Thank you, Mr. Chair. Yes, I have some opening remarks. On behalf of the Board of Management of the Legislative Assembly, I’m pleased to present Bill 33, An Act to Amend the Elections and Plebiscites Act, No. 2.
This bill includes a number of changes to our elections legislation that were recommended by the Chief Electoral Officer and the Standing Committee on Rules and Procedures following their respective reports on the 2011 General Election.
These changes will result in:
a new advanced voting opportunity for smaller communities;
changes to the vouching rules, so that a voter can vouch for more than one elector and so that candidates cannot vouch for electors;
a limit of $1,500 in total anonymous contributions;
greater clarity about the rules on election advertising and campaign finance.
The bill will also strengthen the integrity of our electoral process by allowing deputy returning officers to be appointed and trained before an election as well as by granting new investigative powers to the Chief Electoral Officer.
Those are my opening comments on Bill 33. I welcome any comments or questions Members may have.
Thank you, Mr. Moses. Do you have any witnesses you’d like to bring into the Chamber today?
Yes, I do.
Thank you, Mr. Moses. Does committee agree?
Agreed.
Thank you, committee. Sergeant-at-Arms, if you could please escort our witnesses into the Chamber.
Mr. Moses, if you’d be kind enough to introduce your witnesses to the House.
Thank you. I have our Chief Electoral Officer, Mr. David Brock; and from the Department of Justice, Mr. Ken Chutskoff.
Thank you, Mr. Moses. Gentlemen, welcome to the Chamber this evening. Committee, we’ll go to general comments. General comments, Bill 33. Mr. Hawkins.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I just want to use this opportunity to maybe have our very sturdy Member over there provide some detail on what campaign advertising is. I want to get some detail on that. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Hawkins. Mr. Moses.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. For that, I’ll go to our Chief Electoral Officer Mr. David Brock.
Order! Thank you, Mr. Moses. Mr. Brock.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. Indeed, thanks to the Member for the question. One of the changes in this bill is a change to the definition of campaign advertising, to provide greater clarity around what is and is not campaign advertising. So I think this also speaks to what is not included in that, and that includes the production of editorials, columns, speeches for the purpose of a genuine news programs, the distribution of a book or sale of a book that was planned prior to a campaign period, the transmission of a document directly by a person or group on behalf of their members to the shareholders or to their employees and the transmission by an individual of their own personal views. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Brock. Mr. Hawkins.
I want to thank Member Moses for his very ministerial technique of dealing with that.
---Laughter
It’s funny no one on the Cabinet side is laughing. The only other thing that I think, I think pretty much it’s self-explanatory on some of the changes that folks who do read this very closely will probably figure out. Maybe we could get Mr. Moses, or if he would again use his technique to help us find out why we’re repealing some of the prohibitions on broadcasting. I think that a bit of a detailed answer on that would probably help the general public. It’s probably the only area that I show interest, so I’m really looking forward to Mr. Moses’ answer on this question. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Hawkins. We’ll actually go to Mr. Brock for that response. Mr. Brock.
Thank you, Mr. Chair, for the question. Indeed, as the Member pointed out, one of the provisions in this bill is to repeal the prohibition on broadcasting. This initially was a recommendation that I made following the 2011 election. It has been discussed thoroughly by committee, the Committee on Rules and Procedures, on a couple of occasions during public reviews.
One of the complicating factors that arose after the 2011 election was we recognized that while many forms of campaign advertising were allowed on the day of polling and the day immediately prior to polling, one that wasn’t was broadcasting as it was technically defined by the federal Broadcasting Act. This led to confusion on the part of some as to what was allowed and what was not allowed. By repealing the prohibition on broadcasting, not only does it mitigate that confusion and make for an easier campaign process but, in addition to that, it allows for the greater dissemination of messages about voting and about campaigns which are particularly important on the day of voting and the day immediately prior to voting, particularly in light of declining voter turnout rates in the Northwest Territories and indeed across democracies in the western world.
Thank you, Mr. Brock. General comments. Mr. Blake.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. Just under 17, a little clarification. What is the reason for the decision to be conducted over four consecutive days rather than only on one day?
Thank you, Mr. Blake. Mr. Brock.
