Debates of June 2, 2006 (day 4)

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I, too, support this motion; however, I would like to make a few comments, I guess, in regard to this motion. I think it might have implications with the GNWT because we do advertise quite a bit for employment in departments. So I think having a motion in place like this may have implications with the government, but again it’s something that we have to look at. That’s all I want to say, Mr. Chairman. Thank you very much.

Thank you, Mr. Pokiak. Next I have Mr. Braden.

Mr. Chairman, I, too, will be voting in favour of this motion. This is precisely the kind of thing that we expect our relatively newly minted Human Rights Commission to do, is bring forward progressive ideas that we can engage in in the interest of individuals. There is certainly an aspect of care to be taken in tying the hands of employers, Mr. Chairman, in being able to choose wisely the type of employees they wish to have. But in committee’s presentations, and anecdotally now and then, it seems to be perhaps a bit of a trend here that employers are using criminal record checks and anything on anybody’s past as a potential cause for not hiring them. That would certainly be something that on a blanket policy is not something that I think I would be prepared to condone. That is why I think this is a progressive piece of work. The way it was, at least the sense that was presented to committee, Mr. Chairman, was that employers would still be able to have some scope in their choice of how they could discriminate, but that we would want to make sure that the door was open where unrelated convictions would not be an allowable ground of discrimination. So with that, Mr. Chairman, I look forward to voting in favour of this motion. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Braden. To the motion. Mr. Yakeleya.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I’m going to also support this motion here and I look forward to the Department of Justice in terms of how they’re going to roll this out into the communities. I had several constituents of mine be turned away because of previous criminal records that were nine years old, and to have these members that are now changing their way of life and actually making some valuable contributions to these land claim boards or other type of boards that we advertise through the government, sometimes their criminal convictions hurts them and they’re not considered to sit on several boards because of the criminal records checks and some other things. So it limits them and narrows the pickings, I guess, of good people to sit on the boards. There’s a bit of a cry that we have our people who are in the region, northern, and people who are in the North who could do a lot of good work for our community and our region and our government. So I will look with interest in terms of how this government, and specifically the Department of Justice, looks at this recommendation and to see how it’s going to be rolled out in the community and how it’s going to have an impact and how the changes will occur and what things need to be considered. So, Mr. Chairman, I will be supporting this motion. Thank you.

Mahsi, Mr. Yakeleya. To the motion.

Question.

Question has been called. All those in favour? All those opposed? The motion is carried.

---Carried

Before I proceed, I would like to as well recognize the Pages that are in our House here today from Range Lake North School, and we also have Mr. Ian Moir and his daughter, Lauren, is one of our Pages here today. So welcome.

---Applause

Thank you, committee. Mr. Menicoche.

Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. In the course of our discussion on the annual report, some Members noted the act used the word “sex” to refer to discrimination on the basis of being male or female, and raised concerns that this terminology could be misunderstood or be offensive to some people. The committee suggests this government consider bringing forward an amendment to the act to change the word “sex” to “gender,” which is in its opinion a less confusing or more appropriate term.

The committee looks forward to monitoring the continued evolution of the Northwest Territories Human Rights Commission, and to reviewing its next annual report.

Thank you, Mr. Menicoche. The motion is in order. To the motion.

Question.

Question has been called. All those in favour? All those opposed? The motion is carried.

---Carried

Thank you, committee. Does committee agree that consideration of Committee Report 1-15(5) is concluded?

Agreed.

Agreed. Thank you, committee. Mr. Menicoche.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. We’ll turn the floor over to Mr. Hawkins.

Thank you. For the record, we’re on Committee Report 2-15(5). Mr. Hawkins.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Thank you, Mr. Menicoche. Mr. Chairman, An underlying theme throughout the Commissioner’s report and presentation to the committee was the need to foster a corporate culture that is committed to open and transparent government and strives to follow the spirit as well as the letter of the act. The Commissioner points to a trend of public bodies automatically refusing access to information wherever they have a discretionary exemption under the act, without evaluating whether there are clear and compelling reasons to do so. She is concerned that public bodies, and in particular the Financial Management Board Secretariat, are withholding information just because they can without considering whether they should.

In order to shift the corporate culture toward openness and transparency, the Commissioner believes a top-down approach is necessary. In her words, “if the top members of the bureaucracy and the politicians are afraid of openness, that fear will translate to the department or government and there will be a corporate culture of secrecy. If the corporate culture is one of openness, the rest of the bureaucracy will follow.”

As an example of the leadership required, she cites the Premier, management board and Attorney General of Ontario, who recently issued memoranda emphasizing the importance of freedom of information in the democratic process and encouraging a proactive approach to providing information to the public. She recommends the Premier, Ministers and Financial Management Board follow the lead of Ontario by publicly and clearly endorsing the goals of the act and taking positive steps to foster a corporate culture of openness and accountability.

The committee shares the Commissioner’s concerns and strongly supports her recommendation. The Standing Committee on Accountability and Oversight recommends that the Premier, Ministers and Financial Management Board make public statements supporting the principles of the Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act, and send clear messages to the public service about the importance of open and transparent government, and the need to grant access to information unless there is a clear and compelling reason to do so.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. My apologies. I move that committee recommends that the Premier, Ministers and Financial Management Board make public statements supporting the principles of the Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act, and send clear messages to the public service about the importance of open and transparent government and the need to grant access to information unless there is a clear and compelling reason to do so.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

Thank you, Mr. Hawkins. The motion is in order. To the motion.

