Premier is officially reprimanded

Our legislature is full of members that have very little public speaking experience, debating skills, and knowledge of Bourinot’s Rules of Order or even Robert’s Rules of Order, for that matter.  In other words, it’s a three-ringed circus of amateurs!  It’s really quite an embarrassment to our territory.  It’s remarkable that slip-ups in parliamentary procedures don’t occur more often than they do.

Too bad Kate didn’t let Mr. Big Mouth continue with his irresponsible diatribe.  A lot of Canadians are very concerned about this secret deal that Harper signed with the communist chinese government.  Does that make them ‘anti-Chinese’?  No!  That makes them pro-Canadian and concerned for their country’s future.  Something that Pasloski apparently does not understand or respect.  I’d have loved to have heard what other gems he had to say about Canadians who are concerned about this FIPPA deal.  Why the secrecy?

Was there an apology anywhere there?

Why would the leader of the YP not understand the Canada-China Agreement?

China may play a key role in the Peel. The agreement may allow them to challenge the very laws the premier notes. Its not a good thing and he should know better.

It’s truly painful reading the comments that the Yukon Party in particular makes in the Legislature. And before anyone jumps in to say “it’s both sides blah blah blah” it’s not. The right wing at all levels of government has discovered sheer verbal brutality works simply as an ambush tactic. And while I have seen both sides give as good as they get in the distant past, the name-calling and misogyny has truly reached a new low with this cocky Yukon Party. I mean, accusations of racism—it’s breathtakingly ignorant. That’s the red flag for a complacent government, and Stephen Harper has set the tone.

Elizabeth Hanson has taken some shots that I just simply can’t believe is happening in this day and age.

Currie Dixon has been a prime offender for condescending, belittling remarks, and yet an editorial in the Star commended him for his good manners or civility or something entirely inappropriate based on his actual conduct.

The other day, one MLA kept calling the questioner “emotional”. I can’t remember which one, and it doesn’t matter, because it’s a tactic most of them use. The two women in the YP cabinet don’t seem to make a difference, I guess they just endure.

Sure, some of it is inexperience in debating and public speaking. But you can’t blame it all on that. They just think no one is watching and they’re letting it all hang out.

People should read Hansard more closely.

Ok, lets look at it this way. The China trade deal is different from many of the other deals with different nations. First off, CSIS does not include Norway as a country of concern in regard to industrial and political espionage, It does include China. Second, there are no “private Chinese resource companies” all of the major Petro firms for example have senior staff that also sit as members of the Chinese Communist Party. Third, and this shows where our Premier needs some backgrounder, if a Chinese company finds that the Yukon labour or environmental laws are “obstructive” to profits, then yes, they can in effect sue the Yukon for “damages”.
That is in the document. So, for example, right now Belgium is being sued by the Chinese National Bank (that would be an organ of the state) for over 3 Billion USD, because the Chinese Bank feels that it did not get as good an investment deal as it could have.  Is the Yukon prepared for this? No, I don’t think we are, and I expected my Premier to at least have a basic understanding of international trade if he was going to comment. I expected him to stand up for the Yukon. He has failed in this matter

nick

That was an excellent comment.

Thank you

DMZ have you listened to Queen Liz?  She is toxic. It’s unfortunate that Kate White seems to be turning into a mini Liz. I don’t know how people can walk around with that much anger in them.  It actually makes me feel sad for them.  Jan Stick is the only NDP member that seems to have a clue about the world around them.  I find it sad that our official opposition in the government seem to be nothing more than fear mongers.

Stan,

Thanks! I’m a former senior Fed, DFAIT (that’s Department of Foreign Affairs , Industry and Trade) , and also worked for a time for the YG. I see this kind of thing all the time in both our elected officials and many senior bureaucrats, namely the lack of basic understanding of international trade affairs that have direct impact on all Yukoners. I would like to think that in many of these cases, its just blind ignorance or a lack of understanding of process, as that can be fixed by education, but I feel that in many of these instances, the elected officials are counting on a poorly informed populace that will be mollified by a few basic words. FIPA can do tremendous damage to the Yukon, and our elected officials both here, and In Ottawa should be standing up for us. So far, nothing from Mr Leef, and simple grammar from the YP…

To all the armchair politicians out there.  Have any of you ever held office in a municipal, territorial or federal settling?  It is very easy to sit back and be critics. So my suggestion to all is in any of the next elections that come up let’s see some of your names on the ballot.  Then let us know how easy it is.  But of course that will never happen because you are all arm chair politicians right?  LOL

” I find it sad that our official opposition in the government seem to be nothing more than fear mongers. “

Yes, the opposition is long on criticism but very short on presenting any workable alternatives.  I suppose that’s why they’re not yet fit to govern.

north of 60:  There’s a little more to election results that one party being fit to govern and the other’s not.  Pretty arrogant and dismissive approach to politics and other peoples’ opinions.  Just because you don’t agree does not make the other opinions and parties “unfit”.

In the legislature that day….

“I would like to tack on a 25% salary increase with this reprimation on the premier?”
“All in favour?”

“YES!”

“I would also like exclude the reprimation from the salary increase bill and tack on a 50% increase on all our pension benefits?”
“All in favour?”

“YES!” (fists banging on the tables)

Who really cares about the reprimation? Only the small folks do, politicians and bigwigs? Answer is above. Get it?

well Dorothy, I don’t laugh out loud when the people suffer from poor the generally poor skills of our elected officials.

Just so you are aware, yes, I have been asked to run at different levels of elected government during my career, but have always stayed at a professional, senior government level, as it’s here that I have found the actual policy development gets done. For example, elected politicians don’t come up with health care programs, resource used plans , etc., the professionals do, and then the plans are presented to an elected official for a decision to be made…and its that decision that is considered the “not easy’’ part of their job I suppose. It is quite difficult, particularly in the Yukon when the aspirations of elected officials for re-election, subverts good policy. This happens through direct interference with the public service by elected officials, something that is not considered good governance, and hiding that I’m sure, is also a tough part of the job.
On the matter of skills of an elected official,  I’m not entirely sure, for example, how a career as a Druggist prepares one for public office, but it seems that enough of our fellow citizens thought it was enough. I will tell you this though, after 20 plus years in government service, dealing with complex multinational issues, I do not enjoy sitting in a politicians office, watching him, or her, take good policies for the Yukon people, and eviscerate them down to what looks good for their re-election image.

from my rocking chair…

Nick

Well, Nick, I was with you till I realized you seemed to be laying out a rationale for letting technocrats run “democracy”. It’s not an elected politician’s job to force policies through in the face of the electorate’s resistance. They’re representatives of the public, not stand ins for bureaucrats.

Not that I think there’s a whole lot of political skill at work in the Yukon right now. But there’s no reason in itself that a druggist shouldn’t be in public office, and a politician isn’t being “subversive” if he’s truly representing his constituents. How we know that he is, though, and not some other agenda, is a whole other story.

Maybe the problem with this China trade deal is that a handful of unelected suits are getting their own way.

Nick,

You demonstrate exactly why democracies exist and everyday people are elected to oversee beureaucrat ‘experts’ like yourself. Many countries skip that step so that all knowing senior government staffers such as yourself don’t have to be inconvenienced with the like of mere druggists, etc. being elected and interfering in official government business. Please reference Communist China, North Korea for examples.  I hope you continue to enjoy your career as a public servant however don’t look down your nose at who the people you work for (the public) elected to represent them.

Nick

I too have worked for the government and I have seen what some senior beauracrats have done to suit their own agendas or to embarrass a government.  What do you think that you all are getting big salaries for.  Just remember every decision you make a politician has to defend it.  So keep rocking