...of Public Works and Services and Housing. What can I say about this Minister, Mr. Speaker? I probably could say a lot, but the truth of the matter is...I'll tell you, when this Minister likes you, he really likes you. I know that because he used to like me.
---Laughter
But when this Minister hates you, he doesn't try to tell you off, all he does is he takes you to court. Mr. Speaker, I opened a Chinese fortune cookie after eating out last week, and the little paper inside said, "Don't trouble trouble until trouble troubles you." Well, Mr. Speaker, I'm troubled with this Minister. I'm troubled not only because of the court case and not because of the financial or the legal implications, but because of the bad precedent it sets in this House.
Actually, that's not what I want to talk about this afternoon. In fact, I think this probably says more about the ineffective leadership style of the Premier, that she would actually allow a Minister of the Crown to take an MLA to court, than it does about Mr. Morin himself.
I do want to talk a little about this Minister's performance and about some of the other things that he's done that trouble me and that also trouble a lot of people across the Northwest Territories, particularly in my riding. I want to say from the outset that there are many things that Mr. Morin is very, very good at. I believe, for instance, that he's extremely skilled at manipulating the system. How else could the Housing Corporation have lost millions in federal funding cuts but still retain the same complement of PYs?
I believe, as well, that he's the only Minister with the ability to interpret the BIP and time and time again, he gets away with it. I think he's skilled at selective hearing; if you listen to the number of times he's asked a question in this House and then gives you an answer that has no bearing whatsoever to what he's been asked. It's a marvel how he can chew his way through a Member's supplementary without ever once saying anything he doesn't want to.
But seriously and on a positive note, I must say that this Minister has brought a lot of innovation and creation to two portfolios that lack these qualities. The ownership program he has launched is an excellent direction for us to be taking in tight fiscal times. I also think that he's done well with the community consultation system that we're undertaking. I know that he's done a lot to encourage import substitution and foster a strong base for northern business.
However, all is not perfect in the Housing area, Mr. Speaker. I think that the Minister should be concerned about the fact that there are some real inequities emerging in seniors' housing, with some seniors getting free rent while others are having to pay a mortgage from meagre pension monies under the now discontinued rural and remote program. Some civil servants, I understand, are also selling their home units in order to get into public housing.
The length of time it takes to build these houses is causing my constituents concern. Houses that are still being built that were allocated from last year's funding. These are matters that Ministers should attend to, but generally I believe there has been marked improvement in housing programs and policies since he took over.
Mr. Speaker, I sometimes wonder where on earth does he get such a defensive attitude from? I think sometimes he's the sort of individual who doesn't expect to be challenged by a woman, and he expects a woman to walk two steps behind him. I've told him before exactly what I think about his particular attitude. I strongly believe that he still has to work to overcome that.
Of course, I have some very concerns about his handling of the heavy land-based air tanker contract and fixed-wing contract for fire suppression. He can conduct as many internal studies as he wants. I still believe, and there are many people who agree with me, that he made an error in judgement to downgrade the specifications of the request for proposals that was published for this contract. In any other jurisdiction, I believe that sort of manipulation would have gotten him bounced out of Cabinet on his ear.
Mr. Speaker, I saw him on a CBC special the other night, dressed up in his suit and standing in front of the expensive Legislative Assembly building, telling northerners that it was a non-issue. That's wrong, Mr. Speaker. It's not a non-issue.
In the summer of 1994, fire suppression costs were in the neighbourhood of $200,000 a day. Before last year ended, the costs had skyrocketed to $400,000 a day to address fires. That was simply incredible, Mr. Speaker. The Legislative Assembly should have called for a public inquiry at that point, but we were diverted by the suggestion that the government would undertake a public review. Indeed, many of us were helped to believe that a public review would be undertaken following last year's heavy fire season. No public review took place, no public meetings, only an internal review; maybe.
Specifications in the request for proposals were varied except for the level of pilot experience, which was downgraded. This was all done without public input and behind closed doors. Here we are, in this situation now, with the Minister laying off experienced, well respected members of my constituency because they are in fear for their own safety on the job. Other Ministers are having to undertake reviews of labour procedures that were used. The union is concerned and has every right to be. The chief safety officer is having to investigate the government itself. How embarrassing and uncomfortable for everyone involved, Mr. Speaker. Yesterday, my honourable colleague from Yellowknife South raised concerns about political interference in the work of a safety officer.
No decision, Mr. Speaker, again, has been made on the air tanker base and, again, it's because of this Minister. This is despite the fact that the Premier has come to Fort Smith on several occasions and has made commitments that have been unfilled. It's hard to know who's to blame, Mr. Speaker: the Minister for placing our Premier in such an embarrassing situation or the Premier for allowing him to do so.
Mr. Speaker, earlier I mentioned the lawsuit that Mr. Morin has brought against me. Of course, it would be inappropriate to go into the details of this matter here in the House. However, I will say that I think it's regrettable that a Minister of the Crown, a Member of our territorial Cabinet and an aboriginal leader should need to resort to court action, as opposed to dealing with any issues he has had with me on the floor of this House. It's certainly a precedent that I don't like to see.
