Kerry McCluskey
Northern News Services

IQALUIT (Sep 20/99) - A matter that was meant to be an internal one between Nunavut MLAs made its way into the limelight last week.

For the government house leader, the biggest question surrounding the incident is which of the elected representatives leaked the document to the media.

"The issue that concerns me is why somebody would send that out to the press. What would be the motive," said Cambridge Bay MLA Kelvin Ng.

Ng was referring to a letter of complaint he received from Hunter Tootoo on Sept. 9 concerning Manitok Thompson's behaviour during a full caucus meeting held on Sept. 8.

"Someone wanted to air our dirty laundry. It was obviously one of the members who wanted to stimulate some controversy," said Ng.

Confirming that he received the document from Tootoo, in which Tootoo described Thompson's behaviour and the comments she made as "inappropriate in the extreme," Ng explained that while Premier Paul Okalik may wish to take another approach when he returns home from his trade mission to Japan this week, he strongly recommended that it be left to Tootoo and Thompson to resolve.

"The two members need to sit down and try to work it out if at all possible. I've talked to both Hunter and Manitok and told them (that) and they've already made progress."

In that it would be almost impossible to track down the leak and because there is no official system or procedure in place to deal with the member who leaked the first letter or Ng's response to it the next day, Ng said it was likely that no further action would be taken. He did say, however, that if a cabinet member was found to be responsible, it could seriously affect all of the members.

"We really have no control over what the members do, but if it were a member of cabinet, that would be a different matter. It would undermine the confidence of the rest of cabinet."

Tootoo, who asked Ng in the letter to remind Thompson that she was supposed to "work together in a co-operative -- and not divisive -- manner," and further added that "members have the right not to be subjected to contemptuous remarks or outright hostility," has, for the most part, declined to comment on the matter or the reasons that pushed him to write the letter.

"I have nothing to say. It was something that was done internally, it was meant to stay internal and be kept internal," said Tootoo, the member for Iqaluit Centre.

Thompson, who said she still had a good working relationship with Tootoo, explained that because she was unsure what sparked the writing of the letter, she approached Olayuk Akesuk, the chair of the meeting, for answers.

"I talked to Olayuk and I said if I was out of line, why did you not say I was out of order. 'Because,' he said, 'I didn't need to.'"

As for the criticism her behaviour has drawn, Thompson said politicians at all levels of government expected it. She also said she thought her colleagues in the former GNWT had thicker skins.