Debates of May 10, 2007 (day 4)

Deh Cho Bridge Proposal

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, again, that points clearly to why it is so very, very important that before the government enters into a concession agreement, that it shares the information with Members of this House so that we can ask questions so that we can assess the risk that the government, not just this government but the next governments for the next 35 years are going to be having to live with. So will the Minister commit to sharing that level of detail with this House before a concession agreement is signed off? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Ramsay. Mr. Menicoche.

Deh Cho Bridge Proposal

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Yes, we can provide that to the Member and to the committee at the appropriate time. I think I said we committed to find some time next week to further discuss the Deh Cho Bridge project in as much detail as we can to the committee. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Minister of Finance.

During the winter road closure and in the absence of ferry service, automotive and home heating oil prices in Yellowknife have continued to rise without re-supply.

Please provide examples of past and current instances where the government has intervened on behalf of the consumer in order to prevent price gouging of fuel costs and please provide a detailed list of the legislation used to do so.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My question is for the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment.

Can the Minister provide to me as to how the funding formula for small high schools ensures that core courses that our students take can and will get them into universities and/or colleges?

Can the Minister explain to me how students in these small high schools who want to take courses such as biology, chemistry or trades in their community?

Who is responsible for paying the cost of sending students to other high schools to take courses that are not offered in our small high schools?

Thank you.

Yay!

Mr. Speaker, I give notice that on Monday, May 14, 2007, I will move that Bill 11, Miscellaneous Statutes Amendment Act, 2007, be read for the first time. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I give notice that on Monday, May 14, 2007, I will move that Bill 14, Employment Standards Act, be read for the first time. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I give notice that on Monday, May 14, 2007, I will move that Bill 16, An Act to Amend the Legislative Assembly and Executive Council Act, be read for the first time. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Okay. I would like to call Committee of the Whole to order. I would ask what is the wish of the committee this afternoon? Mr. Jackson Lafferty.

Mahsi, Madam Chair. Madam Chair, at this time, the committee wishes to consider Bill 1, An Act to Amend the Partnership Act; Bill 2, An Act to Amend the Condominium Act; and Bill 3, An Act to Amend the Legal Services Act. Mahsi, Madam Chair.

Thank you, Mr. Lafferty. Is committee agreed?

Agreed.

Okay. We will do that right after a short break.

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Committee of the Whole, I call this committee back to order. I would ask Minister Bell if he would like to provide his opening remarks.

I would. Madam Chair, if you would allow me just before I start, I would like to say hello to my daughter, Emily, who is watching at home with her friend Myra, I understand. They are probably onto other things by now, but they were watching for a brief moment.

The primary purpose of this bill is to permit the registration of limited liability partnerships formed or operating in the Northwest Territories and to establish basic rules and procedures for the registration of these partnerships.

In a general partnership, each partner is liable for the obligations of the partnership, as well as the obligations of all other partners. Once the partnership assets have been used to satisfy any claims, the personal assets of each partner are available to satisfy claims. In a limited liability partnership, only the personal assets of the negligent partner would be available in addition to the partnership assets. The personal assets of non-negligent partners would be protected.

Limited liability partnerships currently exist in almost all provinces in Canada. Over 50 such partnerships operate in the Northwest Territories but the limited liability of the partners that applies elsewhere is not currently recognized in the NWT.

An ad hoc committee representing the self-regulated professions, in particular the legal and accounting professions, first proposed the registration and recognition of limited liability partnerships. The Department of Justice supported this request and ultimately prepared a consultation draft of amendments to the Partnership Act that was released to the committee. The committee has indicated its support for the proposed bill in all respects.

The bill also includes a number of minor amendments. In most instances, no change would be made to the substance of the law. The amendments simply update or clarify the language of various provisions of the act.

I wish to thank the Standing Committee on Social Programs for its considered review of this bill. I will be pleased to answer any questions that the committee may have. Thank you, Madam Chair.

Thank you, Minister Bell. We got the greeting to Emily, the really important things in life. Before I proceed, I would like to recognize in the gallery today, in the visitor’s gallery, Mark Aitken, who you often see in this building, his parents, Eric and Freda Aitken are visiting and also his mother-in-law, Doreen Scheer, and they are here for their grandson’s graduation. Their grandson, Eric, is graduating this weekend here in Yellowknife. So welcome to the Legislative Assembly; welcome to Yellowknife.

---Applause

Okay. It’s now time for the chair of the Standing Committee on Social Programs. Please provide the committee’s remarks on the bill. Ms. Lee.

Thank you, Madam Chair. Maybe I should also say hi to Emily and Myra. They should keep watching and run for office some day.

Madam Chair, the committee held public hearings on Bill 1, An Act to Amend the Partnership Act, in Yellowknife on April 19th and 20th; on May 8th in Tuktoyaktuk; in Inuvik on April 23rd; in Ulukhaktok on April 24th; in Colville Lake on April 25th; and in Behchoko on April 26, 2007.

