Kakfwi says not within his power to release Sorensen contract
Richard Gleeson
Northern News Services
Yellowknife (Nov 17/00) - Premier Stephen Kakfwi told MLAs if they want to see his chief of staff's employment contract, they can ask her lawyer for it.
"It is not my place and not my capacity to share the contract with the members," said the premier.
Inuvik MLA Floyd Roland said Wednesday he has followed that suggestion, but has yet to hear back from the chief of staff Lynda Sorensen's lawyers.
Roland told the legislative assembly the contract will go a long way toward quelling the controversy over whether or not Sorensen's chairing of Liberal incumbent Ethel Blondin-Andrew's election campaign violates the Public Service Act.
The Act prohibits deputy ministers, but not executive assistants, from serving on the executive of any riding association.
Thebacha MLA Michael Miltenberger said the chief of staff position is much closer to that of a deputy minister than, as the government maintains, an executive assistant with enhanced responsibilities.
"The premier has an opportunity here to save face, to table this document or present it to members so we can deal with this once and for all," Roland said.
Kakfwi said the contract does not include any description of the duties -- "To keep saying that the contract is going to prove all these unfounded allegations is simply wrong."
Mackenzie-Delta representative David Krutko joined the fray Wednesday, saying the chief of staff's salary -- Miltenberger said it was six figures and the government has not challenged that -- is way out of line with what the government pays executive assistants.
"My concern is they have changed the position to put their wage scale at a different level than is allowed for under the administrative policies in place for this government," said Krutko. "The most you can get as an executive assistant is $68,000."
Krutko said he believes any variance from the position descriptions and pay scales described by those policies requires the approval of the commissioner.
The premier said he has recognized there is a need to update the Public Service Act, but rejected the notion that the government has violated it.
"I'm not in a position to help these people who made these false allegations," Kakfwi said. "I can't help them. They've stuck their necks out. They've made allegations they can not prove. It's unfortunate, but I think they will continue to flail away."
Roland first challenged Kakfwi to make the contract public on Tuesday, when he noted a media report had stated the term 'deputy minister' appeared in the contract.
Kakfwi said one of the reasons the title chief of staff was created was the weight it carries with other governments. A federal or provincial chief of staff is far more likely to respond to an official of equal status rather than one who appears of lower status, such as an executive assistant
