Mike W. Bryant
Northern News Services

Yellowknife (Aug 31/01) - The ongoing saga between Health Minister Jane Groenewegen and Conflict Commissioner Carol Roberts continues to grow now that it has entered the den of lawyers.

The Special Committee on Conflict Process, with MLA Leon Lafferty at the helm as acting chair, reluctantly voted in favour of granting both parties standing yesterday for upcoming hearings into Groenewegen's charge of bias against Roberts.

Standing will allow them the ability to examine and cross-examine witnesses and make submissions to the committee -- a job undoubtedly set aside for their lawyers.

At the centre of the affair is secretly taped phone conversation between Roberts and principal secretary John Bayly, which Groenewegen had at one time kept in evidence for her charge of bias against Roberts.

The contents of the tapes have yet to be revealed, and to make matters more intriguing, Groenewegen tried to dismiss her application last month to have the conflict of commissioner declared biased.

But by a narrow vote in the legislative assembly, it was later decided that an investigation into Groenewegen's bias complaint against Roberts would continue.

All three voting members of the committee yesterday expressed concerns whether or not allowing lawyers into the proceedings would ultimately stall the process before the Committee's mandate ends in October.

"If we grant standing, we could get buried under procedural issues," said Thebacha MLA Michael Miltenberger. In the end, citing the need for "fairness" and "disclosure," Joe Handley voted in favour of allowing the two parties standing, as did Floyd Roland.

Miltenberger remained opposed.

"We are risking getting tangled in legal manoeuvring," said. "We'll have to do it (grant standing) on the basis that it will be done within the timeframe of the committee."