Thank you, Mr. McLeod. To the motion. I’ll allow the mover of the motion to have further remarks. Mr. Hawkins.
Well, first of all, Mr. Speaker, I thank those who have spoken in favour of the motion, and those who spoke against the motion, I probably won’t thank you at this time. But in the spirit of consensus government, I do recognize and appreciate and respect your perspectives.
I did hear a few things and they did cause me great concern. Mr. Speaker, this is a very important question, the plebiscite question on hydraulic fracturing. The reality here before us, though, is if we can’t use the Plebiscite Act for stuff this important, why bother having it?
I heard the cries of people suggesting things, and I was actually quite upset when I heard colleagues suggest this is about region against region. To be honest, that actually bothered me quite a bit. Yellowknife is not against any region. More particularly, if I may say, Yellowknife, in my opinion, certainly everyone I know isn’t against the Sahtu in any way. If anything, we support people in the Sahtu asserting their rights and certainly they deserve economic opportunities. I’ve never spared an opportunity to say, “People there need economic opportunities because their families matter too.” I stand by that and I will always stand by that.
I will tell you, I was quite upset hearing the characterization that this was taking away or denying opportunities. As far as saying Yellowknife against the regions, the real technicality about this is Yellowknife represents approximately 45 percent of the population, so Yellowknife could not take away the opportunity of the territory. A true vote, there’s a majority of people outside of Yellowknife.
Again, this was never about Yellowknife against anyone. This is about how do we want to do business and how do we plan to do business.
As I said earlier, the fracking regulations talk about how to frack, not the merits of fracking. They talk about how to frack, not why shouldn’t we do this. We should never find this funny and we should never be gloating as we see the numbers laid out before ourselves. This is an important issue. As I said earlier, if we couldn’t use the Plebiscite Act to do something like this, then why even have it some days?
I did hear the number of $1.8 million. That is not a true number. People can keep saying it and they can repeat it as much as they want, but it doesn’t make it true. Now, would it cost $1.8 million to run the whole election? Absolutely. If you ran a stand-alone plebiscite? Probably. I don’t know. But I can tell you, the research into adding a valid question at the ballot box is $17,500, and that is for the printing of ballots and that’s associated with the organization thereof, because they’re already doing an election and they already have a ballot box and they can run it concurrently.
There are no hidden costs. I appreciate the fact that people are worried about hidden costs, but that is simply it: $17,500. As I said earlier, I’ve seen us spend way more money on things that are way more questionable.
Mr. Speaker, as I wrap it up I am going to stress that I’ve heard my colleagues. I do appreciate and certainly respect their opinions. Many of them I don’t agree with, but, hey, I suspect there’s many a time they don’t always agree with my opinion. But what we’re missing here, in closing, is the fact that we’re missing a great opportunity to reach out to the public and hear them. I worry, as people vote against this motion, we’ve silenced the public in a very constructive way.
As I said earlier today, this is a black and white definitive way of deciding how the Northwest Territories wants to go forward, and for people to blame the economy about stuff not happening here today should not have any effect on the chance, if not the great opportunity, to make good public policy. Good public policy should stand the test of time and certainly should stand the test of good times before us.
Thank you, Mr. Hawkins. The Member is seeking a recorded vote. All those in favour, please rise.
Mr. Hawkins, Mr. Bromley, Mr. Nadli.
All those opposed, please rise.
Mr. Moses; Mr. Yakeleya; Mr. Beaulieu; Mr. Abernethy; Mr. Miltenberger; Mr. McLeod – Yellowknife South; Mr. Lafferty; Mr. Ramsay; Mr. McLeod – Inuvik Twin Lakes; Mr. Dolynny; Mr. Bouchard.
All those abstaining, please rise.
Ms. Bisaro, Mr. Blake.
Yes, three; no, 11; abstentions, two. Motion is defeated.
---Defeated
Mr. Bouchard.
WHEREAS the Order of the Northwest Territories was established in 2013 by the Territorial Emblems and Honours Act to recognize individuals who have served with the greatest distinction and excelled in any field of endeavour benefiting the people of the Northwest Territories or elsewhere;
AND WHEREAS Section 21(1) of the Territorial Emblems and Honours Act provides for the creation of a Northwest Territories Honours Advisory Council to review nominations and recommend appointments to the Order of the Northwest Territories;
AND WHEREAS Section 21(2)(b) of the Territorial Emblems and Honours Act provides that the council be composed of not more than five members of the public appointed by the Legislative Assembly on the recommendation of the Board of Management;
AND WHEREAS Section 22(2) of the Territorial Emblems and Honours Act provides that the members of the panel hold office at pleasure for a term not exceeding three years;
AND WHEREAS the Board of Management has considered a number of qualified individuals for appointment as honours advisory council members;
AND WHEREAS the Board of Management is tasked with recommending individuals to the Legislative Assembly and the Legislative Assembly is prepared to make a recommendation to the Commissioner;
NOW THEREFORE I MOVE, seconded by the honourable Member for Kam Lake, that the following persons be recommended to the Commissioner of the Northwest Territories for appointment to the NWT Honours Advisory Council, effective immediately for a term of three years:
Ms. Grace Blake of Tsiigehtchic;
Ms. Sabrina Broadhead of Hay River;
Mr. Paul Delorey of Hay River;
Mr. Danny Gaudet of Deline; and
Ms. Anne Peters of Yellowknife.
