MLAs attack government over decentralization

MICHAELA RODRIGUE

IQALUIT — Regular MLAs say they are outraged by an announcement that Baffin school board jobs won’t move to Pond Inlet for more than a year.

In a scathing letter fired off to Premier Paul Okalik last week, Tununiq MLA Jobie Nutarak, who is also the chair of the regular members’ caucus, blasted Education Minister James Arvaluk for not notifying him of the announcement, and accuses Okalik’s cabinet of ignoring MLAs when government decisions are made.

“Today’s announcement is but the latest in an ever-expanding list of government decisions and initiatives that have been taken where the views of elected members of the legislative assembly are considered only as an afterthought, or dismissed as irritations,” the Jan. 14 letter states.

In the letter, which they say expresses their “profound outrage,” MLAs promise to make the issue of “respect, accountability and openness” a priority during the upcoming session in Rankin Inlet.

But Arvaluk says the government never set a date for the relocation to Pond Inlet.

Nutarak informed a month ago

And he says he notified Nutarak of the proposed schedule in a letter more than a month ago.

A Dec. 9 letter addressed to Pond Inlet Mayor Paul Haulli and to Nutarak says that Department of Education jobs will likely move one year after the dissolution of the regional school boards on July 1, 2000.

“My purpose in writing to you today is to inform you of the general timetable of this move. Also, I wanted to make my personal commitment to you, to work with you, your MLA and other community leaders to ensure that this move goes as smoothly as possible,” Arvaluk said to Nuturaak on Dec. 9.

But in his own letter, Nutarak does not acknowlege receiving that letter and complains of learning about the decentralization plans through the media and not from the minister.

An assistant in Arvaluk’s office said correspondence is typically sent via fax and Canada Post.

Premier Paul Okalik said Nutarak’s letter is “unfortunate,” and he said that the jobs will go to Pond Inlet “come hell or high water.”

But Okalik also defended his government’s record on consulting with regular MLAs.

“The member had ample time to raise concerns with the minister and unfortunately that did not take place,” Okalik said.

“We have been working with them. We have always been open to all members,” Okalik said, explaining MLAs are often consulted before final decisions are made.

But Okalik said in the end it’s cabinet who will make final decisions.

“We’re open to any suggestions, but we always have competing interests. We’re trying to do the best job we can.” Okalik said he’s willing to listen to regular MLAs’ suggestions about improving communication with cabinet.

No move this year

Arvaluk will not ask for money to move the education jobs this year, he said, because “it would be chaotic.”

“If we try to move earlier it will become chaotic… we’ll have to try and find teachers, make sea-lift order and try to move at the same time. And to get all the computers in line with the government, telephone changes and everything else. It’s not practical,” Arvaluk said. “Who’s going to suffer? Students.”

Arvaluk said housing still has to be completed for government workers, and that it wouldn’t make sense to move workers when homes aren’t available.

“If you try to move someone where there’s no houses, what would you do?,” Arvaluk said.

But the Nunavut Construction Corporation is almost finished building the government units in Pond Inlet, said Lorne Veters, a property manager with Nunavut’s Department of Public Works.

About 40 residential units for government workers and an office building for the decentralized education jobs are almost complete, said Lorne Veters, property manager for public works.

If the government isn’t ready to make use of the units for another year, it could sign short-term sublet agreements with other interested tenants, Veters said.

But even with housing in place, there are numerous other decisions that should be made before the move takes place, said Cathy McGregor, the director of the Baffin District Education Council.

Issues such as how medical travel for employees will be handled, how bulk purchases will be made, and how the Iqaluit district education authority’s bookkeeping will be handled still need to be decided, McGregor said.

It is easier to make some of these decisions in Iqaluit where they are close to government officials, McGregor said.

If the move were to take place this year, the board would have to fill positions vacated by current employees who don’t want to move to Pond Inlet, and solve all of the technical details of decentralizing a government.

“Hopefully people will stay in their current positions until 2001 and we won’t be faced with a lot of vacancies,” McGregor said.

There are currently about 20 full-time staff at the board’s Iqaluit office.

The legislative assembly is scheduled to resume sitting in Rankin Inlet on Feb. 16.