Okalik hands out Nunavut cabinet jobs

IQALUIT — After spending the weekend holding one-to-one meetings with his seven cabinet ministers, Nunavut Premier Paul Okalik assigned jobs to each of them this Monday.

Okalik said maintaining regional balance was not a factor in the process that MLAs followed in choosing ministers, nor in the decisions that he made in assigning portfolios to them.

“We’re going to see Nunavut as one territory,” Okalik said at a press conference this Monday.

He did say that he assigned portfolios after considering the amount of experience possessed by each cabinet minister, and the areas of government that each is interested in.

Okalik said he has not asked his cabinet ministers to submit unsigned letters of resignation for use as a possible disciplinary measure. He said his staff have advised him that this practice, first used by former NWT premier Nellie Cournoyea after the 1991 territorial election, may not be legal.

He said their first cabinet meeting will likely be held in the middle of April.

Okalik’s main rival for the premier’s job, Rankin Inlet North MLA Jack Anawak, will run two key departments: Justice; and Community Government, Housing and Transportation.

The huge $127 million a year community government department will play a lead role in completing the implementation of Nunavut’s decentralized government.

Ng will serve as finance minister

Cambridge Bay MLA Kelvin Ng walks away with the powerful Finance and Administration portfolio.

Okalik also put Ng in charge of the Department of Human Resources, which means Ng is the person who will negotiate a new collective agreement with the fledgling Nunavut Employees Union. Ng the minister responsible for the Nunavut’s Workers’ Compensation Board.

Though Okalik didn’t appoint a deputy premier, he has asked Ng to serve as government house leader.

Okalik said the position of “deputy premier” was created only recently within the Yellowknife legislative assembly, and that he’ll appoint a deputy premier only if it becomes necessary in the future

Nanulik MLA James Arvaluk, whose name was bandied about earlier this month as a potential leadership candidate, ends up as the man in charge of the $142 million Department of Education.

Iqaluit East MLA Ed Picco is in charge of one the territorial government’s most troubled departments: Health and Social Services. Picco is also Nunavut’s minister responsible for the Northwest Territories Power Corporation.

The veteran MLA for Rankin Inlet South-Whale Cove, Manitok Thompson, is in charge of the Department of Public Works, Telecommunications and Technical Services.

Pangnirtung MLA Peter Kilabuk will head the Department of Sustainable Development, and Kugluktuk MLA Donald Havioyak will run the Department of Culture, Language, Elders and Youth.

Havioyak is also the minister responsible for the status of women.

MLAs organize themselves

Meanwhile, regular MLAs have organized themselves into four standing committees.” Standing committees” are permanent committees of the legislature, made up of non-cabinet members, set up to scrutinize government budgets, bills and policies.

Respective members of each committee have yet to elect chairs.

The four standing committees are:

Culture, Education and Health: Responsible for dealing with the departments of Health and Social Services; Education; and Culture, Language, Elders and Youth;
Government Operations and Services: Responsible for dealing the the departments of Executive and Intergovernmental Affairs; and Finance and Administration;
Community Empowerment and Sustainable Development: Responsible for dealing with the departments of Sustainable Development; Justice; Community Government, Housing and Transportation; and Public Works, Telecommunications and Technical Services;
Ajauqtiit: The Ajauqtiit committee is responsible for making sure that the Office the Legislative Assembly achieves its goals, dealing with issues related to the Nunavut land claims agreement, and dealing with various territorial boards and agencies.
MLAs also chose three members to serve on the assembly’s Management and Services Board: South Baffin MLA Olayuk Akesuk, Baker Lake MLA Glenn McLean, and Iqaluit Centre MLA Hunter Tootooo.

MLAs chose Arviat MLA Kevin O’Brien to serve as chair of the “full caucus,” which is made up of all members, including cabinet ministers, while Tunnuniq MLA Jobie Nutarak will serve as chair of the regular member’s caucus.