A retired Saskatchewan judge will oversee the inquiry into the condut of embattled MLA Steve Norn.
The Honourable Mr. Justice Ronald L. Barclay, Q.C. was named sole adjudicator in the complaint against the member for Tu Nedhé-Wiilideh.
Rylund Johnson, the Member for Yellowknife North and chair of caucus, the term used to describe all 19 MLAs as a whole, filed a complaint with the Integrity Commissioner alleging that Mr. Norn breached the Members’ Code of Conduct when he allegedly broke self-isolation rules when returning to the NWT from Alberta.
The commissioner investigated the complaint and directed that an inquiry be held before a sole adjudicator.
Justice Barclay is a retired judge from Saskatchewan, who recently served 10 years as the Conflict of Interest Commissioner for that province, according to a news release from the NWT Legislative Assembly.
“Justice Barclay has experience conducting these types of inquiries and was selected from a list of people approved as Adjudicators by the Assembly,” Glen Rutland, who is acting as clerk for Tim Mercer, himself the subject of an inquiry, said in a news release issued June 28.
Justice Barclay will determine whether any hearing in the inquiry is conducted in public or in private, according to Rutland.
“After conducting their inquiry, the Sole Adjudicator shall submit a disposition report to the Speaker, with written reasons, either dismissing the complaint, or finding that Mr. Norn breached the Code of Conduct and recommending disciplinary action per s. 106(1) of the Legislative Assembly and Executive Council Act.”