Thank you, Mr. Jacobson. Mr. Yakeleya.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. The department’s initiative is a step closer to another safety awareness for our people who are using our roads, especially ones that are driving. This bill is a good step towards safety.
The one issue that I have is going to have a concern for me -- and I want to ask the Minister if he would elaborate later on -- as to the portable use of handheld electronic devices in our region on the winter roads. We know that we have winter roads that we rely on these handheld devices for our safety, for knowing if there are big semi-trucks coming in our direction, safety for our people in our vehicles. Also these handheld electronic devices are also used to service oil rigs and oil leases, camps that are going to be starting up in the Sahtu this winter for working, and not all companies have extra money to buy these radios that should be mounted on the dashboards. So these handheld electronic devices would be a big help if we had some clarification on that from the department’s attention. Otherwise you’re going to have a few companies in the Sahtu being charged under this new law here. That’s something I would not support the department on.
The restrictions on the cell phone talked about here, I think, again, as I said, the Minister is in the right place to do this. It’s the right time. But also all cell phone users, you know, in Yellowknife here sometimes, and other areas, people who are on their cell phones sometimes don’t look at when they’re crossing the street or not. They’re so busy on their cell phone they don’t look around and see if a vehicle is coming or not. I think there’s a general awareness campaign not only for people who are driving vehicles but for people in general who use cell phones. Some of them use these headsets and they cross roads, they don’t check. Just like when we had people who were hiking with us on the CANOL Trail, we said there’s no personal electronic device for the headsets, otherwise they won’t hear the animals or they won’t hear us or that. So you’ve got to be safe about it. It’s just good general education awareness about these devices that it could be good, but also it could hurt you. This reminder here is a good one in a general sense. The legislation itself is good. It talks about some specific things.
The other point I wanted to ask the Minister, in his remarks back to us, is that there are lots that have animals in them, cats and dogs, in front seats, on people’s lap. Sometimes you don’t know who’s driving, the person or the dog, because you see the dog in front of the person. I experienced that last week here in Yellowknife. I had to take a look twice because that little dog’s face got in front of that person’s face and I thought that the dog was driving. Well, it’s scary. I want to know, because that kind of legislation is needed or we’ll find it somewhere else in the regulations for distracted driving.
I want to ask the Minister on that one there, because they put people at risk, too, having the animals in the front seat or the back seat. I have a little boy who goes to school here, and every time he gets into the vehicle I know his life is in my hands, and if someone is not responsible for their driving, well, it affects me, it affects my boy. My boy, I love him so much. If anybody has some things with the animals there, think about my boy’s life over a dog’s life or a cat’s life. That’s serious for me. I know it’s funny sometimes, Mr. Chairman. It is when you think about in, but when you come down to really think about it, we have children on the road, we have children in our vehicles and we have to be reasonable, someone said responsible, and think about it.
For me, I want to say I support this amendment to the Motor Vehicles Act. I would like to get some clarification on some of the issues that I’ve brought up and I want to know that some communities do not have cell phone coverage. Some communities rely on the handheld devices. We don’t have a SADD chapter in the Sahtu but we have a lot of good kids who write a lot of good educational posters and awareness about the dangers of drinking and driving, about seatbelt safety and all those other things. I mean, we’d certainly like to see them up in our region and start a chapter, you know, not just as in Yellowknife.
As a legislator, I’d like to see things happening in other regions such as my own in the Sahtu, and we use the winter roads. We don’t have all-weather roads here. Winter roads are somewhat different from the roads in Yellowknife, Hay River, Inuvik, Simpson, Res. My people depend on the winter road. That’s our lifeblood and not to restrict us in the Sahtu there.
Mr. Chair, that’s all I wanted to say. I am supporting the bill. I need some clarification or there is going to be some more rumbling.
Thank you, Mr. Yakeleya. Next I have Mrs. Groenewegen and Mr. Beaulieu. Mrs. Groenewegen.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I would like to speak in favour of the bill. I’ve heard from many constituents on this issue and seen the error of my ways. It is important to people. It is important for safety on our roads. I would like to thank the Minister for bringing this legislation forward and will be supporting it wholeheartedly. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Next, I have Mr. Beaulieu.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I, too, will be supporting this amendment to the act. I think it’s important for the safety of other drivers and pedestrians on the road that you’re not distracted while you’re operating a motor vehicle, so I would support that. Both talking on the cell and texting on the cell while driving seem to be unsafe things to do. This would restrict that, so I support the bill. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Beaulieu. Next, Mr. Ramsay.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I just wanted to lend my comments to my colleagues that have spoken in favour of Bill 16. I am very supportive of the amendments to the Motor Vehicles Act going forward through Bill 16 that would address texting and cell phone use in vehicles. I think it’s a big issue out there for public safety, and as technology improves, these phones are used for much more than just phoning and texting. You know, you can get on the Internet, those smartphones and things like that, and driving around, I mean, you can see it, and oftentimes I find myself having to pull over on the side of the road and try to finish texting or phoning somebody.
