 |
|
|
|
|
  
|
New NWT cabinet selected Dave Ramsay, Glen Abernethy to represent YK at executive tableGalit Rodan Northern News Services Published Friday, October 28, 2011
Their inclusion into cabinet means a $50,000 raise. Currently, cabinet ministers make $145,695, a year.
This is Ramsay's third term in the legislative assembly. Veteran ministers Michael Miltenberger of Thebacha, Robert C. McLeod, member for Inuvik Twin Lakes and Monfwi MLA Jackson Lafferty were also selected. Miltenberger ran for cabinet minister after his second consecutive unsuccessful bid for premier. He is one of the longest serving members of the legislative assembly, now entering his fifth consecutive term, and has spent much of that time in cabinet.
The ministers of the 17th legislative assembly were chosen at Wednesday's territorial leadership committee meeting, following the selection of Jackie Jacobson as Speaker of the house and Bob McLeod as premier.
The vote proceeded by secret ballot, with each of the 19 MLAs marking their choices for two candidates from north of Yellowknife, two from south of Yellowknife and two from Yellowknife itself.
A second round of voting was required for Yellowknife after the first round failed to produce two members with a majority. Frame Lake MLA Wendy Bisaro, the only female member to put her name forward, was eliminated in the first round and the second round proceeded with Abernethy, Ramsay, Yellowknife Centre MLA Robert Hawkins Weledeh MLA Bob Bromley remaining on the ballot.
Jacobson announced the results around 3:45 p.m., after the second round of voting.
It is now up to McLeod to assign portfolios.
Bisaro said the lack of female ministers was "absolutely" disappointing.
"I'm particularly disappointed because we have 50 per cent of our NWT population who have no voice at that table ... I think it's a real loss," she said.
Bisaro and Hay River South MLA Jane Groenewegen are the only female MLAs.
The selection of speaker, premier and ministers was a lengthy process, beginning at 9 a.m. and ending around 4 p.m.
A litany of speeches, questions, more speeches then more questions was often informative and sometimes repetitive; in the end, though, many MLAs admitted that, though they thought the process was important, they weren't swayed into voting any differently. Bisaro, Abernethy and Range Lake MLA Daryl Dolynny all said they had a good sense of who they were going to vote for going into the leadership meetings, and none strayed from those preconceived notions.
Dolynny was not surprised by the day's results.
"At the end of the day, I think the better people won and I'm looking forward to working with them," he said.
Dolynny, one of five new MLAs, said there were many strong candidates for cabinet, and that those who were not selected will play a significant role as regular members.
"Being part of the regular members is really an important step for us because obviously regular members, we drive the bus," he said. "And so we also need tenure on the regular members side."
Bisaro, who emphasized the need for fiscally responsible in social welfare programs, said she was concerned about who would take up the social welfare cause in her stead.
"I felt really strongly going into this that we needed to have two members on cabinet who had really strong social issue leanings and I'm not so sure that we do."
Abernethy, who said he was "not into the status quo" and who focused much of his attention on combatting poverty in the NWT, will likely be at least one voice for social change.
"It's time for us to start thinking about the programs we have and which ones are working, which ones we don't need, which ones can be replaced with something better, which ones could be better if we just made some internal changes. Keeping things the same is not progress."
|
