Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, in this Assembly, it's a fool's errand to try and remove a Minister. As the Premier stated in this House just a few weeks ago, "he who pays the bills, plays the tune," and we all know that Cabinet controls the cheque book. That's not how consensus government is supposed to work, but that's how it works. That's why no Ministers have yet been removed, and it's the reason that during the budget deliberations, Regular Members are relegated to fighting over scraps instead of addressing large, fundamental issues. The style of governance perpetrated by Cabinet is why we find ourselves in this situation today, and the reason why I would be shocked to see any changes to the status quo come from this exercise. However, the situation is before us, so I will try to make the most of it.
As you can imagine, this motion has put me in a difficult position. The Minister at issue is not only from the same community as me, but is the first Hay River MLA to serve on Cabinet in a very long time. Beyond that, I owe him a personal debt of gratitude because I would not be a Member of this Assembly if it were not for him. Mr. Speaker, you can appreciate that this is not a decision that I take lightly, and regardless of the outcome, I will continue to work with the Member to advance the interests of Hay River.
That being said, Mr. Speaker, the people of this territory, including my constituents demand that we hold this government and this Minister accountable. Since Cabinet is unwilling or incapable of ensuring the accountability of its own Members, it falls to us. I have no choice but to support the motion.
The issue that precipitated the situation was the failure of MTS to fulfill its contractual obligations to deliver goods to multiple communities. On its own, the failure would not have warranted a revocation motion, however, the Minister's handling of the situation followed a pattern of behaviour that is contemptuous to the residents of the NWT, and out of line with the principles of consensus government.
The Minister has repeatedly stated that no mistakes were made, and that a series of issues beyond the control of MTS caused the delay. He has also said that there are lessons to be learned, and that they are creating an emergency contingency plan for next year. If nothing went wrong, what is there to learn? If creating an emergency contingency plan will avoid the situation in the future, then doesn't not having such a plan this year constitute a mistake? This non-mistake is costing taxpayers millions of dollars, but no one is taking responsibility, and neither the Minister nor the Premier is holding anyone accountable, and the public is expected to just swallow it. The Minister's department got in over its head, and is bailing itself out with public funds. I promise you that he would not extend the same courtesy to a private business. In fact, his department is continuously nickel and diming local employers, often to the benefit of southern companies and to the detriment of Northerners. This hypocrisy and lack of accountability cannot continue unabated.
However, the Minister obviously does not agree, and Cabinet is fine with doing business in this way. Earlier this week, the Minister commented to a news outlet that he works hard and sees no reason why he should lose his job. He does work hard, Mr. Speaker. I can attest to that, but I'm not here to hand out participation ribbons for hard work. I'm here to keep the government accountable. The fact that he doesn't understand why he's in this position is a prime example of why he's in this position.
As I alluded to earlier, Mr. Speaker, the failure to deliver goods while a major issue onto itself is not the sole reason that this motion was brought forward, but it was the straw that broke the camel's back.
Time and time again, the Minister has demonstrated that he does not grasp or does not care to abide by the principles of consensus government, and treats engagement with standing committees and Regular Members as a box to be checked, and not an opportunity to collaborate. Just look at how every discussion about government procurement has unfolded on the floor of this House. Half a dozen Members have raised it as a concern, and in his speech for the Premiership, the Premier noted it as an issue that needs to be addressed. Yet, every time we raise our constituents' concerns about this issue, the Minister tells us that the business community is not concerned with the government's procurement practices. We stand here and tell him that we've heard concerns, and he responds by essentially telling us, we haven't heard concerns. What conclusions can we draw from this bizarre, ongoing denial? I'm not sure whether the Minister honestly believes that we just stand up here and lie, or if it's a way to ignore our concerns.
Procurement is just one example. We've all heard a Member ask the Minister to consider an option, and him respond by proclaiming, "Not as long as I'm Minister."
I admit that, when our goals are aligned, the Minister is open to working with Regular Members; however, if our opinions are at odds with his, there is little, if any, room to work together.
I believe that much of the problem is that the Minister has never served as a Regular Member. Throughout the year, often for weeks on end, the Regular Members sit together in a room and discuss the concerns of our constituents, and how to address the issues facing the territory. Cabinet Ministers, on the other hand, spend most of their time with senior bureaucrats, and it's my impression that, if they're not vigilant, they will grow to become more concerned with management than with governance. The Minister has developed a narrow, bureaucratic mindset, and appears to be more concerned with the GNWT than the people of the NWT. We have enough bureaucrats, Mr. Speaker. We need leaders.
Mr. Speaker, I don't like this situation. I wished we didn't have to do it. I wanted to let the Minister know that this is not personal. If it was personal, I'd throw my full support behind him.
I am supporting this motion because I believe it's what is right for Hay River and for the NWT, and because I hope that this will be the wake-up call the Minister needs. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.