Question.

Question has been called, however, I recognize that there isn’t a quorum at this time, so what I will do, before I ring the bells I’m going to take a second to recognize Mr. Vickers’ class from Ecole St. Joseph School that’s with us here in the gallery today. Welcome, folks.

---Applause

Mr. Vickers’ class has a few interesting gentlemen. Mr. Dent’s son, Tyler, is in Mr. Vickers’ class…

---Applause

…as well as the Premier’s grandson, Gage….

---Applause

…and my nephew Ryan is also in Mr. Vickers’ class…

---Applause

…and Mr. Ouellette’s son, as well. Welcome. Wow.

---Applause

Welcome very much to the Legislative Assembly, to our proceedings this afternoon. It’s always a pleasure to have young folks here watching the proceedings of this House. Thank you very much. I will recognize now, committee, that we do not have a quorum and I will ring the bells in an effort to achieve quorum. Thank you.

---Ringing of Bells

Thank you, committee. Question has been called. To the motion. Question has been called. All those in favour? Thank you. Question was called. The motion is passed. Thank you, committee.

---Carried

---Applause

Before we move on to Mr. Hawkins, I’d like to recognize Mr. Mike Olsen in the gallery from First Air. Welcome.

---Applause

Mr. Hawkins.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. A longstanding concern for the Commissioner has been the need for members and staff of boards and agencies to be aware of their obligations under the act and to implement appropriate records retention policies, particularly for documents in the hands of individual board members. The Commissioner recommends that, as a minimum, the chairs and executive directors of boards and agencies be required to take the training, although ideally training would be mandatory for all appointees.

The GNWT advised in its response to the 2003-2004 recommendations that ATIPP training is routinely available to all board members and public servants, and that the Department of Public Works and Services would make available to board members its records management standards, policies and guidelines.

Thank you, Mr. Hawkins. The motion is in order.

Question.

Question has been called. All those in favour? All those opposed? The motion is carried.

---Carried

Thank you. Mr. Hawkins.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. For the sixth year in a row, the Commissioner’s report speaks to the lack of information and privacy legislation for municipal governments.

The GNWT has identified concerns about the impact on day-to-day municipal operations and administration, costs, training and capacity as reasons why municipal information and privacy legislation cannot proceed at this time.

Municipal governments collect a substantial amount of personal information from residents and hold a great deal of information of interest to the public. The need for openness and transparency applies as much to them as to any other level of government. While the committee acknowledges the challenges of developing and implementing information and privacy legislation, we are not satisfied that they excuse the GNWT’s failure to take a proactive approach on this issue. Elections and human rights legislation, to name two examples, could also be said to be challenging to implement, expensive and at times inconvenient; however, we recognize their importance in a democratic society and do not question the need to allocate resources to them. Why should information and privacy legislation be any different? As the Commissioner said to us, quoting her Alberta counterpart, Mr. Frank Work, “the right to access to information is precious. No government should ever oppose or impede it on the basis that it is too expensive, too time consuming or that only the troublemakers use it.”

The committee would also point out that municipal staff are required to handle personal information and respond to information requests from the public in any case, and suggests that training and guidance in the form of legislation and policies would, if anything, make that aspect of their work less difficult.

Thank you, Mr. Hawkins. The motion is in order.

Question.

Question has been called. All those in favour? All those opposed? The motion is carried.

---Carried

Thank you, committee. Mr. Hawkins.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Another of the Commissioner’s ongoing recommendations from past years is that the NWT enact its own “made-in-the-north” privacy legislation to regulate how the private sector collects, uses and discloses personal information. As an example of a concern with how the private sector handles personal information, she cited the continued practice of some NWT businesses of printing credit card numbers in their entirety on transaction slips. In southern Canada, it is now standard to print partial numbers only, which helps to prevent theft.

Although the NWT private sector is already regulated by the federal Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA), the Commissioner points out that a small and distant office in Ottawa is unlikely to have the time to address complaints and issues of a local nature. PIPEDA also does not protect employees from misuse of their personal information by employers. Some other Canadian jurisdictions, including Alberta and B.C., have already enacted provincial legislation to address the gaps left by PIPEDA.

Thank you, Mr. Hawkins. The motion is in order. To the motion.

Question.

Question has been called. All those in favour? All those opposed? The motion is carried.

---Carried

Thank you, committee. Mr. Hawkins.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. As in previous reports, the Commissioner recommends the GNWT take the initiative to raise information and privacy issues in devolution discussions and with aboriginal governments in order to encourage them to include some form of regulation within their governance structures. She states that although there are likely to be cultural differences on many information and privacy issues, all peoples have the right to an open government, which requires access to records, and the right to expect a certain level of privacy.

Thank you, Mr. Hawkins. The motion is in order. To the motion.

Question.

Question has been called. All those in favour? All those opposed? The motion is carried.

---Carried

Thank you, committee. Mr. Hawkins.

Thank you, Mr. Hawkins. The motion is in order. To the motion.

Question.

Question has been called. All those in favour? All those opposed? The motion is carried.

---Carried

Thank you, committee. Mr. Hawkins.

Thank you, Mr. Hawkins. The motion is in order. To the motion.

Question.