Yellowknife (Feb 13/06) - Hay River South MLA Jane Groenewegen chided fellow members of the legislative assembly last week for not showing up for sittings.

Speaking Thursday with three of the 19 MLAs absent, Groenewegen said she has noticed an "erosion" in her 10 years as an MLA "in terms of people's commitment to this process."

"It's a very slippery slope when people start to not take this as seriously as they should," said Groenewegen.

"We get paid a lot of money to come here and do this job."

Groenewegen pointed to a teacher from French school Ecole Boreale in Hay River, who brought her students to watch the legislative assembly.

"When she saw the empty chairs, she might've wondered if an epidemic illness had swept her class," said Groenewegen.

The lack of MLAs made it difficult for the legislative assembly to do its business, said Groenewegen.

"We watched Nunavut. One day the bells rang and the quorum didn't show up.

"You might not think that would ever happen here. I think it can happen here. I think the day that happens here, it will be a very sad day."

On Wednesday, six MLAs were absent at the start of the day's roll call: Monfwi MLA Jackson Lafferty, Nunakput's Calvin Pokiak, the Sahtu's Norman Yakeleya, Bobby Villeneuve from Tu Nedhe, Kam Lake's Dave Ramsay, and Yellowknife Centre's Robert Hawkins.

Tim Mercer, clerk of the legislative assembly, said all the missing MLAs had valid reasons and won't be punished.

Fines of $125 can be levied for every half-day missed by MLAs at the legislative assembly without a proper excuse, said Mercer.

"The (legislative assembly) Act lays out three types of reasons: illness or bereavement, the second is constituency duties, and the third is any other matter the Board of Management deems acceptable," said Mercer.

He said Yakeleya was grieving in Edmonton with his family for an uncle killed in a snowmobile accident in Tulita.

Lafferty was travelling with members of the Tlicho government, Pokiak was at home sick, and Villeneuve - a single father - was home with a sick daughter.

Ramsay and Hawkins were also given permission to miss part of Wednesday's proceedings for other matters.

Pokiak, Lafferty and Yakeleya did not attend on Thursday for the same reasons above.