R.J. Simpson

Thank you, Madam Chair. I am here today to present Bill 48, Arbitration Act. The current Arbitration Act was enacted decades ago and has had few amendments since that time. The Arbitration Act establishes the default terms of an arbitration agreement made between two parties. Many powers that an arbitrator possesses in other jurisdictions are not currently available in the Northwest Territories meaning arbitration is currently a less attractive dispute resolution mechanism in this jurisdiction.

This bill is based substantially on the Uniform Arbitration Act, which was adopted in 2016 by the...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, you know, we can sit here and say that, you know, we can't predict this and we can't predict that. But if we do nothing, then I know we won't be able to predict anything. But we have to make some educated decisions. We have to use, you know, Indigenous knowledge and, you know, if we're going to move ahead in trying to, you know, lessen the impact of the damages caused by flooding.

So, Mr. Speaker, has the Minister initiated any discussions with the Alberta government, or any Hay River Basin management organizations south of the border, to talk about what can...

Madam Speaker, I move, seconded by the honourable Member for Yellowknife Centre, that Bill 57, Miscellaneous Statute Law Amendment Act 2022, be read for the second time.

This bill corrects inconsistencies and errors in the statutes of the Northwest Territories. The bill also deals with other matters of a minor, noncontroversial, and uncomplicated nature in the statutes. Thank you, Madam Speaker.

Thank you, Madam Speaker. Madam Speaker, the CanadaNWT Canadawide Early Learning and Child Care Agreement was signed 11 short months ago. Since that time, every licensed child care program in the NWT has signed on to the fee reduction subsidy. Licensed child care fees across the NWT have been cut in half, new licensed child care spaces have been created, and now we are rolling out new wage enhancements that will allow licensed child care centres to pay their employees more.

We could not have done this without the involvement of child care providers, early childhood educators, Indigenous...

Thank you, Madam Chair. You know, I'll just hand it to Mr. Bancroft. He has the details on this one.

Yes, please.

Thank you, Madam Chair. I have no problem disclosing who the building owner is. Thank you.

Thank you, Madam Chair. So as I understand it, the costs aren't laid out in the capital estimates. Thank you.

Thank you, Madam Chair. I have Charlene Doolittle, the deputy minister for the Department of Justice, and James Bancroft, the director of corporate services.

Mr. Speaker, I wish to present to the House Bill 57, Miscellaneous Statute Law Amendment Act 2022, to be read for the first time. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.