I’d venture to say that everybody with a computer terminal or a radio or a TV or whatever other means have it tuned into the House. They are watching with great anticipation and bated breath.

We are existing in the worst economic downturn since, they say, the Great Depression. Job numbers today and on the news were 129,000 Canadians lost their jobs in January; 600,000 in the States. Conditions continue to worsen.

Yesterday we tabled a $1.3 billion budget that was a result of months of collective work together; surely a testament to one of the big things that we can do together. But we stand here today in a consensus system airing our differences with a draconian motion that probably has no equal in the life of the Legislative Assembly with the impact it could potentially have on the government, on the people of the Northwest Territories.

The consensus government that we all subscribe to is under stress. I would say it’s showing some fractures. I agree with my colleague Mr. Ramsay from Kam Lake that there has to be a way for us to repair this institution, which we all say we cherish. We have an underused part of our process that I would suggest to you we should consider putting back into much greater use and that is a simple function of the big round room right up here called Caucus, where Mr. Ramsay says we should lock ourselves away and have those kind of frank chats. I heartily agree.

I’ve been here going on 14 years now. The role of Caucus has always been central, right from division and before division, to helping us work our way through extraordinary circumstances in a forum many times with no staff but the 19 Members, or the 24 when we first started, a way to put those things on the table so that we don’t come to this point in our history, whereas it’s been noted we seem to be paralyzed. I think it is incumbent upon all of us -- and I agree with Mr. Beaulieu -- nobody should be happy about how this vote is going to turn out, nobody should look upon this as a victory or a loss. What it is, and I agree once again, that it’s a wake-up call, that as we face these incredible economic challenges, whether what I think and what I have heard most Members say is a good budget and when you look at the flood of e-mails and all the communication and traffic that is going on in terms of people in the North, 10 of us, we elected you to come and fight for us, we did not elect you to come and fight among yourselves. This is the time and the test for us is to get past this moment.

We are only 16 months in and we have already reached the point of this type of motion. It tells us that our system needs to be looked at and I think we have to have that common commitment to do that. If we can’t, then it bodes very, very poorly for us and all the people of the Northwest Territories.

The budget that is before this House has a tremendous amount of good things. I have heard all the concerns in the communities. We have a clean energy piece in there, we have alternate energy, cost of living issues. People are waiting. One of our biggest capital infrastructure budgets, and yet we are in this House, in the legislative bubble, as I call it, debating this issue. Clearly, it

needs to be debated because it is here and we cannot avoid it.

As we share some of the angst and stress of being in this Legislature, I would like to just share a bit of the stress of being on this side of the House.

We were barely elected when Minister Bob McLeod was told he was going to be taken out because of the unhappiness of the Members; but months. Our very first budget, the attempt was made -- it was very, very close -- to prevent the budget from even making it into the House. To bring down, in effect, this Cabinet before we even got to present a budget.

Last October, as I made a trip down the hall to the offices of the Premier and the Minister of Health, telling them that they’re going to get taken out because the process was, decisions were being made at one end of the hall and it was also coming down the hall. Now, 16 months in, for the fourth time we have this motion. So we have reached the point where now the whole government goes. A very sweeping and draconian approach. I think if that is not a reflection or indication and a symptom that our consensus government needs our care and attention, then nothing is. I think we have come very close to the precipice, the tipping point, and that we should be agreeing that let’s do as Mr. Ramsay suggested and figure out the way we get together.

There is a long tradition of history for the people of the Northwest Territories about the value of our system of government. In the face of tight economic times, we have come up with what I think and what I have heard is a very good budget. But first we have to fix our process. We have to be able to move forward and we can’t stop the issue of the budget to do that. We have to be able to multi-task in this case.

So I want to commit, as well, that I will shoulder my responsibility and blame for what point, the point that we’re at. I take very, very seriously all the comments. We have struggled for 14 years with the issue of process and communication and it is not yet one that we have come to grips with. In every Assembly it dogs us. So I would hope that we can collectively put our goodwill first to get past the issues that are grating on us all, and rise above that to provide what the people of the Northwest Territories are expecting, which is a functioning consensus government that is going to deliver to them the services that they’ve elected us to provide to them. Thank you.