Herb Mathisen
Northern News Services
Published Friday, June 13, 2008

SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE - On Tuesday, Glen Abernethy commented on the unhappiness of three ministers. On Wednesday afternoon, they let him know how unhappy they were.

MLAs were debating a motion Tuesday to delete $1,500,000 from the budget for parks renewal projects.

At one point in the heated debate, Abernethy, MLA for Great Slave, said minsters Norman Yakeleya, Michael McLeod and Michael Miltenberger were unhappy about money being deleted from projects in their constituencies.

The problem was, the three had not yet spoken to the motion.

On Wednesday, McLeod moved a point of order.

"Mr. Abernethy's comments alleged that I was upset," said McLeod.

"I'm not sure how this was determined, since I did not speak to the motion."

"His comments also impute that I was defending government projects in my own constituency, which I did not."

"It's an issue of somebody suggesting what my position was on an issue that I had no opportunity to speak to," said McLeod.

"Nobody has the right to speak on my behalf. I resent that and I will not accept that."

Yakeleya echoed Mcleod's comments.

Abernethy defended his comments, saying he was not questioning the ministers' motives, but merely stating the obvious.

"I was never questioning the integrity of the minister," said Abernethy..

Lines of support on the motion were drawn down the middle, with regular MLAs on one side standing behind Abernethy, and Cabinet on the other supporting McLeod.

Jane Groenewegen, MLA for Hay River South, agreed Abernethy was stating the obvious because the projects being deleted were from ministers' ridings.

"Any member around this chamber would not be happy to have a motion come forward to delete something out of their riding," said Groenewegen. "I don't think it's an outrageous assumption on Mr. Abernethy's part."

Cabinet members felt differently.

Miltenberger said Abernethy attributed motive to the ministers that they had not verbalized.

"In my opinion, there was an imputation, first, that ministers have been favouring themselves, in terms of how projects are being distributed, and then now we are doubly upset that decisions are being made to delete some of those," said Miltenberger.

Premier Floyd Roland weighed in on the motion.

"A a lot of people in the NWT only have Hansard to look at," said Roland, explaining the public could get misled when reading the official legislative assembly transcript, if one MLA was allowed to state how another was feeling, when they have not been part of a debate.

Sandy Lee, MLA for Range Lake, said MLAs are not allowed to attribute motive on other MLAs.

Debate over the point of order lasted 26 minutes. Eleven members spoke to the motion.

On Thursday, Speaker Paul Delorey ruled that there was no point of order.

"The opinion was open to each of the members singled out to stand up in the house and correct the record if they disagreed with Mr. Abernethy's speculation," said Delorey.

This was the second point of order raised in this session.

Groenewegen said ministers defending capital projects in their constituencies is introducing a new tone to debates on motions.