Welly
May 20, 2025, 1:40am
11
I’ll acknowledge that, as a purely theoretical matter, I am probably more predisposed to an amendment along these lines than most. But as a practical matter, I’m quite skeptical. I will also reiterate my views from the recent discussion that Pronoun referenced:
And there are still aspects of our separation of powers rules that baffle me, particularly the “appointed deputies” limitation. Why, for example, is one prohibited from simultaneously serving as Clerk of the Assembly (an “appointed deputy” of the Chair) and Deputy Minister for Trading Cards (an “appointed deputy” of the Minister for Trading Cards), but it is perfectly fine to serve as both Prime Minister or Delegate and Associate Justice of the High Court? (No offense intended Pronoun or Griff). As a former Clerk of the Assembly, I certainly don’t mean to diminish that position, but it does not strike me as one where the concerns about abuse of concentrated power and/ or overwork are as substantial as Justice or PM.
That said, I’ve ultimately come around to the conclusion that our community is just too small for us to insist on as sharp a separation of personnel as we do between the actual powers / branches of government. We only have so many people willing to take on these roles. And our small size also makes it easier to identify and check any abuses of power that might result from this setup, which seem quite rare in any event.
So I certainly would be interested in seeing some tweaks to the Separation of Powers provision in the Charter, I’m not sure that a wholesale overhaul is needed.