SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
All but seven Yellowknife candidates have flunked the Union of Northern Workers' online NWT Election Report Card survey, according to results published on the union's website yesterday afternoon.
UNW president Todd Parsons says a more comprehensive survey would be too big an undertaking. -
UNW Report Card Results for Yk candidates
- Ben Nind: A
- Nigit'stil Norbert: A
- Daryl Dolynny: B
- Roy Erasmus: B
- Samuel Roland: B
- Edwin Castillo: C
- Robert Hawkins: C
- Sean Erasmus: F
- Julie Green: F
- Kevin O'Reilly: F
- Glen Abernethy: F
- Caroline Cochrane-Johnson: F
- Jan Fullerton: F
- Bob McLeod: F
- David Ramsay: F
- Kieron Testart: F
- Cory Vanthuyne: F
Did not respond to survey
- Chris Clarke: F
- David Wasylciw: F
- Dan Wong: F
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Hopeful MLAs were asked five yes-or-no questions about their positions on issues the union said are important to its members and to users of public services. The survey included an A to F grading scale, with a perfect score for respondents who answered "yes" to all questions and lower scores depending on how many questions were answered "no" or left unanswered.
The questionnaire also stipulated respondents who answered "no" to its first question – "Will you oppose any cuts of GNWT staff, including boards and agencies?" – would automatically be given a failing grade.
"I'm disappointed by the amount of response that we received for the survey," said UNW president Todd Parsons.
Of the 20 candidates running in Yellowknife electoral districts, only 10 answered all the union's questions; seven candidates failed to comply with the yes-or-no format; And the remaining three did not participate at all, according to the report card.
"They just set you up with questions like that," said Kam Lake incumbent Dave Ramsay. "Not knowing the complexities or context in which decisions are going to be made, it's ridiculous to ask people to put a one-word answer to those questions."
Ramsay described the survey as "divisive politics."
He was not the only one who ultimately chose not to respond with strictly yes or no answers.
When Yellowknife North candidate Cory Vanthuyne first saw the survey, he wrote to the UNW to express his concerns.
"The way in which some of the questions were asked, they lacked context," he said. "They assumed a lot in the sense that you're assuming that all the MLA candidates understand what the Public Alliance Service Act is all about. You're assuming we know what P3s are all about."
Vanthuyne said more information should have been provided clarifying why UNW was asking those questions.
"I don't think it's very informative to your membership to only allow us (to give) a yes/no answer," he added.
"We have to build a strong economy and we have to have jobs and create jobs but they avoided all that," said Frame Lake candidate David Wasylciw. "They didn't explore any of the approaches that MLAs or candidates would take when actually dealing with the UNW and dealing with negotiation."
However, Parsons said his organization is mandated to produce an election report and the questionnaire was not designed for the candidates' convenience.
"Part of the reason we chose the yes and no (format) is it's very, very hard for the UNW to present to our members and the public the input that we would receive from 60 candidates," he said. "It wasn't fair for us. It was very hard. If we'd said let's just limit each response to five lines or 10 lines, that's still a massive undertaking that would have looked more like a book or a novel than say a two-page layout."
Some candidates chose to fill out the questionnaire despite misgivings about its structure.
Edwin Castillo, also a candidate for Yellowknife North, said the question format put him "in a bit of a compromising position" but ultimately his answers would provide voters some insight into his stance on the issues. Castillo, a GNWT employee, is also a member of the UNW.
Frame Lake candidate Kevin O'Reilly said he was not going to provide comment on whether or not the UNW could or should have phrased their survey questions differently.
"UNW can set up a survey or questionnaire whatever way they like and that's their right and candidates don't have to answer," he said. "I responded in a way I felt was appropriate."
O'Reilly answered all of the questions except the first one (which would amount to an automatic failing grade), choosing instead to e-mail UNW president Todd Parsons directly.
"I felt that there were some boards and agencies in particular that I would not oppose doing away with, and I gave the example of the Mineral Industry Advisory Board where there is no representation from labour, the public or indeed environmental interests," he said.
Yellowknifer requested comment from all local candidates prior to the grades being released, and heard from Glen Abernethy, Jan Fullerton, Kieron Testart, Robert McLeod, Chris Clarke, Robert Hawkins and Dan Wong. All candidates expressed some concern about its format.
"We were very transparent insomuch as we gave them the rules of the survey up front, in advance. They knew what our expectations were," said Parsons.
He said that his members are concerned about potential job cuts and layoffs, and they wanted clear answers from the very people who were seeking positions as their employers.
"The yes or no format – the concept itself is to help prevent savvy politicians from avoiding these very important issues," he said.
