioning I was trying to get the Minister to at least think about the consequences of the fact that Dr. Covert remains the president of the Board of Inquiry, which is appointed under the Medical Profession Act to inquire into the competence and ability of physicians while he faces a malpractice suit. I realise that Dr. Covert has stepped aside from one particular inquiry, but he apparently has not resigned from the board itself. Yesterday in response to my concerns about this fact, the Minister says, and I am quoting from the unedited transcript, "that if the law is being met, and if the Members of this House, of this board or any other quasi-judicial board meet the requirements of the law, Mr. Speaker, we need not go any further and question their qualifications or their standing. That would be a task on the integrity and independence of that board." Mr. Speaker, I was dismayed, appalled and shocked at what I heard, but not really surprised. It confirmed that the Minister has not fully considered his responsibilities as the Minister of Health, and it reaffirms to me the duty of ordinary Members to ensure that Ministers do consider their responsibilities. This government Mr. Speaker, was sent a clear message by the Northwest Territories Court of Appeal about appointments to quasi-judicial boards in the case of Doyle versus the Commissioner of the Northwest Territories. Mr. Speaker, this case focused on the charter, which I recognize, but the entire process for handling complaints against judges could have been invalidated if the people who the Minister of Justice was allowed to appoint under legislation, had been members of the judicial council. Even now if the Minister of Justice...
Jeannie Marie-Jewell on Minister Of Health's Response To Questions
In the Legislative Assembly on November 26th, 1992. See this statement in context.
Minister Of Health's Response To Questions
Item 3: Members' Statements
November 25th, 1992
Page 143
Jeannie Marie-Jewell Thebacha
See context to find out what was said next.