I've spoken to elders and also to many young aboriginal people in my constituency about this, and they all agree with me on one thing: never before can they remember an aboriginal leader having to resort to take another one to civil court because of a disagreement. They wonder if the Minister is losing touch with his aboriginal values. Frankly, I'm interested to see how the courts will decide the matter; and that's all I have to say about that particular issue.
Indeed, Mr. Speaker, there has been a tendency on the part of some people to question my decision to file a conflict of interest complaint against the Minister. They seem to feel that the commission finding that no conflict existed has drawn that decision into question. I would tell those people to read the report more carefully. The Commissioners were very clear about the fact that there were grounds to bring forward a complaint, and that there was nothing frivolous to these concerns.
The Commissioners' report had also concluded that while the act itself had not been breached, the Minister had committed an error in judgement. We need to ask ourselves in this House how many errors in judgement have been attributed to this Minister. He committed an error in judgement in the way he filed his financial information regarding conflict of interest; I believe he committed an error in judgement with the way he buried the specifications for the air tanker contract; many people have wondered if he hasn't committed errors in judgement in his administration of the business incentive policy; Nunavut Members argued strongly that he committed an error in judgement in the way he finalized and realized the social housing rent scale; and, on and on and on.
Several contractors in Fort Smith have told me that since my conflict of interest complaint was filed against this Minister, the same spirit has not been there for local involvement initiative on Public Works projects; and I find that to be very shameful. Our mayor, very recently, went on CBC radio to say that the Minister was politicizing the management of the fire suppression operation. If in fact those things are happening, I can assure the House that there will be further errors in judgement on the part of this particular Minister.
So let me sum up my comments about this Minister's general performance. I think that the honourable Members would need to agree with me that for creativity, innovation and just plain energy, this Minister should get at least an A-minus; but for his defensive attitude, for his over-political handling of the fire suppression contract, and for his manipulation of the air tanker base issue, he clearly deserves a low, low F. That averages out somewhere between a C-minus and a D-plus. I think I'll give him the D-plus, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Speaker, that's my assessment of the Cabinet. But in doing so, I also sit back to assess some of the things that have been accomplished in my own constituency over the past four years. Like many Members, I set a number of goals at the outset of this term, and one of them was to encourage progress on the paving of Highway 5. I noted that in a Member's statement a couple of weeks ago, I want to advise the Minister that paving now has been completing; the chip sealing of 20 kilometres on Highway 5. I thank the Minister of Transportation for the support on this particular project. I'm hopeful that it will be possible to continue putting a priority on this development in subsequent years' capital planning.
As well, with the support of the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment, construction is nearing completion on the new academic building for Thebacha Campus. The building is in excess of $6 million, if not $8 million. This facility is now expected to open in October 1995, and I hope that even in the midst of the busy time, the Minister will be able to accept our invitation to attend.
I also need to thank the Minister of Education for his support of another one of my constituency goals: the renovation of JBT Elementary in Fort Smith, the oldest school in the Northwest Territories. Even though the school has seen a lot of years and many students have passed through its doors, I've always said that it's a more cost-effective decision to renovate it than to attempt the construction of an entirely new facility. I've been pleased to see that the Minister agrees, and that he followed through with earlier capital plans for these renovations.
I also note with some satisfaction the facility formerly used as a seniors' special care home. A building locally known in Fort Smith as "the pink house" has now been successfully converted to a day care facility, a much-needed facility in the community.
I think that these are initiatives that demonstrate how even in lean financial times a little creativity and commitment still makes it possible to meet the capital needs of communities. For some time I have been hoping that it will be possible to proceed with renovations to the old Regional Building in Fort Smith where many government offices are located. The Department of Public Works and Services has now spent money on the study of the facility; now they should proceed with ensuring that they have a proper facility, even if they look at a lease-to-own type of concept. These are some of the goals that I've wanted to see achieved for my constituency.
Mr. Speaker, of course Fort Smith residents are also quite concerned about the fate of the air tanker base; not only because of the jobs and training opportunities it will bring, but also it will enhance the need for Fort Smith to divert its dependency on government. It will encourage the younger generation to look at taking advantage of other training opportunities, whether it be engineers, aircraft engineers or pilots. I've already spoken about that this afternoon, and I suspect I'll need to deal with it again in the future.
But, Mr. Speaker, I did want to speak on an issue that people in my constituency have talked a lot about; particularly about these various priorities. They've also talked a lot about what's happened in this House. One of the items that they've mentioned has to do with the matter of the unsigned letter that I chose to table in this Legislative Assembly earlier this spring. Mr. Speaker, I recall your ruling on this issue very carefully, and I'll be sure to respect the guidelines that you have set down. But in talking to many of my constituents, they've encouraged me to clear the air by returning to the issue just long enough to respond to a widely-circulated letter from the Deninoo Community Council and to the larger questions involving inappropriate use of government property by GNWT employees.
Mr. Speaker, I want to comment that when I received this letter, I carefully researched the rules of the Legislative Assembly and noted that there are no requirements regarding the tabling of documents. If there had been, I would have been certain to adhere to the rules of the House. But in the absence of any rules to the contrary, it was not improper for me to make that decision, as was alleged by the Deninoo council letter.
