Thank you, Mr. Bromley. The honourable Member for Kam Lake, Mr. Ramsay.
Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Thank you, Mr. Bromley. Questions were raised by a number of presenters on the sections of the act relating to habitat conservation provisions and the designation of habitat on private lands (s.79 and s.81). These concerns were primarily focused on whether the Minister could act unilaterally to designate habitat and how the rights of landowners were protected.
Departmental representatives explained that section 79 gives the Minister the authority to put forward regulations to protect habitat that is important to the conservation of any listed or pre-listed species. These regulations would be specific to the requirements of the particular species at risk and could require actions be taken to conserve habitat or prohibit activities that could negatively affect the habitat or restrict the use, access or activities in the habitat area. The legislation also enables the Minister to enter into an agreement with a landowner for the purposes of habitat conservation. As a result of the agreement, the Minister may exempt a landowner from certain regulations prohibiting activities that would affect a listed species. The intent of this provision is to provide options and flexibility to landowners to conserve habitat without having regulations imposed on them and is intended as a way to promote stewardship.
In section 81, where there is an issue of potential designation of private lands, the Minister is obligated to make reasonable efforts to enter into an agreement with a landowner (s.81(1). Habitat can only be designated on private land if:
it is essential to the survival and recovery of the species and designation is necessary for conservation of the species and its habitat, and
there is not enough public land to meet these needs.
If private land is the only choice, the Minister must consult with the owner of the lands before recommending designation. The Minister must also make reasonable effort to enter into an agreement with the owner regarding the impacts of designation, including mitigation of negative impacts resulting from designation and compensation to the owner for economic loss. Only if the Minister and owner cannot come to an agreement would the Minister refer to regulations (which have yet to be developed) to provide compensation.
The standing committee acknowledges the difficulties involved in these types of arrangements and supports the approach identified in the legislation.
Under the proposed legislation, there are some exemptions built into the legislation, particularly those that are necessary for human health and safety. If regulations are made to prohibit possession of a species of risk, there are also exemptions for people who possessed the species before the regulations were made and for a person who uses a species for aboriginal ceremonial, medicinal or cultural purposes.
Of particular concern to some presenters at the public hearings was section 83 (b) that describes the exemption for a person who uses a species for aboriginal ceremonial, medicinal or cultural purposes. Committee heard presenters who felt that the use of the word “persons” was too broad and recommended this exemption should be limited to aboriginal persons.
The standing committee proposed a motion to amend the wording of this clause in the bill. The Minister supported the change.
Stewardship of the land is a fundamental value of aboriginal people and shared by many other residents of the Northwest Territories. They recognize that the use of the land and its resources and the stewardship of those resources have always been linked. Frank Andrew, chief of the Tulita Band, told committee members that “aboriginal people depend on and value the plants and animals and understand our relationship with them. We have effectively managed and protected the land for years because it is so important to our survival.”
In every community committee members visited during the public hearings into Bill 6, the importance of stewardship of our natural resources was reinforced. People clearly recognized that the ultimate purpose of the proposed legislation is to prevent native species from becoming extinct in the first place.
Committee members proposed in a motion that the preamble to the act be changed to include a statement that conservation of species at risk is part of a larger commitment to maintain the biodiversity of the NWT and that all residents of the NWT have a shared responsibility for species conservation and protection. The Minister concurred with the motion.
The standing committee members understand that regulations will be made on a case-by-case basis to make sure they are appropriate for the species and the specific threats it may face in the NWT.
The standing committee recommends that the Minister should use a process which supports the involvement of key stakeholders and consultation with all interested parties during the development of regulations related to this law.
The Standing Committee on Economic Development and Infrastructure thanks all the individuals and organizations who shared their views at the public hearings or provided written submissions. The committee members also thank the Minister of Environment and Natural Resources and the numerous departmental representatives who attended hearings and prepared briefings. Committee members acknowledge that this legislation marks a critical milestone in the recognition of the joint responsibility that the GNWT and aboriginal governments share for wildlife management. The standing committee hopes that this legislation has provided a successful model to move forward with the renewal of the Wildlife Act.
