Richard Gleeson
Northern News Services

Yellowknife (Mar 08/02) - A large payout to two senior civil servants who resigned in the wake of the conflict of interest inquiry is sure to spark contentious debate today in the legislative assembly.

"It's going to be a Hell of a day," Yellowknife South MLA Brendan Bell predicted yesterday.

The Department of the Executive is asking the assembly to approve more than $500,000 in compensation and benefits it says is connected to the inquiry.

Bell said he takes exception to the executive's characterizing the settlements as part of the costs of the $609,132 inquiry.

"I can't imagine any compensation and benefits associated with the conflict process," said Bell. "There were a couple of resignations after the fact."

The lion's share of the pay out is to former chief of staff Lynda Sorensen and former principal secretary John Bayly. A very small portion of the compensation goes to their two secretaries, at least one of whom was reassigned in government.

The payout is part of a $696,000 special warrant the executive is asking the assembly to approve. The request is a done deal as the money has already been spent.

The conflict of interest inquiry uncovered that Bayly made a speakerphone telephone call to former conflict of interest commissioner Carol Roberts. Bayly did not tell Roberts that others, including Sorensen, were listening in on the conversation.

One of the issues the members will be exploring is whether Bayly or Sorensen resigned of their own free will or not. Typically, employees who resign freely are entitled to little or no compensation.

Did they resign?

Range Lake MLA Sandy Lee said she believes Bayly resigned and has no doubt Lynda Sorensen was "involuntarily let go."

Lee said a cabinet minister threatened to quit if Sorensen did not resign.

Joe Handley was cabinet's representative on the special committee that suggested Bayly and Sorensen should resign.

Handley said he had issues about retaining Sorensen and Bayly after their involvement in the phone call, but added, "I never laid it out as a threat, it was never either she goes or I go."

Lee said she believes Bayly got a year's salary. Because it was concluded there was no just cause for dismissing Sorensen, her settlement was larger, Lee said.

Sorensen's resignation did not sound forced when she and the premier called a press conference to announce it last Nov. 1.

"When I started working for Mr. Kakfwi (in 1985), I told him there would come a day when I would have to leave his side -- that politics is a tough business and that political staff have a limited shelf life," Sorensen said.

The premier yesterday said the decision was Sorensen's to make -- "I had no personal hand in it," the premier said. "As I said in the legislature, I had no grounds to fire anybody and I was not going to be forced to do it."

Kakfwi said the settlements were fair.

A call to Sorensen's home was not returned by deadline.