Page 1
Page 2
Page 3
Page 4
Page 5
Page 6
Page 7
Page 8
Page 9
Page 10
Page 11
Page 12
Page 13
Page 14
Page 15
Page 16
Post-election GNWT transition process open for first time Wednesday October 21 2015 3 South Slave Regional Wildlife Workshop For more information contact the Regional Biologist at 867-872-6408 Everyone is welcome to attend Environment and Natural Resources invites residents in the South Slave Region to attend the 4th Biannual Regional Wildlife Workshop to discuss priorities for wildlife programs and research. This is an open forum to share information discuss regional wildlife issues and to learn about current and on-going wildlife research and monitoring programs in the South Slave Region. The workshop is being held at Roaring Rapids Hall in Fort Smith on Nov. 3rd Nov. 4th Nov. 5th 1pm-5pm 9am-5pm 9am-1pm Evening session Nov. 3rd 7pm-9pm By CRAIG GILBERT The territorial government hopes to be- come more transparent during transition by involving the public and the media in the process for the first time. SahtuMLAandcaucuschairNormanYakeleya ledtheSpecialCommitteeonTransitionMatters formedseveralmonthsbeforetheendofthe17th Assemblywhichtabledinthehousean80-page report detailing the priorities and goals of the currentclassofMLAsandrecommendationsfor those elected to the 18th Assembly on Nov. 23. Nominations for prospective candidates are open from Oct. 26 until Oct. 30 at 2 p.m. Possibly most significant among the recom- mendations is that the premier and cabinet cre- ateamandateoutliningprioritiesforthenewas- sembly based on presentations from individual MLAs in the house. Yakeleya who served as a cabinetministerduringthe15thAssemblysaid theexecutivecommitteeistowritethemandate behindcloseddoorsbutreturntoregularMLAs forfeedbackonceafirstdrafthasbeencompleted. Usually a transition document like this is puttogetherbytheseniorbureaucratshesaid. Thistimethememberswantedtobeinvolved in the transition process so we as MLAs give the best report to the 18th Assembly. We want to be more in charge of the assembly so its a real big step and sharing this document with the public is a big thing. Concernsovertransparencyoralackthereof with the GNWT have been raised in the past. Outgoing Weledeh MLA Bob Bromley said duringthefinaleight-daysittingofthe17thAs- semblyearlierthismonththatcabinetneither requires nor welcomes our input into matters of state and regular MLAs are an annoyance to be swatted away like a mosquito. Bromley complained regular MLAs found out about major policy decisions like the 50 million given to the NTPC for diesel cost overruns and that Stanton Territorial Hos- pital would be replaced not renovated in the newspaper along with the public. There appears to be clear and deliberate intent to bypass any involvement of MLAs in the decision-making process that the prin- ciples of consensus government define and all of us are sworn to uphold. Shaking up cabinet or not Thecommitteesreportalsoprovidesanori- entation that could be useful to new MLAs on the overall economic climate in the NWT the current decision-making environment faced by lawmakers plus recommendations on the transition process that takes place between legislative assemblies and on where the new crop of MLAs should focus their attention. Yakeleya said it is an important document for the public to be familiar with particularly ahead of the territorial election. The committee did not recommend how the 18th Assembly should attain regional balance within cabinet but it did discuss different ap- proachestotheunwrittenconventionthatensures cabinet represents the entire territory known informally as the 2-2-2 principle two northern MLAs two Yellowknife MLAs and two South Slave MLAs. Some thought Yellowknife should get an extra seat to reflect its share of about half the entire NWT population others supported a 2-2-2-1 policy with one MLA elected to cabinet atlargeinordertoshoreupotherdeficiencies in representation for example more women. In both cases cabinet would then elect a pre- mier in secret from amongst themselves. The transition committee did not discuss the com- panion convention that says the premiership should similarly rotate between NWT regions. Yakeleya said finding the best candidate for the job should trump regional considerations. Our recommendation is to look at the pro- cess he said. If it is the will of the MLAs of the 18th to select the two two and two for cabinet and select the premier at-large from the group of us all 19 MLAs there is a pos- sibility you could get a two-term premier. Priorities