If there are some penalties out there for doing that type of behaviour, I think it’s going to be a good deterrent and something that should be addressed, because we’ve got a lot of children out on the streets walking around and all it takes is a second for an accident to happen. You look down and try to press a key on your phone and the next thing you know there’s a little kid on a bike running out in front of you or a car coming and you’re outside of your lane or something.
I think this is a step in the right direction. Long overdue. The rest of the country’s been moving forward with this. I know we’ve been talking about this for awhile so I’m glad to see it here. I’m fully supportive of it and I wanted to thank the Minister and his staff for the work that they’ve put into these amendments. Also, I know some of my colleagues spoke of SADD and their involvement in this, as well, and I think that’s to be commended as well. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Thank you, Members. We’ve done general comments. With that, I’ll allow the Minister to respond to the general comments. Minister of Transportation, Mr. McLeod.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Thank you, also, to all the Members that made comments. This issue of distracted driving has certainly come forward as an emerging issue. When it was raised here several years ago there has been a lot of research done in here with distracted driving. We’ve had many organizations -- the NWT Association of Communities, we had the RCMP, people from SADD, the city -- come forward and bring some information that would support the need for new legislation. We also, of course, had many of the MLAs raise the issue and bring examples and also concerns by residents of the North to our attention.
We worked hard to try to find a balance on this piece of legislation. We know some people are not totally satisfied that it didn’t go far enough. There are so many things you can include in a piece of legislation such as distracted driving. You can include drinking coffee. You can also include smoking a cigarette or putting on makeup, animals, children in a vehicle. We always encourage that every driver should minimize distractions. The proposed legislation reflects common current best practices from legislation from all across Canada and since last year there are probably about seven jurisdictions that have adopted similar legislation. So we’re seeking a balance between enforcing safety and making sure that it is enforceable, and we’re also mindful of the fact that we’ve got to obtain public support.
There has been a question raised about how do we measure effectiveness of this legislation, and right now there is currently information that’s collected by the RCMP, and the information that’s collected on collisions also includes information on driver distractions as a potential cause in the collision. We also summarize these statistics in our annual reports. Transport Canada also currently conducts surveys in each jurisdiction that reports not only on cell phone use but on seatbelts. We also will be conducting roadside surveys like we do with our seatbelt information. We also intend to evaluate the effectiveness of this legislation in probably two to three years when we have enough statistics.
The question that was raised about winter roads, right now this legislation provides the authority for regulations to be developed to exempt certain classes of users from law, and it can also show how the device may be used. So it’s intended to develop regulations to permit the handheld two-way radios on winter roads, but at the same time we still expect people that are out on winter roads that are using handheld devices, to stop and pull over.
With the question on animals in the vehicle, right now we still have legislation, Section 154 of the Motor Vehicles Act, Driving Without Due Care and Attention, as a tool that can be utilized to discourage that. We certainly can relay the concerns from the Member.
We are also supportive of the SADD organization, Students Against Drunk Driving. We know that there are some areas of the Northwest Territories that don’t have a chapter. We certainly support any initiatives. Of course, it needs a champion in that region to pick it up and make it work, but we certainly would support any type of initiatives of that nature. We intend to have this campaign in all of our communities, the larger centres and smaller communities. I think we have a very effective campaign planned that will not only go through this year but also next year so that people are well aware that this is a concern, and our goal is to reduce the number of accidents that are happening and have people pull over or not use any electronic devices while they’re driving. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you, Mr. Minister. General comments. Mr. Bromley.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. I’d like to continue my general comments that were wrongly cut off by the Chair earlier today. That’s correct. I would like to note...
Mr. Bromley, I would like to advise you to withdraw that statement. I believe you are challenging the Chair. I request that you withdraw that statement. Thank you.
Mr. Chair, I would like to withdraw that comment. At the same time, I would like to note that it is my right to do general comments. I was cut off after three minutes on the clock.
Mr. Bromley, I’m just basically following direction, that once you concluded your statement there weren’t going to be any questions and we were going to allow each Member to make their general comments and move on and allow the Minister to reply to the general comments of everyone at the end. I stated that when Ms. Bisaro spoke. So that was the rule I put on the floor of the House. So if you were offended, well, excuse me. That’s why we’re having a second round of general comments. Again, your concern will be noted and also my concern of challenging the Chair will also be noted.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I will be happy to provide you many examples, many of which you will be very familiar, of exactly this situation in which the Member was allowed to have that question to the Minister during his general comments. With that, I will continue, Mr. Chair.
I wanted to note that the department did come forward with a communications plan, which we had asked for and were very happy to see. I think there’s a lot of good material in that. The Minister does note in that that he will be working with the Students Against Distracted Driving, and he also has commented that he will be including as his target audience those in communities without cell phone coverage, because it’s well known that many people in those communities do have cell phones and travel frequently to centres which do have coverage. So I appreciate that as well.