Thank you for the question, Mr. Chair. Provision 17 establishes new advanced voting opportunities for small communities. As Members know, we have 10 days of continuous voting in those communities that have a resident returning officer. In those communities without a resident returning officer, some communities under the law, as it currently stands, would have a single day advanced voting opportunity and some other communities likely would not. What this change does is it establishes an advanced voting opportunity for all small communities so that there’s a greater equality or fairness across all our communities in the Northwest Territories. The reason for the four days of continuous voting, we recognized in a proposal that 10 days would likely be too much for small communities, recognizing they have smaller populations than many of our regional centres, but at the same time wanted to have a continuous opportunity to reflect the manner of continuous voting, recognizing that people may not be able to attend to the poll on that day or on polling day, but if they had more opportunities to vote then I think there’s a greater probability that they’ll cast a ballot. The four days in particular where we’ll have advanced voting mirror those four days where we have voting at multi-district polls.
Thank you, Mr. Brock. General comments. There is agreement there are no more general comments. Does committee agree to go through a clause-by-clause review of the bill?
Agreed.
Does committee agree to review clauses in groups of five this evening?
Agreed.
Thank you, committee. Clauses 1 to 5.
---Clauses 1 through 5 inclusive approved
Clauses 6 to 10.
---Clauses 6 through 10 inclusive approved
Clauses 11 to 15.
---Clauses 11 through 15 inclusive approved
Clauses 16 to 20.
---Clauses 16 through 20 inclusive approved
Clauses 21 to 25.
---Clauses 21 through 25 inclusive approved
Clauses 26 to 30.
---Clauses 26 through 30 inclusive approved
Clauses 31 to 35.
---Clauses 31 through 35 inclusive approved
Clauses 36 to 40.
---Clauses 36 through 40 inclusive approved
Clauses 41 to 45.
---Clauses 41 through 45 inclusive approved
Clauses 46 to 49.
---Clauses 46 through 49 inclusive approved
The bill as a whole.
Agreed.
Does committee agree that Bill 33 is ready for third reading?
---Bill 33 as a whole approved for third reading
Bill 33 is now ready for third reading. Before we say our good-byes here this afternoon to the colleagues, I’d like to thank, on behalf of the Legislative Assembly, Mr. Brock, our Chief Electoral Officer. Thank you for all the wonderful and many years of service. We appreciate your stewardship, and we wish you well on your future endeavours.
---Applause
I’d like to thank Mr. Chutskoff, as well, this evening. If I can get the Sergeant-at-Arms to please escort our witnesses out of the Chamber. Ms. Bisaro. What is the wish of committee?
Thank you, Mr. Chair. I move that we report progress.
Thank you, Ms. Bisaro. There is a motion on the floor to report progress. The motion is in order and not debatable. The motion is carried.
---Carried
Good evening. Can I have the report of Committee of the Whole, Mr. Dolynny?
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Your committee has been considering Tabled Document 154-17(5), Supplementary Estimates (Infrastructure Expenditures), No. 4, 2014-2015; and Tabled Document 115-17(5), Northwest Territories Capital Estimates 2014-2015; and Bill 33, An Act to Amend the Elections and Plebiscites Act, No. 2; and I would like to report progress with two motions being adopted and that Bill 33 is ready for third reading and that consideration of Tabled Document 154-17(5) and Tabled Document 115-17(5) are concluded and that the House concur in those estimates and that appropriation bills to be based thereon be introduced without delay. Mr. Speaker, I move that the report of Committee of the Whole be concurred with. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Dolynny. Do I have a seconder to the motion? Mr. McLeod.
---Carried
Orders of the day for Friday, October 31, 2014, at 10:00 a.m.:
Prayer
Ministers’ Statements
Members’ Statements
Returns to Oral Questions
Recognition of Visitors in the Gallery
Acknowledgements
Oral Questions
Written Questions
Returns to Written Questions
Replies to Opening Address
Petitions
Reports of Standing and Special Committees
Reports of Committees on the Review of Bills
Tabling of Documents
Notices of Motion
Notices of Motion for First Reading of Bills
Motions
First Reading of Bills
Bill 34, 2015 Polling Day Act
Second Reading of Bills
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters
Bill 25, An Act to Amend the Education Act
Bill 27, Miscellaneous Statute Law Amendment Act, 2014
Bill 29, Human Tissue Donation Act
Bill 30, An Act to Amend the Public Service Act
Bill 32, An Act to Amend the Pharmacy Act
Committee Report 7-17(5), Report on the Development of the Economic Opportunities and Mineral Development Strategies
Report of Committee of the Whole
Third Reading of Bills
Bill 33, An Act to Amend the Elections and Plebiscites Act, No. 2
Orders of the Day
Thank you, Mr. Clerk. Accordingly, this House stands adjourned until Friday, October 31st, at 10:00 a.m.
---ADJOURNMENT
The House adjourned at 5:07 p.m.
