Mr. Speaker, a democracy is about representing the people, giving them a voice and treating them with fairness and respect towards fair, responsible and responsive government. Being an MLA, a representative of the people in the Weledeh constituency, is a huge honour and a huge responsibility. But there is one thing I most fully appreciate. It is the privilege provided to me on behalf of my people to be heard and to have my opinions and perspectives justly considered by the government.

When MLAs are elected to the Executive, their responsibilities increase. These honoured and privileged people must shoulder the extra burden of trust. This trust is associated with the extra responsibility of knowing many things not

commonly known and making final decisions to a lasting benefit to all of our people. Finally, with having to assume the leadership in treating our public with respect and with ensuring them their opportunities for direct input on issues. This last responsibility, ensuring public input, is done both through ensuring that the opportunities for meaningful input from Regular MLAs is constantly realized and through providing for thoughtful consultation via the flow of thorough information and analysis in which to receive feedback.

Much of this is a matter of communication, but we cannot assume that good communication is easy or automatic. It begins with the recognition of responsibilities in this area followed by a commitment to play in these obligations in an intentional manner. To do so brings substantial rewards of good judgment, good decisions and an engaged Assembly and a public. Failure on this front is what brings us to where we are today.

Examples of these failures are numerous by now; a sorry list that’s familiar to many: the Deh Cho Bridge, reductions in personnel and spending, Strategic Initiatives Committees that we heard our Premier mention this morning -- a group of committees that, overall, produced such gobbledy gook, such pact, that we did indeed refuse to participate in them -- review of boards and agencies, the supplementary health benefits issue and its impacts on our seniors and those with pre-existing conditions, et cetera, the Opportunities Fund and so on, others that are painful to mention. The angst, the fear, the painful frustration this government has engendered amongst our public is shameful. This at a time when people are dealing with the rising cost of living and now the recession and all the normal trials and tribulations of life to date.

Mr. Speaker, we did not have the confidence of our public when they realized we, their duly elected representatives to this consensus government, were turning to them for information on what our Cabinet was doing and deciding. Things have become so dysfunctional that the person on the street was better informed about significant decisions made by our Executive Council than their own representatives.

Mr. Speaker, the judgment of our Premier in relation to his relationship with our clerk reflects poor judgment. His inability to share the responsibility for this bad judgment further undermines my confidence in his ability to be our leader.

In our Premier and some Members of our Cabinet, they put trust that was given to them in this House and failed to engage the public on crucial issues time and again. We are required to react.

The motion we have before us today is not one that is put forward lightly, Mr. Speaker. As the Premier said this morning, we have repeatedly raised our concerns, but to no avail. I and my fellow MLAs have been trying to work with this Cabinet and have voiced our concerns over and over again, but despite the Premier professing to hear our pleas, we have seen no change.

Public accountability is the keystone of a democracy and this government has shown that they are accountable to none but themselves. If we allow this to continue, we as MLAs would be failing to uphold the principles we swore an oath to protect.

As I said before, this government’s communications record is a crime against our people and it now begs some kind of final resolution. Mr. Speaker, I will be acting to perform my obligations by supporting this resolution. Thank you.