MLAs play outside the house

Regular MLAs met by themselves this past Friday behind closed doors, after deliberately causing the scheduled assembly sitting to be cancelled that day by denying a quorum.

After waiting about 15 minutes for the 10 regular members to show up, Jobie Nutarak, under the rules of the assembly, ordered a recess until Nov. 28., when normal proceedings resumed.

MLAs didn’t say much about why they forced the assembly to shut down.

But after arriving shortly after the sitting was cancelled, they met in a behind-closed-doors session, where they talked about holding the assembly’s mid-term review of cabinet at an earlier date than scheduled now.

Right now, the mid-term review is set for the fall of 2006. That session, held in public, gives MLAs the ability to question cabinet ministers and assess their performance.

On Monday, Hunter Tootoo, the MLA for Iqaluit Centre, tried to introduce a notice of motion that would have had Leona Aglukkaq, the MLA for Nattilik, removed from cabinet.

But no one seconded the idea, and his motion was ruled out of order.