The clause-by-clause review of the bill was held on May 27, 2009, in Yellowknife. At that time, the committee proposed two motions to make amendments to Bill 6, based on the committee’s review and feedback from the public hearings. The committee also considered and approved four minor amendments, clarifying the wording of the affected clauses. The Minister of Environment and Natural Resources concurred with the six motions. The bill was amended, reprinted and returned to the Legislative Assembly for third reading.
Mr. Speaker, that concludes the Report of the Standing Committee on Economic Development and Infrastructure on the Review of Bill 6, Species at Risk (NWT) Act.
Thank you, Mr. Ramsay. The motion is on the floor. The motion is in order. To the motion.
Question.
Question has been called.
---Carried
The honourable Member for Kam Lake, Mr. Ramsay.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I also seek unanimous consent to waive Rule 93(4) and have Committee Report 7-16(3) moved into Committee of the Whole for consideration today. Thank you.
---Unanimous consent granted.
Committee Report 7-16(3) will be moved into Committee of the Whole for consideration today. The honourable Member for Yellowknife Centre, Mr. Hawkins.
Mr. Speaker, I seek unanimous consent to return to item 12.
---Unanimous consent granted.
Reports of standing and special committees. The honourable Member for Yellowknife Centre, Mr. Hawkins.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Your Standing Committee on Rules and Procedures is pleased to provide its Report on the Evaluation of the Use of Laptop Computers in the Legislative Assembly and commends it to the House.
The Standing Committee on Rules and Procedures tabled Committee Report 3-16(3), Report on the Use of Laptop Computers and Blackberry Devices in the Legislative Assembly, on February 11, 2009.
The report examined a number of issues pertaining to the use of portable electronic devices by both Members of the Assembly and our staff in the performance of our duties.
As a result of the review, Committee Motion 3-16(3) was adopted in Committee of the Whole on February 19, 2009. The motion allowed for the use of laptop computers during Committee of the Whole proceedings for the winter 2009 session and also set out the requirement that the use of laptop computers be evaluated at the end of that sitting. The motion further stated that communication devices could not be used by a Member who has the floor, and that a Member who has the floor must have his or her laptop computer closed.
The Standing Committee on Rules and Procedures conducted an evaluation with regard to laptop use prior to the current sitting of the House. The committee contacted each Member of the Assembly and asked that they help to determine the next steps by indicating their support from a list of various courses of action. The options were:
that the rules of the Legislative Assembly be permanently amended to allow for the use of laptop computers in Committee of the Whole proceedings;
that the Assembly continue permitting the use of laptop computers during Committee of the Whole proceedings on a trial basis, evaluating their use again in the fall of 2009, at which time additional infrastructure information may be available; or
that the use of laptop computers be discontinued during Committee of the Whole proceedings.
Eleven Members responded to the survey. Three Members chose option number one, seven Members chose option number two and one Member chose option number three.
Based on these results, the standing committee is recommending that the Assembly continue to permit the use of laptop computers in Committee of the Whole proceedings for the balance of the 2009 calendar year, to be followed by a full evaluation. The committee is also recommending that the same conditions previously applied for laptop use be extended during this period.
As a result of these deliberations, the committee is pleased to make the following recommendation:
That the Standing Committee on Rules and Procedures recommends Members be permitted to continue use of laptop computers during Committee of the Whole proceedings for the balance of the 2009 calendar year, after which their use will be fully evaluated;
And further, that handheld and other portable communication devices are not to be used by a Member who has the floor;
And furthermore, that a Member who has the floor must have their laptop closed.
Mr. Speaker, that concludes the report of the Standing Committee on Rules and Procedures on Evaluation of the Use of Laptop Computers in the Legislative Assembly.
