Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, over the past few days, we have had a lot of discussion about our government; how it is not working, because people are not following the policies and procedures that are in place. It is now time to move forward. It is time to focus on the structures of this government and how productive choices can be made that will benefit this Assembly and future Assemblies.
Mr. Speaker, our government consists of the Premier, the Ministers, the Regular Members and, of course, the thousands of members of the public service. Mr. Speaker, as MLAs, we go to the Ministers with concerns and sometimes, nothing happens. An option for us has been to go to the Premier and ask for his assistance. Well, Mr. Speaker, personally, I would like to tell the House that when you go to the Premier, he simply directs us back to the Minister. It becomes a merry-go-round, Mr. Speaker. Nothing is addressed. Meanwhile, the department staff are running the show.
Mr. Speaker, we were elected in this Assembly to provide direction for the Territories. We were elected to be decision-makers. We created a working plan to establish much-needed services and programs in the Territories. Because of the lack of accountability by Ministers to Regular Members and by department staff to their Minister, it is very hard to achieve progress on initiatives. Ministers are powerless to discipline their staff, and they do not even hire them, Mr. Speaker. They are appointed by the Premier and answer to the Premier. There is no loyalty by departmental staff to the Minister running their department. They are loyal to the person who can give them the golden handshake.
Mr. Speaker, in section 16(1) of the Public Service Act, it specifically states that the Commissioner and Executive Council, on the recommendation of the Premier, has exclusive right and authority to appoint persons to the position of deputy minister in the public service. Right now, the Premier is the head of government and, as such, is ultimately accountable for the practices of government.
Whenever something goes wrong, all fingers point to the Premier. Mr. Speaker, we need to make changes in our policies so that the Ministers are held accountable for their departments and staff, if this is to work.