Raw politics were on the menu for many MLAs at today’s start of the latest sitting for the NWT Assembly.
U.S. President Donald Trump was vilified by a couple of MLAs for his social policies and threatened trade war with Canada.
Later, Ontario Premier Doug Ford was praised for his strong position against the now delayed tariffs on Canadian goods.
And NWT Premier R.J. Simpson’s inaugural Territorial Address on Tuesday was slammed by Yellowknife Centre MLA Robert Hawkins for being tepid and lacking vision.
“We need a Premier’s state-of-the-union like we heard yesterday, but with actual energy and deliverable tangibles … I listened carefully, there were no unicorns or rainbows in that speech,” said Hawkins.
“Now my definition may be different than his, but we’re not hearing inspiration. We’re hearing the bureaucracy’s running the show.”
Sahtu MLA Danny McNeely spoke on the economic storm Norman Wells is facing, and the dark clouds on the horizon as Imperial Oil Resources is discussing shutting down its more than a century old operations in the community.
“The transition process is just beginning, and eventually 60 employees, as well as visiting contractors, will have to find new opportunities or new work,” said McNeely.
Range Lake MLA Kieron Testart in the NWT Assembly February 5th. (Photo courtesy of Assembly Livestream)
“Something must be done now to ensure there is hope for the future for the residents. The GNWT must make good on its mandate to build a strong economic foundation. Residents of Norman Wells are starting to think about the town, what the town will look like post closure.
“They are looking at ways they can transition from being dependent on Imperial for home heating oil and electricity to become a self supporting community.”
Finance Minister Caroline Wawzonek also took exception to being mentioned in the same breath as Trump when Range Lake MLA Kieron Testart asked about the Affirmative Action Policy being replaced by the new Indigenous Hiring Policy.
“What about black, brown people, women? People with disabilities, people who are covered by the older policy? Is the Minister on the anti-DEI train that Donald Trump is on?” Testart asked.
Wawzonek responded: “I’ll take a look at Hansard and decide whether or not a comparison between myself and Mr. Trump warrants some further proceeding. I’m going to leave it alone for the moment.
“With respect to other members of the population of the Northwest Territories, again, we want the Northwest Territories public service to be inclusive and diverse. This is one piece of a much bigger puzzle that we’re trying to solve here to make this a better workforce.”
The sitting continues tomorrow afternoon, with Wawzonek presenting her budget.
