N.W.T. cabinet ignored other MLAs on Mackenzie Gas Project stance: member

The 18th legislative assembly just got started and already an MLA is complaining that cabinet members aren't talking to regular MLAs about key policy decisions... or basic cabinet appointments. 

Kevin O'Reilly, MLA for Yellowknife's Frame Lake constituency, says cabinet didn't talk to regular MLAs before the Department of Industry, Tourism and Investment wrote to the National Energy Board this week in support of granting Imperial Oil another seven years to start building the Mackenzie Valley pipeline.

O'Reilly's concern recalled all-too-familiar misgivings from the 17th assembly, when — to provide just one example — regular MLAs said they found out through the media that Yellowknife was getting an entirely new, $300-million hospital and not a renovated facility as widely thought.

"I do not wish to debate the merits of whether the certificate should be extended or not," said O'Reilly, who had previously followed the Mackenzie Gas Project file closely as a member of environmental watchdog group Alternatives North (a role he has since dropped).

"The issue is how and when cabinet will consult with regular MLAs before major decisions are made. Can the minister explain to this house how and when the executive intends to consult regular MLAs on matters before decisions are made?"

Premier Bob McLeod, who's also the minister of Industry, Tourism and Investment, said the two previous governments have supported the pipeline, and that "we have a protocol for priorities that transcend from one legislative assembly to another."

He added there's a process for cabinet members to talk to committees of regular MLAs, and "we would be pleased to update it."

Surprise! A new minister!

O'Reilly's line of inquiry then led to an unexpected announcement about a cabinet appointment.

O'Reilly asked McLeod how, if Industry, Tourism and Investment has pledged its support for the pipeline, he, as the minister in charge of the Office of the Regulator of Oil and Gas Operations (OROGO), can expect to "avoid an apprehension of bias."

That prompted McLeod to reveal that Louis Sebert, the minister of Justice, has assumed "the responsibilities of the oil and gas regulator."

That post went unlisted when McLeod assigned cabinet portfolios in December. McLeod was still listed (and pictured) as "the regulator" on OROGO's website as of Thursday. The website has since been updated.  

McLeod's revelation elicited chuckles in the legislative assembly, and a sardonic reply from O'Reilly.

"That's a piece of good news. I found out about it in the house, but thank you."