The committee would like to thank the Minister and the one witness who spoke to this bill on April 19, 2007. The committee heard from Glen Tait, a lawyer in private practice in Yellowknife. Mr. Tait pointed out that the proposed amendments would bring the NWT into line with the rest of Canada and would provide assurances to young professionals considering coming north. It was also pointed out by Mr. Tait that there is still a need to amend the Partnership Act to allow for the creation of professional corporations within partnerships. Professional corporations allow for the protection of basic assets from seizure in the event of a successful lawsuit against an individual in a partnership. This is also in line with the current practices in the rest of Canada.

The committee understands that the issue of professional corporations is complex and cannot be addressed in this bill. We appreciated the Minister’s commitment to work towards introducing the required amendments early in the life of the next Assembly.

Following the clause-by-clause review, a motion was carried to report Bill 1 to the Assembly as ready for Committee of the Whole.

Madam Chair, this concludes the committee’s general comments on Bill 1. Individual committee members may have questions and comments as we proceed. Thank you.

Thank you, Ms. Lee. At this time I would like to ask the Minister if he would like to bring a witness into the Chamber. Mr. Bell.

I would, thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Bell. Is committee agreed?

Agreed.

Thank you. Then I will ask our Sergeant-at-Arms to please escort the witness into the Chamber.

Minister Bell, for the record, would you please introduce your witnesses.

Thank you, Madam Chair. With me today, on my left is Gary MacDougall; on my right, Mark Aitken from the Department of Justice.

Thank you, Minister Bell. So on Bill 1, An Act to Amend the Partnership Act, are there any general comments? Mr. Braden.

Thank you, Madam Chair. I speak in favour of the bill. Given the very light load we had from the public, I think this is a demonstration that the bill was well shopped by the department with interested parties. The drafting was quite successful, so this is a very easy one and a straightforward one for us to endorse.

My question, Madam Chair, is whether this amendment, like many others that we deal with, requires any degree of new or rewritten regulation to enable it to be implemented and what would an anticipated implementation date be for this amendment, Madam Chair?

Thank you, Mr. Braden. Mr. Bell.

Madam Chair, thank you. It does require that we develop some new regulations. We think we can do that before the end of this calendar year. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Bell. I have Ms. Lee.

Thank you, Madam Speaker. Just as a Member, I would like to speak in support of this bill. I do appreciate that this may not be the most exciting and stimulating piece of legislation that we have had to deal with, but it is an important bill to address a gap that we’ve had in our business practice, legislation, where for those professionals who are not able to take advantage of the law that allows corporations incorporation that is available to other professionals or other businesspeople in order that they be free from liability issues that could…I don’t think this takes away liability responsibility from professionals, but it does allow those who are practising in professional jobs like lawyers and accountants and not doctors in this jurisdiction since most of them are government employees. Lawyers and accountants are responsible for their professions and they are responsible for their conduct and their duties, but still I think that we want to create a space where they are found to be liable, they have a little bit of protection for that, so they don’t lose all their assets or personal belongings or the necessities in life that everybody else is allowed to keep in the event of a mishap.

So I think this is important legislation, especially in light of the fact that a lot of professional companies, law firms and accounting firms, are aligned with offices elsewhere in Canada. There are lots of exchanges of lawyers and accountants where people practising in southern jurisdictions may need to practise in the North and we don’t want to be in a situation where they may not want to come up to practise or they may be open to liability questions that they would not be subject to in the rest of the country. This is a step in the right direction to give professionals a little bit of comfort in the way they practise here. I don’t think it relieves them from responsibility, but it does give them an equal playing field with the rest of Canada. For that reason, I do support this legislation and I do appreciate the Minister and the government for bringing this forward. With that, I will be voting in favour of this bill. Thank you.

Thank you, Ms. Lee. Any further general comments? If there are no further general comments, then we will proceed to the clause-by-clause review of the bill. Clause 1. Ms. Lee.

I’m sorry, Madam Chair. Before we go to clause by clause, I would like to just put on record that the Minister’s commitment that would be binding I would think to the next government, that at the earliest opportunity they bring legislation forward to enable professional corporations. Could I ask the Minister to confirm that for the record? Thank you.

Thank you, Ms. Lee. We will begin the clause by clause. Minister Bell.

Thank you, Madam Chair. I believe the Member is looking for a commitment that I gave in standing committee the other day about our desire to move forward, look at professional corporations and work towards introducing that in the next government. It does involve some other departments. We think Finance, certainly Health with the Medical Professions Act and possibly some others. So we have flagged it. We are going to bring those departments, which we would logically be involved, together and discuss how we could move this forward. There are also some questions as to why we didn’t deal with this at the same time we were dealing with this piece of legislation. It wouldn’t be an amendment to the Partnership Act; it would be a new act. It would be amendments to various acts, so it has to be dealt with in another manner. But we are committed to moving that forward and we will do so in the next government. Thank you.