Thank you, Mr. Hawkins. The motion is on the floor. The motion is in order. To the motion.
Question.
Question has been called.
---Carried
The honourable Member for Yellowknife Centre, Mr. Hawkins.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I also seek unanimous consent to waive Rule 93(4) and have Committee Report 8-16(3) moved into Committee of the Whole for consideration today. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
---Unanimous consent granted.
Item 13, reports of committees on the review of bills. The honourable Member for Kam Lake, Mr. Ramsay.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I wish to report to the Assembly that the Standing Committee on Economic Development and Infrastructure has reviewed Bill 13, An Act to Amend the Commissioner’s Land Act. The committee wishes to report that Bill 13 is now ready for consideration in Committee of the Whole, as amended and reprinted. Thank you.
Mr. Speaker, I wish to table the following document entitled My Nature Journal. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I give notice that on Wednesday, June 3, 2009, I will move the following motion: Now therefore I move, seconded by the honourable Member for Mackenzie Delta, that this Legislative Assembly hereby establish a special committee to conduct a review of the Child and Family Services Act; and further, that the following Members be named to the special committee: the Member for Great Slave, Mr. Abernethy; the Member for Tu Nedhe, Mr. Beaulieu; and the Member for Mackenzie Delta, Mr. Krutko; and further, that notwithstanding Rule 88(2), the following Members be named as alternate Members of the special committee: the member for Frame Lake, Ms. Bisaro; and the Member for Weledeh, Mr. Bromley; and furthermore, that the special committee prepare its terms of reference and present them at the first opportunity during the sitting of the Legislative Assembly in October 2009. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Abernethy. The honourable Member for Mackenzie Delta, Mr. Krutko.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I seek unanimous consent to go back to item 14, tabling of documents.
---Unanimous consent granted.
The honourable Member for Mackenzie Delta, Mr. Krutko.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I would like to table a letter which was addressed to the Minister of Transportation, Mr. Michael McLeod, from Ms. Margaret Nazon, with regard to the conflict between the fishing area and the ferry landing.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I move, seconded by the honourable Member for Monfwi, that Bill 17, Supplementary Appropriation Act, No. 4, 2008-2009, be read for the first time. Thank you.
Bill 17, Supplementary Appropriation Act, No. 4, 2008-2009, has had first reading.
---Carried
The honourable Minister of Finance, Mr. Miltenberger.
Mr. Speaker, I move, seconded by the honourable Member for Range Lake, that Bill 18, Supplementary Appropriation Act (Operations Expenditures), No. 1, 2009-2010, be read for the first time.
Bill 18, Supplementary Appropriation Act (Operations Expenditures), No. 1, 2009-2010, has been read for the first time.
---Carried
The Minister of Finance, Mr. Miltenberger.
Mr. Speaker, I move, seconded by the honourable Member for Deh Cho, that Bill 19, Supplementary Appropriation Act (Infrastructure Expenditures), No. 2, 2009-2010, be read for the first time.
Bill 19, Supplementary Appropriation Act (Infrastructure Expenditures), No. 2, 2009-2010, has had first reading.
---Carried
Mr. Speaker, I move, seconded by the honourable Member for Monfwi, that Bill 17, Supplementary Appropriation Act, No. 4, 2008-2009, be read for the second time.
Mr. Speaker, this bill makes supplementary appropriations for the Government of the Northwest Territories for the 2008-2009 fiscal year. Thank you.
Bill 17, Supplementary Appropriation Act, No. 4, 2008-2009, has had second reading.
---Carried
The honourable Minister of Finance, Mr. Miltenberger.
Mr. Speaker, I move, seconded by the honourable Member for Range Lake, that Bill 18, Supplementary Appropriation Act (Operations Expenditures), No. 1, 2009-2010, be read for the second time.
Mr. Speaker, this bill makes supplementary appropriations for operations expenditures for the Government of the Northwest Territories for the 2009-2010 fiscal year. Thank you.
