Yellowknife (Apr 21/03) - He was there when they met in hotels and drank coffee in china cups, even smoked at meetings if they felt like it.

Clerk of the legislative assembly David Hamilton will hang up his clerk's robe for good this year. - Kathleen Lippa/NNSL photo

The way the legislative assembly has carried out business and shaped the NWT has changed a lot in 20 years. And David Hamilton has been there.

Hamilton was appointed clerk in 1983 after a few years as deputy clerk, and travels throughout the North before that.

"I threw my first rock in Fort Simpson in 1970," said the Scotland native who still speaks with a hint of that accent.

"Curling was invented in Scotland," he said. "But I never curled there."

His appointment to clerk was really "a trial by fire," he said recently. But he remained, unscathed, unburned. Now Hamilton is retiring. He laughs easily when asked about the qualities that kept him in the job so long, and the qualities a new clerk will need to survive.

"I suppose you have to have a good head of hair," he said laughing, saying if you flip through the book History in the Making, about the NWT legislature, you can actually see his hair loss frame by frame through the years.

"You've got to have a good sense of humour," he said. "You have to be serious. But you can't take on all the issues politicians deal with and work it out for them. Even though they are serious issues, you have to try and stay apart from it."

But try as he might, Hamilton is involved in the lives of members, more than most people realize.

The clerk's role is as expansive as the North itself.

While Hamilton is chiefly responsible for the record keeping during session, and ensuring all procedures at the assembly are followed, there is much more to the clerk's role.

Hamilton speaks frankly about troubles members have had and the fact he is the one they go to -- the objective view, and the confidential shoulder for their personal burdens.

Without mentioning names, Hamilton says there have been stressful times. "Members are not always getting on."

On one hand, members can be seen as "clients," said Hamilton, and sometimes he wants to say to them, jokingly: "take a number."

But on the other, he's felt like a father figure for some.

"We've had a lot of members who've had drinking problems and family issues."

Life at the assembly "is not everything you see on television," he said.

When times get tough, the clerk is the rock. For example, the member's assistance program which helps members cope with personal problems is the clerk's responsibility.

"That's one side that goes on that people don't see. And that's an emotional part of the job."

Moments you don't forget

Hamilton says the creation of Nunavut is a high point for him professionally. But it was a difficult time, characterized by uncertainty and questions about NWT's future.

"It's like growing up," he said. "Kids go one way and the family stays here."

Nunavut wanted to be different, said Hamilton, who was part of the division process.

"But they were almost creating a duplicate of what we have here."

He was also present at another historic event: the meeting in Ottawa that solidified aboriginal rights in the constitution in November 1981.

It wasn't a given. The NWT had to fight. So a special committee, including Hamilton and George Braden, the leader of the elected executive (the equivalent of premier in that day), chartered a plane to Ottawa. After a week of lobbying they got an audience with Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau, Nov. 20, 1981.

"The publicity was great," he said. "It took them all by surprise that the whole assembly would go down."

But Hamilton's greatest joy is seeing the legislative assembly find its feet and its voice each year. He always waits for that. But it doesn't always happen.

"You know assemblies and members get a lot of bad publicity. They do it to themselves half the time. But publicly they get a lot of bad comments. So I always hope that every assembly restores my faith in the institution."

Tears suddenly come to Hamilton's eyes, surprising him a little.

"The good, the bad, and the ugly," he said, looking away for a moment to compose himself again, "the institution does survive."

Hamilton's replacement will be selected by June or September.

Former speaker and long-time friend Michael Ballantyne recently said "David is going to be a hard act to follow."

As speaker Ballantyne travelled Canada and met clerks from all corners.

"He was as good," Ballantyne said of Hamilton, "if not better than the best of them."

Hamilton will assist the new clerk until December.

He will retain his electoral officer duties.

The phrase "Ask David, he'll know," may fade away as he sets up in the electoral office in the Panda Mall. But he won't be forgotten.

Yellowknife South MLA Brendan Bell said Hamilton's respect for the legislature is one of Hamilton's gifts to all members.

"He instills a sense of pride through his conduct," said Bell.

Education Minister Jake Ootes said Hamilton's knowledge and professionalism has made him one of the top clerks in the country.

"He's well-respected on the national scene," said Ootes. "He's always there to count on if you have a difficulty or a problem. I've always found him receptive to me as an MLA.

"He's invaluable for all of us."