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SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
Yellowknife Centre MLA Robert Hawkins strayed out of bounds with advertisements in an early pitch for re-election, according to Speaker Paul Delorey.

Hawkins, who is seeking a third term in the legislative assembly, broke election year guidelines, according to an Aug. 10 letter from Delorey, by using legislative assembly telephone numbers, e-mail addresses, websites and photographs paid for from the MLA's constituency budget in recent newspaper ads.

"These guidelines have been adopted to mitigate the real and perceived advantage that sitting MLAs enjoy in an election by virtue of their access to public funds," Delorey wrote as chair of the legislature's board of management.

"Board members are aware that you are purchasing these ads with your own personal funds," Delorey wrote. "However, this fact may not be well known to the public."

Election year guidelines permit advertisements for constituency meetings and assembly sittings in a standardized format, and "all members have accepted these restrictions and are abiding by them," Delorey wrote.

"Failure to do so may result in further administrative action by the board," he warned.

The Speaker reminded Hawkins that the guidelines were "put in place to create a fair and level playing field for all candidates. Adherence will go a long way to protecting the integrity" of the legislature.

Delorey, as chair of the board of management, which regulates services to MLAs, also directed Hawkins to remove large billboards by the beginning of the pre-election period which started June 3.

"Large billboards in public venues are no longer an acceptable expense from constituency budget allowances," Delorey wrote.

Last year, a swimmer at Ruth Inch Memorial Pool complained that a larger-than-life portrait of Hawkins gave him the feeling of being watched by Big Brother.

Hawkins was upset to hear that Yellowknifer had received a copy of the letter from an anonymous source.

"They want to make my life miserable; that's typical of someone trying to make my life miserable just before an election. I call them drive-bys, by people who aren't brave enough to stand up and be counted."

Hawkins said he had received approval from the assembly law clerk to use his office phone number in the ad, "but they changed their mind, so I stopped."

"Ninety per cent of that letter is inaccurate and I took issue with it," Hawkins said.

"They decided they would uphold the content. And I followed their direction on the number. I followed all the rules."

In an interview, the Speaker said all the facts in the letter are correct, "so far as the board is concerned. The rules were agreed to by the MLAs, but Robert wanted to do it his way."

The letter was dated Aug. 10. An ad for Hawkins appeared in the Aug. 26 edition of Yellowknifer with the number for the MLA's legislature office and his cellphone.

"The Yellowknifer made a mistake," Hawkins said.

This isn't the first time Hawkins' campaigning methods have met with controversy.

After his first election campaign for Yellowknife Centre in 2003, one losing candidate accused him of breaking spending rules by not declaring a motorhome bearing a pro-Hawkins sign and belonging to Daryl Dolynny - now a MLA candidate for Range Lake - as a campaign expense.

After the 2007 election, another losing rival filed a complaint with Elections NWT, alleging Hawkins' campaign team was trying to sway voters as they entered the polling station.

Hawkins was exonerated on both counts.

- with files from Mike W. Bryant

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