Nathan VanderKlippe
Northern News Services

Yellowknife (Nov 08/02) - Lynda Sorensen says "it's been tough" dealing with the fallout of severance packages given her and fellow employee John Bayly.

Both Sorensen and Bayly left the territorial government in the wake of a conflict of interest scandal last October involving former deputy premier Jane Groenewegen and the Territories' former conflict commissioner Carol Roberts.

Last month, MLAs waged war in the legislative assembly over auditor general Sheila Fraser's report into termination agreements with both employees.

Fraser said Sorensen, the former premier's chief of staff, was paid $250,000 too much while Bayly, the former principal secretary, was overpaid $6,000.

Sorensen has since moved to Victoria, where she is helping to care for her mother, who is ill and undergoing chemotherapy.

She has also started her own consulting company.

But, she said, "I'd rather be in Yellowknife working at my old job."

Bayly has been practising private law since January, and on Nov. 1 opened the Yellowknife branch of the national firm Fasken Martineau.

Both Bayly and Sorensen were extremely reluctant to say much of anything about the severance packages.

"I'm out of that business now. I don't want to comment about that," said Bayly.

"I resigned, I was requested to resign, so I've moved on to other things ...

"The public parts people know about and saw. The other parts are private."

Sorensen also refused further comment.

"It's keeping it all alive and it's not fair to everybody," she said.