I do, Mr. Chair.
Thank you. Does everyone agree?
Agreed.
Thank you, committee. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. If you would like to introduce your witnesses in the Chamber, please.
Mr. Chair, to my left I have Mr. Ouellette. To my right I have the Clerk of the House, Ms. Colette Langlois.
Thank you. Mr. Ouellette, Ms. Langlois, welcome to the House. Mr. Speaker, do you have any opening comments?
Yes, I do, Mr. Chair. I am pleased to present the 2014-2015 Capital Estimates of the Legislative Assembly. I want to thank the Board of Management of the Assembly for assisting me to develop the budget.
The Legislative Assembly is seeking funding this year of $329,000 for two projects. The first is a replacement of our telephone system, which is about 15 years old and starting to have more issues as time goes on. We can keep it going for a short term, but it does need to be replaced as soon as possible.
The second project is some signage on our roadway. Every year we have a lot of tourists that want to see our building and it’s terrible finding it because we have no signage. It’s not clear right on the side of the highway; there are not enough signs. The same goes for the museum and the visitors centre. We will be working with them to oversee the project.
I would like to thank you for the opportunity to provide my opening comments. I welcome any committee members’ questions. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you. Mr. Speaker. We are going to go to general comments. Mr. Hawkins.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I do have a question about the phone system. Many Members have stumbled across a problem lately where it’s interrupting, and you can swear – whether lines are crossed or whatever – you will dial the phone, you will have somebody else on the line, you’ll have a conversation, somebody calls in on the line like a third party. You would think it was like the old party line back in the old days. Most of Cabinet knows what a party line is; they are pretty old. But we young people over here wouldn’t know what a party line is. That said, you do highlight in your opening comments about the phone system. Perhaps you can give us some detail as to when it will be replaced, because it is starting to turn into quite a significant issue. I would say beyond significant. It’s a huge security issue and could create other types of liabilities that we’re not aware of. I wouldn’t mind some insight from the Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Hawkins. For that answer I’ll go to the Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. We have been having some issues with the phone lines being crossed through individuals, Members talking with constituents and somebody picking up the phone and somebody able to listen to conversations. So we have really been having issues with that. We’ve put a notice out to the Members that we are going to change the phone lines as soon as possible. As for a timeline, maybe I’ll get Mr. Ouellette to answer that.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Ouellette.
As Members can appreciate, replacing a phone system is a fairly significant project. Right now we are in discussions with the government, the executive branch, in terms of what their plans are, because there are some efficiencies that could be gained looking at working with them on a telephone system.
We are waiting for them to give us some information in terms of they are doing a proof of concept. They are testing a telephone system on a smaller basis and we’re waiting for some information on that. It’s our hope that the telephone system will be replaced as soon as possible within the ‘14-15 fiscal year.
Thank you, Mr. Ouellette. Mr. Hawkins.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I appreciate both the answer from the Speaker and certainly Mr. Ouellette. The one thing I would like to say, though, is for them to consider innovative technologies, whereas down south if you call an office, when you leave a message it actually e-mails people the message. There may be an opportunity to look at innovation this time.
As we can see, this building is just at its 20-year cycle, so the phone system hasn’t been touched in 20 years other than, obviously, maintenance. That said, chances are the next phone system will be around for hopefully at least 20 years or more. I would encourage them to take advantage of those types of technologies that exist out there on various platforms. It’s our one chance to be innovative because, I’ll tell you, we won’t be coming back to this. Who knows when somebody will be coming back to this? This is more of a comment, Mr. Chairman, but I thought I would just put that on the record. Thank you.
Thank you. Mr. Hawkins. I will treat that as a comment. Committee, we are at general comments. Is committee prepared to go into detail?
Agreed.
Thank you, committee. We are going to defer 1-2 here. We will return to that in a second. Page 1-4 in your capital estimates. Legislative Assembly, activity summary, Office of the Clerk, infrastructure investment summary, infrastructure investments, $329,000. Does committee agree?
Agreed.
Thank you, committee. I would like to return to 1-1 for the department summary. Legislative Assembly, department summary, infrastructure investment summary, infrastructure investments, $329,000. Does committee agree?
Agreed.
Does committee agree we’ve concluded consideration and concur with the Legislative Assembly?
Agreed.
Thank you, committee. I would like to thank the Speaker, Ms. Langlois and Mr. Ouellette for being here tonight. If I could get the Sergeant-at-Arms to escort the witnesses out of the Chamber, please. Thank you.
Ms. Bisaro, what is the wish of committee now?
