Jeff Colbourne
Northern News Services

NNSL (Aug 21/98) - With the Morin inquiry on the back burner until October, an unresolved matter directly linked to the inquiry goes to the NWT Supreme Court next Wednesday.

MLA Jane Groenewegen is suing House Speaker Sam Gargan, chair of the Legislative Assembly's Management Services Board, over money owed to her lawyer for work he did to help prepare her conflict-of-interest complaint against Premier Don Morin.

Papers were filed with the Supreme Court by Groenewegen's lawyer Barrie Chivers, August 13. The court case is set to begin August 26 at 10 p.m.

The civil court case will determine whether or not conflict of interest commissioner Anne Crawford has the authority to engage legal counsel for Groenewegen in the conflict case. If Crawford has authority to order counsel, Chivers should get paid.

In March, Crawford ordered publicly funded counsel for Groenewegen but the legislative assembly's management and services board denied the request arguing Crawford overstepped her boundaries in making the order.

Feeling confident she had the power to designate counsel for Groenewegen to help in the inquiry process, Crawford sent a letter to Chivers asking him to continue his work while she dealt with money matters.

According to the terms of engagement in the case's Supreme Court records, Chivers is to assist Groenewegen in many ways including providing advice, preparing notices and assembling information and documentation for the Hay River MLA.

The commissioner approved a rate of $200 per hour for legal services and applicable rates of assistants approved by Crawford upon request.

Meals and accommodation costs, if any, will be charged at current GNWT approved rates. Travel costs will be approved in advance through the office of counsel to the commissioner.

When the case wraps up, and if Crawford's authority is clarified in her favor, Groenewegen will not be the only person to get publicly funded counsel.

Roland Bailey and Mike Mrdjenovich who are named in the complaint will also receive assistance. Like Groenewegen, Bailey and Mrdjenovich have declined interviews with commission counsel because of the unresolved funding issue.