Outgoing MLA Tom Beaulieu on the 18th Assembly and challenges of consensus

Tom Beaulieu has seen it all.

The outgoing three-term MLA, currently representing the riding of Tu Nedh-Willideh, has spent time as both a cabinet minister holding four different portfolios between 2011 and 2015 and as a regular member, before and after that.

He's also been through a redistricting, seeing his Tu Nedh ridingwhere he represented the communities of Fort Resolution and utselK'e, grow to include the Akaitcho communities of N'dilo and Detahbefore the 2015 election.

That change was one of the major factors that led Beaulieu to decide to step away from the role before the upcoming Oct. 1 election, he told CBC NorthTrailbreakerhost Loren McGinnis Tuesday in a wide-ranging interview.

"Too tired," said Beaulieu. "I guess that's almost the bottom line."

They didn't think about maybe getting someone from the small communities into cabinet.- Tom Beaulieu, Outgoing MLA

Once Beaulieu's riding grew to include the North Slave communities, he said, "it came to the point where I'm working pretty well every day."

He said he opposed the redistricting, based primarily on the fact that the riding's communities do not share an Indigenous language.

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"I would say that was probably the leading reason why I didn't run again," he said.

Cabinet needs to represent N.W.T., says Beaulieu

Beaulieu was not returned to cabinet after the 2015 election, a move that he says "changes your career path."

Admitting that he believed he was overlooked in the process, Beaulieu criticized the selection of cabinet. He noted that it only represented four of the N.W.T.'s largest population centres two ministers and the premier represented Yellowknife, two ministers were from Inuvik, and one each from Hay River and Fort Smith.

"They were more or less electing based on the fact that they want to see change," said Beaulieu, noting that 11 of the 19 MLAs in the last assembly were newcomers.

"They didn't think about maybe getting someone from the small communities into cabinet."

Beaulieu said that he believed the oversight meant that the territory's smaller communities were not often as well-represented in drafting legislation, which may have led to difficulties when it came to obtaining consensus.

Data shows that cabinet was able to consistently rely on three MLAs Nunakput's Herb Nakimayak, Mackenzie Delta's Frederick Blake Jr., and Sahtu's Danny McNeely to pass legislation.

Beaulieu said that was obvious to the other regular MLAs, noting that "at some point ... many of us began to have a feeling that with the current way the voting was going on in the Legislative Assembly, that it wasn't going to make a difference.

"If push came to shove, cabinet would be able to pull off a vote in the house in their favour," he said. "So getting back to the consensus government, some of the smaller communities were not represented."

Be honest, Beaulieu tells new MLAs

Beaulieu did compliment some aspects of the past assembly, saying that they "passed a lot of laws."

With such high turnover, MLAs were required to dive into several new pieces of legislation introduced after devolution files that the new MLAs had to "start from scratch" and "review every word,"Beaulieu said.

In the end, 92 bills were passed during the 18th Assembly. One, the territory's Forest Act, was pushed to the next government.

As for himself, Beaulieu says that he's most proud of his constituency work, though he says, "I'm not sure I'd use that term."

"I look at it as my job ... everything that I'm able to accomplish, I'm expected to do."

He cited a new health centre, youth centre, a school, and an adult learning centre as projects he was able to accomplish for residents of Fort Resolution andutselK'e, and getting a new school in Detah"on the books" for future investment.

However, Beaulieu says that he believes his biggest accomplishment was anything that increased the number of people working in his riding.

"I would rather give people a job and skills to repair their own homes, than giving people money to repair their own homes," he says. "I always felt that putting people to work would stop the heavy need for public housing and income support."

As for his advice for new MLAs replacing him? Beaulieu says that's simple: "honesty."

"I believe the best advice I could give to other MLAs is to maintain your honesty and your integrity throughout the whole process."