Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I have a return to a written question by Mr. Patterson, yesterday, on the Iqaluit council dissolution discussions. Both Mr. Patterson and myself have agreed it would be appropriate to read the response into the record.
This is with respect to the Iqaluit council dissolution discussions.
The president of the Northwest Territories Association of Municipalities, Mayor Pat McMahon, informed a municipal inspector, in January of 1993, that representatives from the town of Iqaluit were concerned that the debenture dilemma could lead to the appointment of the municipal administrator in Iqaluit. The president informed the inspector that she was available to lend assistance to the department and the town in resolving this dispute.
On the morning of Wednesday, February 17, 1993 the superintendent of Municipal and Community Affairs for the Baffin region met in Iqaluit with Mayor Ruttan and gave him an advance copy of the 1992 municipal evaluation report. This report was discussed for a considerable length of time. The superintendent conveyed to the mayor the seriousness of a report with more than 50 recommendations for corrective action on the part of the town.
The superintendent made reference to a lack of administrative direction and expressed concern about the senior administration officer's ability to manage the town administration properly. The superintendent believes that the mayor understood the message but shortly thereafter, the mayor wrote to the Minister of Municipal and Community Affairs and requested the evaluation report be withdrawn.
On Wednesday, February 24, 1993, the superintendent met with town councillor, Chris Groves. The superintendent and councillor Groves discussed the councillor's serious concerns about the way the town was being managed and the poor performance of the senior administration officer. Councillor Groves also expressed questions on the municipal evaluation he had yet to receive. The possibility of appointment of a municipal administrator was raised.
On March 4 and 5, 1993, senior officials of the Department of Municipal and Community Affairs met in the town of Iqaluit and held several meetings -- some with town administration, some with town councillors, and some with town administration and town councillors together -- to discuss the report of the municipal evaluation that had been conducted by the department in November, 1992. The tone of the meetings was set by the town and can be characterized as defensive and adversarial.
At the March 5 luncheon meeting with the mayor, five town councillors, the SAO and the auditor, the seriousness of both the evaluation report and the land development debenture issue were discussed at length, including the ultimate solution of placing a municipal administrator in Iqaluit. The departmental officials answered in the affirmative when members of council asked direct questions about the potential for the appointment of a municipal administrator. Some councillors made reference to the fact that a municipal administrator had been appointed in 1976.
After the March 5 luncheon meeting, Mayor Ruttan and the assistant deputy minister of operations for the Department of Municipal and Community Affairs held a private meeting. The meeting lasted about one hour. The overall theme of the meeting was that the town administration had failed the council and that the senior administration officer was at the root of the problems. The assistant deputy minister suggested that, in the opinion of the department, the senior administration officer had to be removed. The assistant deputy minister added that problems would continue to arise regardless of what fix was developed, unless the SAO was removed from her position. The discussion also centred on the severity of the problems and that, although it would not be what the department would desire, the problems were serious enough to have the town placed under a municipal administrator.
The Baffin regional superintendent's telephone log for October, 1993 shows that Mayor Ruttan either visited the superintendent's office or telephoned the superintendent five times between October 14, 1993 and October 28, 1993. On these occasions, the mayor discussed problems, concerns and legal questions regarding the current operation of the town. The mayor made reference to the question of dissolving the town council and placing a municipal administrator in the town.
I have been advised by a number of persons, including the Baffin regional director, that the issue of lack of effective performance of the town senior administration officer was a subject of common discussion among ratepayers and members of the business community in Iqaluit. It is inconceivable that Mayor Ruttan could not have known, well before the appointment of the municipal administrator on November 12, 1993, that the performance of the town senior administration office was a major issue. Thank you.