Nunavut’s new government: the first 100 days (Part 2)

ANNE CRAWFORD

Last week I wrote about the first 100 days of a government, suggesting issues that could be early markers to assess our new Nunavut assembly.

The first four were: the lifespan of social passing, the direction of the Iqaluit airport P3, the fate of the NNI policy and the structure of human resources.

Readers added comments suggesting even more issues for legislators: the environment, medical resources, and a fair bit of discussion around the structures of government — do we have too many “decision makers,” too many consultants, does the assembly have effective control of government, are we respecting the Nunavut Land Claims Agreement and then the underlying question: what would it take for the assembly to actually exercise effective control?

This week I am offering three more markers. These are not the most important issues we will face, but they are significant, because they give an early read on how the assembly is likely to operate:

5. Will regular members take on the Elections Act?

This assembly has more regular members than ever before, and there will be a new balance of power. Adding a new minister has us started down the road to an executive-centered term, but let us not forget the other 13 members. The work of regular MLAs extends beyond questioning Ministers. The “Lucky Thirteen” have effective control of the House, and legislation depends on their collective will — if they are prepared to act collectively.

Most legislation is proposed and controlled by ministers, but an exception is the Elections Act, which is the responsibility of the speaker, and regular members play a strong role. Members have personal experience to draw on and are aware of the frustrations created by signage, social media and campaign rules in this act.

Will members take charge, work from their own experience, and make sure that their ideas are addressed? While March would be early to see new wording, there can still be meetings, discussions and drafts. Look to this topic for the first signs of backbone or flexibility in the 13 regular members.

6. What will the budget say?

The first operating budget for the new Nunavut government should appear at about the 100-day mark. There will not be time to reshape the whole budget, but money will talk. Will this government plead poverty and tell us to be careful or cut back? Will they create a process to review current spending? Will they focus inside government: On staffing? On contracting? Travel? Will we be told that we need more money from Ottawa or that there is money available to spend: On youth? On mental health and education? On community ventures or government projects?

The third assembly saw signature projects that also drew particular attention from the assembly on the staffing or spending side. Devolution, the poverty secretariat, the children and youth advocate, and official language funding were initiatives that may or may not be supported by a new government. What will happen to these signature projects?

Clues will be found in where money is moved to or from, and in any significant re-distribution among departments. Any restructuring represents a large investment of political and bureaucratic energy and signals significant political will.

7. How goes the Mandate Statement?

In a consensus system every member arrives with his or her own election platform. Unless all these diverse promises and ambitions are consolidated into a mandate statement with common goals, the public service will lack clear direction, and ministers could simply take up their own ideas, instruct their departments, and then look for others to fall into line and support them.

My colleague Jim Bell is dismissive of mandate statements, insisting “no one with even a passing knowledge of Nunavut’s realities could possibly take this kind of stuff seriously.”

I disagree. I do take “this stuff’ seriously, not because I expect everything in a mandate statement will be achieved, but because it becomes the working version of the goals of government.

In Nunavut these statements have taken just under six months to form, beginning with a cabinet retreat, a caucus retreat and then extended meetings and a final retreat as the text is developed. At 100 days, we should see the process underway, and learn who is being consulted: Municipalities? Paid consultants? Nunavut Tunngavik? No one?

The bureaucracy will have projects and ideas lined up to tempt their new ministers, hoping that these will be included on the “A” list for the coming years. Members will have projects they prefer or want added.

This process becomes one of the first tests of a premier’s leadership, and the capacity of a cabinet secretary. Can they pull together a comprehensive vision or will everything be stated in broad and inclusive terms?

Rumour can be informative or a wild goose chase, and press releases give a kind of painted picture, but the best early understanding will come from these markers. In 100 days, both action and inaction will suggest how this fourth assembly will take shape.