Now, I note that in your Speaker's ruling on the matter you've set out a number of guidelines and limitations that will be helpful to all Members if they are faced with similar circumstances. I appreciate your ruling in this regard and only wish that this had been a matter addressed by the Standing Committee on Rules, Procedures and Privileges ahead of time so that an appropriate framework could have been built into our rule book before I was confronted with this information.
But more important than those procedural details, Mr. Speaker, I remain concerned that the concern that should have been at the heart of the matter certainly has been overlooked. There are, in my view, far too many instances in which government employees are taking advantage of their position and using GNWT equipment and resources in a way that runs contrary to established policy. This has been brought to the attention of various Cabinet Ministers on several occasions during the life of this Assembly, and many times nothing has happened and that the problem still continues. It's the kind of problem that may not seem like a big deal to the headquarters officials who sit in their respective office in Yellowknife; but in smaller communities and regional centres, it is an occurrence that gets people talking that becomes divisive and it lessens the credibility of the government operations overall. When that happens, it is the MLAs who hear about it.
When I received information that this problem had again surfaced and there were concerns being overlooked by the department, I asked a question of the Minister of the day, the Honourable John Pollard. The response I received in this House was a mild and non-committal offer to circulate a notice to employees. There was no mention of a new policy review, no commitment, once and for all, to address this concern. To this day, Mr. Speaker, I am not sure whether the Minister and his department has done anything to act on this matter. At the same time, the information I had in hand suggested that a serious breach of policy had been taking place and that it had been condoned by senior officials and even the Minister of Public Works and Services.
I will, however, not refer specifically to information contained in that letter, Mr. Speaker, because of your ruling on the matter, and also because the item is now a tabled document. I respect the actions you took from the chair. However, I don't think there are any northerners who would support the notion that a GNWT employee should be driving a government vehicle while intoxicated. Yet, when the letter in question was tabled, I was blamed for making unfounded allegations, for making unwarranted accusations and many other terrible things. The fact of the matter is there was foundation for the concerns that were brought out at the time. I have obtained a copy of the court transcript of the matter in question and I will circulate it to honourable Members to let them know that, indeed, there was truth to the content of the letter.
From this public document summarizing court proceedings relative to the comments in the letter I received and I know that other Members may have had brought to their attention in their own constituencies, it will be clear that there are problems that this Cabinet has been overlooking. Mr. Speaker, I am hoping that this matter can now be considered closed. As I said, I will be circulating the court transcript to all Members.
Just so long as Members are aware, contrary to some of the remarks made when the honourable Member for Mackenzie Delta raised his point of order during my absence, that I am not inclined to deal in unfounded allegations or improper actions in this House. I thank you, Mr. Speaker, for allowing me to clear the air on this particular issue which has caused me some difficulty.
Mr. Speaker, I would like now to turn to some other matters in my constituency. With regard to the recent results on the election of chief in Fort Smith, I would like to congratulate Chief Jerry Paulette on his re-election as chief for the Salt River First Nations. I have had the privilege of being able to work closely with this young leader for a number of years, Mr. Speaker. I have always been impressed with his thoughtful approach to public service and with his commitment to advancing the cause of aboriginal people in the north and everywhere.
Just as I mentioned about my honourable colleague, Mr. Kakfwi, I believe that Chief Paulette is one of the emerging group of aboriginal leaders who has made the right choice in how to go about living his life. That is so wonderful to note for a young leader. Chief Paulette is not only a good role model for young people, but he is a tireless worker when it comes to bettering the social conditions of aboriginal people in Fort Smith and the South Slave, while still taking on an active part on the constitutional and administration level.
Mr. Speaker, I consider myself very fortunate to be able to work closely as an MLA with such a competent and effective chief. When we were younger, Mr. Speaker, Chief Paulette and his family moved in from Fort Fitzgerald to Fort Smith to the area which was called the Indian Village and had recognized how government had oppressed native people. I think he has taken a great attitude in attempting to address many of the injustices that happened in the past. I wish him well as he continues on with being chief, and I think he will continue to serve the people of the Salt River First Nations effectively.
Mr. Speaker, I also want to acknowledge the fact that the mayor of Fort Smith, His Worship Dennis Bevington, was recently elected to serve as the president of the Northwest Territories Association of Municipalities. This is an important post and I wish Mayor Bevington a lot of success in fulfilling his responsibilities.
Mr. Speaker, before I move on, I want to make a few comments about the media. I believe that radios and newspapers in the Northwest Territories could be an important vehicle for informing and educating the people about issues and happenings. Mr. Speaker, this is essential if we are ever going to see our goals achieved. I simply cannot understand why we find ourselves so often in a situation where the media does not report the facts of the stories accurately. Maybe it is their amount of funding cuts and they are trying to get a few people to do so much, or maybe they just have selective hearing, I don't know.
---Laughter
But just as my honourable colleague from Baffin Central pointed out when she rose to correct misinformation about her conduct and comments in the House, I certainly believe that the media does have a responsibility to report accurately on issues that are of importance to the people of the Northwest Territories.
---Applause
I can't emphasize how important it is to report accurately.