I would like to note, though, that in the communications plan there is an intention to promote hands-free alternatives to handheld electronic devices, and I think everybody would agree that the main purpose of this legislation is safety, and the department has provided us with extensive and comprehensive evidence that in fact those alternatives are just as deadly and raise exactly the same safety issues. So I wonder if the Minister would, at a minimum, remove the promotion of hands-free alternatives to the handheld devices and simply stick with trying to avoid distractions to driving as the main focus. Perhaps he would include, based on the evidence that he’s provided us, some notification that in fact there could be concerns that even hands-free devices are a safety issue.
Minister of Transportation.
Mr. Chairman, we’re trying to find the reference that the Member is making. He’s asked two questions about talking and removing promotion of hands-free alternatives. I’d like to point out that that’s something we will look at removing. I think it’s a good point that the Member is making and we certainly, by way of providing exemptions, are not intending to promote any type of hands-free electronic devices. However, we recognize in some cases, such as winter roads, that is the only communication device available. So we will be looking very carefully on how and what type of devices can be used.
For the most part, most people, including the truckers and residents, are using LAD phones, which are hard wired and don’t require a handheld operation. So we certainly will take the Member’s advice and follow up on both of his comments, and remove the reference to promotion and carefully scrutinize what devices are allowed.
General comments. Detail.
Agreed.
Okay. Turn to page 1, clause 1.
---Clauses 1 through 13 inclusive approved
To the bill as a whole.
Agreed.
Does committee agree that Bill 16 is ready for third reading? Mr. McLeod.
Mr. Chairman, I believe there were a number of motions for amendment.
Mr. McLeod, clarification. I assume that these are your amendments. Could you clarify exactly what amendments you’re talking about?
Mr. Chairman, there was a reprint and I don’t believe that was the same document that was just referenced. If we could have Mr. Ian Rennie talk to the issue.
Mr. Rennie, could you elaborate?
Mr. Chairman, there were two motions and there is a reprint, but I don’t think the reprint was what was just gone through. I can read the motions.
Apparently the bill we have in front of us is Bill 16, An Act to Amend the Motor Vehicles Act, reprinted. So I’m not too sure.
Okay, there was an 8.1 that was not gone through. Section 8.1 on page 3.
Just for clarification, I believe you’re talking about 8.1. I believe it is part of clause 8, so the whole 8 comes in as one clause so we didn’t have to call it out. That’s the reason I didn’t call it out, because apparently clause 8 is total clause 8 and clause 1. So it has been dealt with in that manner. I believe we have dealt with clause 8.1. So hopefully, for the record, maybe the Minister or yourself can clarify. Mr. McLeod.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. With that clarification, I think that’s what we were looking for.
If you’re wondering what happened, we did everything right. We are agreeing to third reading of the bill. We have dealt with the item which the Minister had a concern with, third reading. Just for the record, does committee agree that Bill 16 is ready for third reading?
---Bill 16 as a whole approved for third reading
I’d like to thank the Minister and his witnesses. Sergeant-at-Arms, escort the witnesses out.
As we agreed, the next bill we’ll be dealing with is Bill 17, An Act to Amend the Territorial Parks Act. With that, I’d like to ask Mr. Bob McLeod, Minister of ITI, if he has any comments on Bill 17.
I do, Mr. Chairman. I am pleased to introduce Bill 17, An Act to Amend the Territorial Parks Act.
It is time to modernize our legislation to match the same level of protection and security in other Canadian parks.
The proposed amendments relate to safety precautions and procedures that exist in most other Canadian jurisdictions.
These amendments will set a framework within the act that will give the department the authority to deal with specific concerns that have been identified repeatedly within our parks.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. At this time I would like to ask the committee responsible for overseeing the bill if they have any comments with regard to Bill 17. Mr. Ramsay.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. The Standing Committee on Economic Development and Infrastructure met in May and June to review Bill 17, An Act to Amend the Territorial Parks Act. The committee held public hearings in Yellowknife, Deline, Norman Wells, Fort Good Hope, Fort Liard, Jean Marie River, and Fort Simpson. Members of the public and committee have expressed general support for these amendments that are intended to make territorial parks safer and more enjoyable for all visitors.
Following the clause-by-clause review on August 16, 2011, a motion was carried to report Bill 17 to the Assembly as ready for Committee of the Whole.
This concludes the committee’s general comments on Bill 17. Individual Members may have additional questions or comments as we proceed.
With that, I would like to ask the Minister if he will be bringing in any witnesses. Mr. McLeod.
Yes, I would, Mr. Chairman.
Does committee agree that the Minister may bring his witnesses?
Agreed.
Sergeant-at-Arms, escort the witnesses in.
Mr. McLeod, for the record, could you introduce your witnesses.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. To my left I have Deputy Minister Peter Vician, and to my right I have Kelly McLaughlin, legislative counsel.
Thank you, Mr. McLeod. Thank you, witnesses. Welcome. Are there any general comments in regard to Bill 17, An Act to Amend the Territorial Parks Act? Detail?
Agreed.
Page 1 of Bill 17, An Act to Amend the Territorial Parks Act, clause 1.
---Clauses 1 through 6 inclusive approved
To the bill as a whole.
Agreed.
Does committee agree that Bill 17 is ready for third reading?
---Bill 17 as a whole approved for third reading
