Speaker dismisses MLA’s accusation that premier misled legislature

The Speaker of Nunavut’s legislative assembly has dismissed an MLA’s point of order made earlier this week that accused Premier P.J. Akeeagok of misleading the assembly.

For Akeeagok to have done that, “there would have to be clarity as to the exact nature of how the house was misled, and at least some evidence that the premier did it intentionally,” Speaker Tony Akoak said in his ruling Friday.

In April, Iqaluit-Manirajak MLA Adam Arreak Lightstone resigned from his cabinet posts as minister of finance and human resources.

That came after Nunavut’s integrity commissioner found Lightstone breached his duty to be impartial when he approved the appointment of his spouse as deputy minister of the Human Resources Department — the most senior staff position in a government department — for a short time in December.

On Wednesday, Iqaluit-Tasiluk MLA George Hickes accused Akeeagok of misleading MLAs about when he became aware of Lightstone’s conflict of interest.

Akoak ruled against Hickes, determining there was no proof of that.

“The intervention of the member for Iqaluit-Tasiluk does not provide this requisite clarity, and therefore it is impossible for even a prima facie judgment to be made on the issue,” Akoak said.

Hickes claims he told the premier about the conflict of interest before MLAs brought it up in the assembly in March.

“I had a constituent with an HR matter that I couldn’t send to the minister, as the spouse was directly related to the constituent’s concerns,” Hickes told the assembly.

Hickes then tabled a Dec. 12 email exchange he had with Akeeagok about his constituent’s human resources matter.

At the time, Lightstone’s spouse was a director in the Department of Human Resources.

This all came after questions to the premier Wednesday from Arviat-South MLA Joe Savikataaq.

“Mr. Speaker, for the record, what date did the premier become aware that there was a conflict of interest with the minister of human resources and one of the directors?” Savikataaq asked.

Akeeagok said all of the dates were in the integrity commissioner’s report, which had been made public.

Hickes said he wanted to make the premier aware of the issue because the premier chooses his ministers’ portfolios.

“I felt, at that time, that raising that clear conflict of interest would trigger the premier to put some serious thought into how portfolios were allocated,” Hickes said.

Speaking to the assembly Thursday, Akeeagok said he was only made aware of the apparent conflict of interest on Dec. 20. He said the Dec. 12 email refers to when Lightstone’s spouse was a director, not a deputy minister.

“The email tabled by MLA Hickes refers to an unrelated constituency matter when MLA Lightstone’s wife was a director,” Akeeagok said.

“She would have reported to the assistant deputy minister or the deputy minister of human resources and not to the minister,” he said.

“There is no new information to uncover. I believe this line of questioning serves as a distraction from the important work of carrying out our mandate and serving Nunavummiut.”

Hickes said Savikataaq’s question concerned the time that the premier “became aware of the conflict of interest between the minister and the spouse being a senior director level within the department.”

On Thursday, Akoak reminded MLAs they “have other means at their disposal to debate their defences.

“We are here to represent all Nunavummiut. We have people hungry. We have people with no homes; people wanting jobs. This does not reflect towards their future.”