Floyd Roland

I’d be more than prepared to have a look at their work and what it entails. Just for the record, I don’t believe every manager gets performance pay in the Northwest Territories. I understand there’s a process, and it’s limited. We’re undertaking that review to have a look at how it’s been done in the past, and we’ll be prepared to take a look at what the federal government is doing going forward as well.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The issue of bonuses or performance pay is under review right now. We are looking at it. I don’t believe any departments have paid any out, and there hasn’t been any paid out at this point to deputies.

Whether I agree or disagree with the Member on the World Wildlife Fund and about who makes up that body, who gets appointed from time to time or who gets put on a contract, the fact is they made a request of the federal government that has a direct impact. In fact, if you look at what the Inuvialuit did, a part of the Arctic Council as well.... They’re dissatisfied with that result. You heard another Member in this House say something similar. The fact is we need to make those decisions in the North, not have lobby groups ask another government to make decisions that impact our lives.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’m aware they do work in a number of initiatives with the government. The simple fact is we also disagree with some of what they say in the Territories, this one being the case.

Mr. Speaker, we are invited to be a part of that group that goes down there. Right now I believe it is only the western Premiers from southern Canada that are going down there. I’m not aware of the northern Premiers attending. For myself, I’ve had to look at the dates that would conflict with that. At this point the calendar hasn’t changed, so I would not be attending that, though the option was there for me to be there.

Mr. Speaker, the Western Premiers’ Conference, as I was saying earlier, is one that I felt went very well for the Northwest Territories. To have our issues part of the communications package that went out from that meeting across Canada does a number of things. It raises our level of interest. It sends a message to the federal government. The next steps for us from the Western Premiers’ Conference would be on issues that we feel would be encouraged by further bringing them to the Council of the Federation — that is, all the Premiers across the country — and then coming up with a specific plan...

Mr. Speaker, I’m not aware of — maybe I don’t understand the question — a rule or practice that stops Ministers in Committee of the Whole from having a discussion on issues that may affect their constituencies. In the formal House, as we are now, we’re unable to, for example, question government direction or where it’s going. But in Committee of the Whole we have from time to time had Ministers and Members as well question what is occurring at that time, whether it’s a motion in the House or an item under debate.

Mr. Speaker, as we conduct ourselves in this Assembly, we would review any particular incidents that occur. We know, for example, there’s a process of being ready and available for Members during question period as well as Committee of the Whole, and overall conduct of Ministers. Yes, if there were an issue that came up, we would sit down and have a discussion and see where we could correct things, if that were the case.

We are looking at the process of how it happens. We know, for example, that there are some staff that work for departments that fall out of the UNW side, and they’re excluded. But within departments they’re treated differently than deputy minister levels, so we’re having a look at trying to come up with a process that would make sense. It would look at performance for work done.

Mr. Speaker, as I said, we’re going to get our message out to the people who need to hear it. We’ve also worked with a lot of groups. Whether or not they are the ones that specialize in environmental concerns or issues across the country, they’re still welcome to help and work with us in partnership. The message here is the fact that we in the Northwest Territories need to be making decisions about what impacts our lives, the economy and our environment. They need to be made here, not through some office someplace else, advising another government to make those decisions for us.