Challengers say North needs independent voice
Richard Gleeson
Northern News Services
Yellowknife (Nov 24/00) - It was a question that came up four times last night, and one every voter will face when they go to the polls Monday: is the North better served in Ottawa by a member of parliament who is part of the government or one outside it?
NDP campaign organizers made sure the question was front and centre at an all candidates forum hosted by CBC radio. The first to pose it was a campaign volunteer. The second, via phone from Fort Smith, was the father of NDP candidate Dennis Bevinton.
"I want a representative who votes in a accordance with the wishes of their constituents instead of party leaders or party advisors," said Gordon Murray.
"I've voted against my constituents once in 12 years," said incumbent Liberal Ethel Blondin-Andrew, referring to her support of the new gun law, roundly opposed in the NWT.
"I don't believe you," interjected Murray.
"You don't have to believe me, you can check the record," shot back Blondin-Andrew.
The three-term Western Arctic MP cited her record and that of her government -- including a taming of federal finances, $100 billion in tax cuts, $2.2 billion in early childhood development funding -- and noted the diamond, oil and gas prosperity the North is now enjoying.
"It sounds to me like that's not enough," said the Liberal candidate. "I'll just have to work harder as a member of the government."
Not surprisingly, all three challengers argued being a member of the government is part of the problem not the solution.
"There's a fairly long list of examples where we could have had better representation instead of towing the party line," said Progressive Conservative candidate Bruce McLaughlin by telephone from Hay River where he was stranded because of heavy fog.
McLaughlin said he was in Norman Wells the day news of Prime Minister Jean Chretien's support for the an Alaskan-Yukon pipeline broke. Though Blondin-Andrew's campaign platform proposes the development of a Mackenzie Valley pipeline, McLaughlin said her party does not appear to share that view.
NDP candidate Dennis Bevington said an independent voice serves the North particularly well, considering it has a subservient relationship to the federal government compared to the provinces.
"It's not even always a case of voting (with or against the wishes of constituents)," said Bevington. "It's a case of sticking up for the people of the NWT."
Fred Turner said he and the Canadian Alliance party, which he said encourages members to vote with their constituents, could provide the North with far stronger representation.
"The Liberals are ducking the issues," said Turner. "They're more interested in grasping onto power than looking after the affairs that concern us."
Both Bevington and McLaughlin said members of a party with a small number of seats in parliament could do an effective job if they worked with the media and formed alliances with other MPs with similar agendas.
