 |
Mike W. Bryant
Staff columnist
Wednesday, March 26, 2008
Someone asked me recently why I have given city council a pass in this column but have been so uncharitable with our MLAs.
My answer was that I really didn't see all that much to complain about. The territorial government dithers; the city gets things done.
Of course, my assessment can't be absolutely precise. For one, I don't know why the city dragged its heels in giving its overworked, under-staffed fire department a raise but pound for pound, issue by issue, city council is at the cutting edge while MLAs disappear into the woods the moment the legislative assembly goes on another one of its two-month breaks between sessions.
I don't recall a single word, press release, or Morse Code signal coming from Yellowknife MLAs about city council's call for a environmental assessment of the Giant Mine cleanup.
Whether one supports council on this or not, it would be nice to hear what the MLAs are thinking, considering they're ones who actually make a living being politicians and that, perhaps leaving 237,000 tonnes of arsenic underground until the crab people inherit the Earth might seem like a burning issue for them.
That's not to say at least some of the MLAs aren't entertaining from time to time. As Premier Floyd Roland pointed out himself, there were plenty of theatrics in the legislative assembly last month.
They took some jabs at Roland over the Deh Cho Bridge, rattled a few sabers about GNWT job cuts but other than doing a bit of housekeeping, some legislative amendments, passing some money bills to keep the government in cash through the spring, there wasn't a whole lot accomplished.
On the last day of session, Environment Minister Michael Miltenberger tabled a report which, "provides enough background information to begin developing a climate change adaption plan for the Northwest Territories."
Oh good, I wonder if that means if I can look forward to another young woman traipsing down my street to hand me some more GNWT-approved compact fluorescent light bulbs.
That seemed to be sum of the territorial government's plans to be more environmentally conscientious for the moment.
City hall and its city council backers, meanwhile, are already well underway to implementing a citywide energy plan.
Whether people think having tougher development standards to make new homes more energy-efficient is a good or bad thing, again, it's irrelevant in this exercise because what we're talking about here is getting things done, and I don't see a lot going on in this regard with the GNWT.
The city has taken the leadership in addressing homelessness and addictions in the city, in recycling programs, and even in dealing with the federal government. There's been a lot of federal cash rolling our way these days. I suppose it doesn't hurt our mayor is on the executive committee of the Federation of Canadian Municipalities.
There has been some head-scratching for sure, if not downright contempt, for some of the proposals and utterances emanating from council chambers - the driveway-less homes, the three-minute maximum on idling vehicles - but you get what you voted for, and in 2006 the citizens voted in a slate that included three past or present Ecology North members.
In any event, there are some good community-minded people on council who have a different take on a variety of issues. There's some good community-minded people in the legislative assembly too, including three former city councillors, Robert Hawkins, Dave Ramsay and Wendy Bisaro.
The system they work under, however, is sick, slow and divided by regional politics that undermine the territory as hard as they may try to make it work by consensus.
We got one MLA, Nahendeh's Kevin Menicoche, calling for those worrisome job cuts to come out of Yellowknife instead of Fort Simpson. I didn't think the Yellowknife MLAs would have that much to say about that either.