Inches instead of miles: A look back at the N.W.T.'s 18th Assembly

As candidates begin their election campaigns for the Northwest Territories' 19th Assembly, voters can expect to hear a lot about the past four years at the Legislative Assembly.

While it's still too soon to write the definitive history of the 18th Assembly, it will likely be remembered as a missed opportunity, as some of the bold changes promised four years ago never fully materialized.

"A lot of people don't think this assembly was very successful in a lot of ways, but there are some highlights," said Hay River North MLA R.J. Simpson. "I'd like to say we did the best that we could, but we could have done a lot more."

Simpson was one of 11 first-time MLAs elected to the assembly in 2015. He also chaired the assembly's transition committee, responsible for giving advice to legislators of the 19th Assembly.

"As time went on, there seemed to be some divisions that became entrenched," he said. "There were personality conflicts on both sides, regular members and cabinet that further entrenched those divisions."

Some of those divisions appeared soon after the election, Simpson said, when MLAs developed a sprawling mandate with 230 commitments.

I'd like to say we did the best that we could, but we could have done a lot more.- R.J. Simpson, MLA Hay River North

Since then, regular MLAs and cabinet ministers have said they felt the mandate was unwieldy and broad, with difficult to define concepts rather than concrete goals.

Things became more complicated as communication between MLAs and cabinet broke down, Simpson said, so issues were often thrashed out on the floor of the 19-member house.

"When we're working in the dark, we're working on assumptions and we didn't know what the other side was thinking. Oftentimes people would think [the] worst," he said.

"There needed to be more walking the halls, go sit in people's office, if people have issues, bring that up there and talk it out."

This breakdown appeared to culminate in the midterm review. The full-day session allowed members to air their grievances, but they ultimately failed to changethe makeup of cabinet.

After losing a secret-ballot confidence vote, Justice Minister Louis Sebert refused to resign and Premier Bob McLeod would not throw him out of cabinet. Meanwhile, regular MLAs did not get enough votes to remove Sebert in an open vote.

A year later, MLAs failed in a similar bid to remove Infrastructure Minister Wally Schumann and Health Minister Glen Abernethy.

Those votes followed what were seen as two major failures by government: cancelled resupply barges to three Arctic communities, and a scathing auditor general's report on the territory's Child and Family Services division.

Simpson did credit the government for bringing in 9-1-1 service. He also praised the new access to information law and the creation of the ombud's office.

At the final sitting of the Assembly, McLeod said the government would complete 212 of the 230 commitments by the end of August, with 18 left unfulfilled.

CBC News attempted to secure an interview with Premier McLeod, but a spokesman said the premier was unavailable until Sept. 6, which is the last day a prospective candidate can file nomination papers. It remains unclear whether McLeod will be running for re-election.

Mixed results from mining industry

Mining and resource development by far the Northwest Territories' biggest industry was a key focus of the government's economic strategy.

It secured millions from the federal government to further the development of the Mackenzie Valley all-season highway and a road through the mineral-rich Slave Geological Province. It also recently started construction on an all-season road to Whati, which will aid Fortune Minerals in the development of its cobalt, gold, bismuth and copper project near the community.

But infrastructure alone isn't enough to lure mines and the jobs they bring to the territory.

One example is the $300-million Inuvik Tuktoyaktuk Highway, whichtwo years after construction, hasn't yet become the promised "road to resources." Shortly after construction on the road began, the federal government issued a moratorium on Arctic oil and gas exploration,and no new development has happened since.

Money spent on mineral exploration has also been declining since 2007, while the Diavik and Gahcho Ku diamond mines are expected to close within the next decade.

While the Conference Board of Canada foresees economic growth in Yukon and Nunavut, its prediction for the Northwest Territories is bleak.

Tom Hoefer, the executive director of the N.W.T. and Nunavut Chamber of Mines, credits the government for itsinfrastructure development,but he isn't convinced the territory is prepared for theupcoming slump.

"We've got some new mines on the table and that's a good thing, but it's insufficient to offset Diavik's closure," Hoefer explained. "We really need to get the exploration investment back here."

"We've probably missed out on $1 billion in investments over the last 12 years, we need to turn that around."

Jury out on just-passed legislation

As for legislation, some of the government's most significant new or amended laws are just a few weeks old.

Acts overhauling the territory's oil and gas, mineral resources and corrections systemsjust finished making their way through the Assembly last month.

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It's difficult to fully assess how effective the new Mineral Resources Act will be as bureaucrats within the Department of Industry, Tourism and Investment still have to develop many of the regulations.

Another initiative, the newly implemented carbon tax, didjust enough to keep Ottawa from imposing a federal backstop in the Northwest Territories. But with its generous offsets, critics, like MLA Cory Vanthuyne, say the tax is unlikely to cause major changes in the behaviour of companies or individuals.

Ultimately, that may end up being the legacy of the 18th Assembly a government that moved the territory forward, but by inches rather than miles.