Great Slave

Statements in Debates

Debates of , 17th Assembly, 3rd Session (day 29)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I wish to table the following two documents, entitled Department of Justice Strategic Plan, Five-Year Implementation Strategy, 2012-2017, and the 2011 Public Service Annual Report. Thank you.

Debates of , 17th Assembly, 3rd Session (day 28)

I will commit to getting that information to the Member and being able to explain it in more detail, but I do have to get the specifics on that before I can respond to the question.

Debates of , 17th Assembly, 3rd Session (day 28)

Thank you, Madam Chair. We agree with this motion as well. We think this is important for improving the bill.

Debates of , 17th Assembly, 3rd Session (day 28)

Mr. Speaker, when we meet here in the Legislative Assembly, we often talk about the opportunities for our communities and residents provided through the GNWT’s infrastructure programs. However, today I would like to bring your attention to work that the Department of Public Works and Services is doing as part of the GNWT’s Environmental Remediation Program, and the opportunities that this work is creating for our smaller communities.

In support of the 17th Legislative Assembly’s goal of ensuring that our environment will sustain present and future generations, Public Works and Services chairs...

Debates of , 17th Assembly, 3rd Session (day 28)

Thank you, Madam Chair. I appreciate the intent of this motion to create flexibility within the Legal Services Board when it comes to hiring an executive director. However, I do have to say that there are a number of compelling reasons that the executive director should be a lawyer. The bottom line is, if that non-lawyer is recruited as an executive director, a senior lawyer would have to be hired to perform those functions that the executive director is required to provide as a result of this legislation. At a time when federal contributions to the Legal Aid Program are frozen, we cannot...

Debates of , 17th Assembly, 3rd Session (day 28)

Thank you, Madam Chair. The provision that the Member is talking about existed in the original Legal Services Act. It was mostly in existence when Nunavut was still part of the Northwest Territories. Those regional bodies haven’t existed in a large number of years and there is no plan to bring them back. What we would like to see is a commission that is representative of the Northwest Territories. So membership on that commission would include people from regional offices, regional areas so we can make sure that we have a good cross-section of Northerners sitting on that commission providing...

Debates of , 17th Assembly, 3rd Session (day 28)

I believe the number is 14. During the last budget session, Members requested that we increase that number. I think it’s gone up to 14 now that are actually GNWT employees and employees of the commission itself.

Debates of , 17th Assembly, 3rd Session (day 28)

Thank you, Madam Chair. With me today on my left is Lucy Austin. She is legislative counsel and former executive director of the Legal Services Board. Ian Rennie is on the far side. He is legislative counsel. Beside me is the assistant deputy minister of the Attorney General branch, Mark Aitken.

Debates of , 17th Assembly, 3rd Session (day 28)

I am pleased to be here today to talk to you about Bill 5, Legal Aid Act.

Firstly, I would like to thank the Standing Committee on Social Programs for their review of this bill and for all of the constructive feedback they have provided in a very collaborative manner. A number of motions were made in committee and I am pleased the bill has improved as a result.

The Legal Aid Act will replace the existing outdated Legal Services Act. This new act provides the framework for the operations of the Legal Aid Program here in the Northwest Territories. It is not intended to set out the details of the...

Debates of , 17th Assembly, 3rd Session (day 28)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I wish to table the following document, entitled Action Plan 2012-2016, 20/20: A Brilliant North – Public Service Strategic Plan, July 2012.