Thank you, Mr. Chair. We would like to consider Bills 13, 14, 15 and 16.
Thank you, Ms. Bisaro. Does committee agree?
Agreed.
Okay. We’ll start with Bill 13.
Agreed.
Thank you, committee. Bill 13, An Act to Repeal the Curfew Act. We’ll go to the Minister for him to introduce the bill. That would be Minister R.C. McLeod.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. I was paying attention. I was just looking for it on my iPad.
---Laughter
And I found it. Thank you, Mr. Chair. Thanks for the opportunity to introduce Bill 13, An Act to Repeal the Curfew Act. The Curfew Act is old legislation and is no longer required. Municipal governments have the authority to pass bylaws to establish curfews.
With respect to designated authorities, the Curfew Act provides that the Commissioner may establish a community as a curfew district upon receiving a petition signed by two-thirds of the parents of the community. No designated authority has shown interest in the act’s continuance; therefore, the Curfew Act should be repealed.
I would be pleased to answer any questions Members may have. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you, Minister McLeod. With that, we’re going to allow the chairman of the standing committee which reviewed Bill 13 to make committee comments on the bill. Mr. Hawkins.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. The Standing Committee on Economic Development and Infrastructure met on September 18, 2013, to review Bill 13, An Act to Repeal the Curfew Act. Following the clause-by-clause review, a motion was carried to report Bill 13 to the Assembly as ready for consideration in Committee of the Whole.
That concludes committee’s comments on Bill 13. Individual Members may have additional questions or comments as we proceed. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Thank you, Mr. Hawkins. We’ll ask Minister McLeod if he has any witnesses he’d like to bring into the Chamber. Minister McLeod.
I would, Mr. Chair.
Thank you, Minister McLeod. Does committee agree?
Agreed.
Thank you, committee. Sergeant-at-Arms, if you could please escort the witnesses into the House.
Mr. McLeod, if you would be kind enough to introduce your witnesses in the Chamber this evening.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. To my left I have Mr. David Kravitz, manager of community governance; to my right I have Mr. Thomas Druyan, legislative counsel.
Thank you, Mr. Minister. Mr. Kravitz, Mr. Druyan, welcome to the Chamber this evening. General comments on Bill 13.
Detail.
I hear detail, so we’re going to do a clause-by-clause review of the bill. Bill 13, An Act to Repeal the Curfew Act, clause 1.
Agreed.
Thank you, committee. It’s a one-clause bill. Does committee agree that Bill 13 is ready for third reading?
---Bill 13 as a whole approved for third reading
Does committee wish to proceed with Bill 14?
Agreed.
Thank you. With that, I would like to thank our witnesses for this evening here and I’d like to get the Sergeant-at-Arms to please escort the witnesses out of the Chamber. Thank you, Minister McLeod.
Bill 14, An Act to Repeal the Pawnbrokers and Second-hand Dealers Act. With that, we’re going to go to the Minister responsible for the introduction of the bill. Minister McLeod.
Thank you, Mr. Chair, and thanks for the opportunity to introduce Bill 14, An Act to Repeal the Pawnbrokers and Second-hand Dealers Act. There are currently no businesses in the Northwest Territories licensed as pawnbrokers or second-hand dealers under the Pawnbrokers and Second-hand Dealers Act. Furthermore, the Department of Municipal and Community Affairs has not issued a pawnbroker or second-hand dealer’s licence within corporate memory.
Many jurisdictions in Canada, such as Manitoba, Ontario, Nova Scotia and New Brunswick, have repealed similar legislation, leaving the regulation of pawnbrokers and second-hand dealers to municipalities. Municipal governments in the Northwest Territories have the authority to regulate pawnbrokers, second-hand dealers and other business by creating classification and licensing schemes through bylaws. The absence of a pawnbroker and second-hand dealer industry in smaller NWT communities renders the legislation largely irrelevant.
Should pawnbrokers or second-hand dealers open in smaller communities in the future, they may be regulated through the bylaws or through the territorial Business Licensing Act.
I would be pleased to answer any questions Members may have. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you, Minister McLeod. We’re going to offer the chairman of the standing committee which reviewed the bill to make comments, and that’s Mr. Hawkins.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. The Standing Committee on Economic Development and Infrastructure met on September 18, 2013, to review Bill 14, An Act to Repeal the Pawnbrokers and Second-hand Dealers Act. Following the clause-by-clause review, a motion was carried to report Bill 14 to the Assembly as ready for consideration in Committee of the Whole.
This concludes the committee’s general comments on Bill 14. Individual Members may have additional questions or comments as we proceed. Thank you.