for the next assembly The committee suggested the 18th As- sembly focus on five key areas noting be- cause of the long-term nature of the work many priorities would overlap with those of the 17th. Quoting directly from the report in no particular order the suggestions are Reverse the social ills that hold our people down particularly low education levels addictions and poor mental health Strengthenanddiversifyoureconomyinantici- pationofimpendingdiamondmineclosures Complete devolution of land and resources and implement a regulatory system that reflects the values of our residents and partner governments Rein in the increasing cost of living par- ticularly energy housing and food and Plan for and adapt to a changing climate in the North. The report said not every member agreed on their relative importance but setting the priori- ties is a departure from the vision statements of previous assemblies which according to the re- port have tended to be very broad and of lit- tle value to Cabinet or standing committees. Insteadthetransitionreportincludesabout three paragraphs under each priority. Under strengthen and diversify our economy for example the committee recommended that thenewMLAsinvestininfrastructureinorder to open more of the NWT up to exploration. Wecannolongerriskkeepingallofoureggs inonebasketthereportreads.Skilldevelop- mentdiversificationandimprovingthecondi- tions for entrepreneurship and capital invest- ment must continue if we are to meet our goal of increasing the NWT population. The committee also encouraged incoming MLAs to tackle energy rates and pursue the federal government for help on public hous- ing and the cost of basic food items. Every resident business and community is impactedbythehighcostoflivingintheNWT.It isalsoanimpedimenttoattractingnewresidents and is a significant factor for many who leave. Continued from page 1. I think my first reaction is were all happy to see the backside of Stephen Harper Bevington said. The Liberals had a good candidate and a winning cam- paign nationally one that kept growing all the way through. We didnt achieve that. We declined throughout this campaign nationally. Bevington looks forward to spending more time with his seven grandchildren and in his hometown of Fort Smith which he considers one of the finest places to live in the world. The Conservative Party announced Harper would step down as leader before he made his concession speech in Calgary Heritage. The man who helped unite the right and finally let the West in said it was an unbe- lievable honour to serve as prime minister and that his party accepts without hesita- tion that Canadians have elected a Liberal government. We gave everything we had to give and we have no regrets whatsoever he said. Friends how could we We remain citizens of the best country on Earth. The Liberal majority is comprised of 184 seats so many that for the first time since the super-majorities of the Jean Chrtien era there will be government MPs sitting on the Opposition side of the House of Com- mons. The red tide as it quickly became known started with a sweep of the Mari- times and continued with breakthroughs in Quebec and Ontario including domi- nance in riding-rich Montreal and king- maker Toronto where even the ridings of late NDP leader Jack Layton and that of his widow NDP candidate Olivia Chow elected Grits. The Tories maintained a base of support in Alberta that stretched through southern Saskatchewan and Manitoba and reached into southwestern Ontario a Conservative stronghold outside major cities like Lon- don where two ministers of state were de- feated and surprisingly to many pundits into mainland British Columbia where they took 10 seats. Notably the Liberals took two seats each in Edmonton and Calgary where a riding has not gone red since the Trudeau-ma- nia days of 1968. The New Democrats saw their brief time atop the polls in late sum- mer crumble as autumn set in falling from 103 to just 44 seats their base in Quebec eviscerated. In Papineau Trudeau said Canadians had chosen real change. He invoked prime min- ister Wilfrid Laurier by name but not his father Pierre Elliott Trudeau. Sunny ways my friends sunny ways Trudeau said. This my friends is what posi- tive politics can do. He pledged to work with the Conservative Party which becomes Her Majestys Loyal Opposition for the first time since 2006. Conservatives are not our enemies they are our neighbours. POLITICS FEDERAL ELECTION POLITICS TERRITORIAL ELECTION Sunny ways my friends Trudeau beams after election win