Groenewegen defends vote on motion
Says goal not to extend term for richer pension
Sarah Ladik
Northern News Services
Published Monday, March 24, 2014
SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
At least one Hay River resident is up in arms at the passing of a motion March 10 that will see the legislative assembly request the federal government grant it the power to extend their term to a maximum of five years, up from four years.
Before opening debate, Hay River South MLA Jane Groenewegen, who introduced the motion, offered to change its wording, taking out the time frame of October 2016 and replacing it with the more open-ended request to extend the total lifespan of the 17th assembly to "a period not exceeding five years." The subsequent motion passed 11 to seven.
Some constituents, however, were not pleased with the motion itself, nor how it came about.
"I was really put off by the fact that I heard about it on a Saturday," Eileen Gour told The Hub, adding that she had found out about it from a post by Hay River North MLA Robert Bouchard on Facebook.
"I see a term in office as a contract between the government and voters. It's really the only time we get to have a direct say in who is governing us, and it is unacceptable that they would be so bold as to take steps to change that contract without asking people first."
The main reasons given for the motion were to avoid a potentially overwhelming month of elections in October 2015, when the federal, territorial, and five municipal governments are set to run elections. Furthermore, the change would bring the NWT in line with the rest of Canada where all the provinces enjoy a five-year term maximum for their elected officials. The idea, according to Groenewegen, wasn't to extend the term a full year, but instead to give the current assembly room to manoeuvre around the federal election.
"It may have seemed sudden, but it had been discussed by caucus over a period of a few months. What happens in caucus is generally kept confidential," said Groenewegen. "Since this was only a very preliminary request for permission from the federal government, we knew that there would be ample time for public consultation and input."
She said she had been surprised by the tone of the reaction from voters, and suspected they had misunderstood the preliminary nature of the motion.
"I've been in politics a long time, so maybe I should have expected this, but the discussions in caucus were well-intentioned, not about more pay or pension contributions," she said.
"I think there's a general skepticism about politicians. I've enjoyed a good relationship with my constituents. No one has a complete approval rating, but when the election is over, I've tried to work with everyone and help anyone and work with the other community leadership for the benefit of Hay River.
"I'm certainly honoured to have represented Hay River for these past years, but I think I will be stepping aside to allow others to carry on this work."
Hay River North MLA Robert Bouchard was one of the seven who voted against the motion. He said he felt elected MLAs typically make term-limit decisions for the next assembly, not for themselves. He added under the Devolution Act, the term would be increased to a maximum of five years after the next election anyway.
"The majority of members think we can't collide elections," he said. "It was short notice, but we're going to discuss the bill again. I'm not sure what's going to happen going forward, I just wasn't comfortable."
Bouchard said he was concerned with how Groenewegen and the motion's seconder, House Leader Michael Miltenberger, were being treated in the press.
"I was a bit concerned that they were taking all the flack," he said. "The feeling in the house was more that they had the experience to do it. I don't think it was about pensions or anything like that."
According to the most recent pension administration report tabled Feb. 6, the five-term-MLAs had 3.36 years left to reach their maximum pension as of March 31, 2013.
If their terms in office were extended approximately 10 months from the current election date of Oct. 12, 2015, they will reach their maximum pensions.
Both Miltenberger, 62, and Groenewegen, 58, assumed office on Oct. 16, 1995. Until MLAs officially change the upcoming election date, the territorial government is mandated to hold the next election in 2015.
Groenewegen said that she did not make the motion with personal gain in mind.
"Moving and seconding the motion had nothing to do with pay or pensions," she said.
"I didn't even know that our pensions reached the cap in 2016."