To the motion. Ms. Bisaro.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I just want to make a few brief remarks about this motion and I’m extremely pleased to see we’ve reached this point. The idea was presented to me by a constituent several years ago and I felt it was an idea worth pursuing and so I did pursue it, pushed it as much as I could at Caucus and I’m very pleased that Caucus did agree that an NWT Honours Award was something worth pursuing. I am very glad we got to this point and that it has come to fruition. So I need to give credit to that constituent, and his name is Jeff Corradetti. I want to thank Jeff for pushing me and I want to thank my colleagues for allowing themselves to be pushed to get us to this point. I look forward to the first awards who are going to be chosen by this very exemplary, I think, slate of candidates. Thank you.
Thank you, Ms. Bisaro. To the motion.
Question.
Question has been called. Motion’s carried.
---Carried
Mr. Yakeleya.
I MOVE, seconded by the honourable Member for Thebacha, that, notwithstanding Rule 4, when this House adjourns on Thursday, June 4, 2015, it shall be adjourned until Tuesday, September 29, 2015;
AND FURTHER, that any time prior to September 29, 2015, if the Speaker is satisfied, after consultation with the Executive Council and Members of the Legislative Assembly, that the public interest requires that the House should meet at an earlier time during the adjournment, the Speaker may give notice and thereupon the House shall meet at the time stated in such notice and shall transact its business as it has been duly adjourned to that time.
Thank you, Mr. Yakeleya. Motion is in order. To the motion.
Question.
Question has been called. Motion is carried.
---Carried
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I move, seconded by the honourable Member for Yellowknife South, that Bill 59, Estate Administration Law Amendment Act, be read for the second time.
Mr. Speaker, this bill amends the Children’s Law Act, Guardianship and Trusteeship Act, Intestate Succession Act, and Public Trustee Act in order to adjust certain monetary amounts, facilitate the disposal of unclaimed property arising out of intestacy or, where no one applies for a grant other than the public trustee, streamline certain estate administration processes involving the public trustee, and make other amendments to improve clarity and readability. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Ramsay. The motion is in order. To the principle of the bill.
Question.
Question has been called. Motion is carried.
---Carried
Bill 59 has had a second reading and is referred to standing committee.
Mr. Beaulieu.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I move, seconded by the honourable Member for Great Slave, that Bill 60, An Act to Amend the Motor Vehicles Act, No. 2, be read for the second time.
Mr. Speaker, this bill amends the Motor Vehicles Act to remove references to validation stickers; authorize vehicles that are abandoned, seized or stored and have a valuable load prescribed threshold to be disposed of in accordance with the regulations; establish a framework for speeding offences that is proportional to the amount by which the driver exceeds the speed limit; define the term “use” in respect to restricted electronic devices; authorize the suspension or cancellation of a driver’s licence for repeat contraventions of restricted electronic device prohibitions; clarify the registrar’s authority in respect to medical examinations that are required with respect to classes of drivers’ licences; and make other amendments to improve, clarify and for readability. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Beaulieu. Motion is in order. To the principle of the bill.
Question.
Question has been called. Motion is carried.
---Carried
Bill 60 has had second reading and is referred to standing committee.
Mr. Beaulieu.
Thank you, Mr. Beaulieu. Motion is in order. To the principle of the bill.
Question.
Question has been called. The motion is carried.
---Carried
Bill 61 is referred to standing committee.
Mr. Ramsay.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I move, seconded by the honourable Member for Inuvik Twin Lakes, that Bill 62, An Act to Amend the Coroners Act, be read for the second time.
This bill amends the Coroners Act to clarify the duty to report certain deaths to a coroner or a police officer; enhance the powers of coroners in conducting investigations and inquests; clarify the circumstances in which coroners may arrange for assistance to be provided by others in carrying out certain functions; clarify the duties and powers of the chief coroner to disclose information, including personal information; prohibit any interference with the body of the deceased, and any associated wreckage subject to certain exceptions; make refinements to provisions respecting the holding of inquests; require the preparation and tabling of an annual report on the coroner’s service; increase the maximum fine that may be imposed for a contravention of the act and its regulations. The bill also makes consequential amendments to the Motor Vehicle Act and the Vital Statistics Act.
Thank you, Mr. Ramsay. The motion is in order. To the principle of the bill.
Question.
Question has been called. The motion is carried.
---Carried
Bill 62 has had second reading and is referred to standing committee.
Mr. Ramsay.
I move, seconded by the honourable Member for Tu Nedhe, that Bill 63, An Act to Amend the Victims of Crime Act, be read for the second time.
This bill amends the Victims of Crime Act with respect to surcharges imposed and paid into the Victims Assistance Fund. The bill allows the surcharge amounts to be set by regulation and allows an offender to complete a work option program under the Fine Option Act as an alternative to incarceration for failure to pay a surcharge. Consequential amendments are made to the Fine Option Act.
Thank you, Mr. Ramsay. The motion is in order. To the principle of the bill.
Question.
Question has been called. The motion is carried.
---Carried
Bill 63 has had second reading and is referred to standing committee.
Mr. Ramsay.
Mr. Speaker, I move, seconded by the honourable Member for Great Slave, that Bill 64, An Act to Amend the Co-operative Associations Act, be read for the second time.
This bill amends the Co-operative Associations Act to define the essential characteristics of a co-operative enterprise; improve procedures for the incorporation, naming, amalgamation and continuance of co-operative associations; clarify rules respecting joint membership; permit the directors of a co-operative to terminate a membership; clarify requirements for the redemption of shares; clarify responsibilities of directors; provide for the removal of a director; simplify filing requirements; provide co-operatives with greater flexibility in respect of financial reserves; allow co-operative federations to meet by conference call and expand options for the determination of voting representatives; eliminate unnecessary or duplicative regulatory requirements; and make non-substantive amendments that enhance clarity and readability.
Thank you, Mr. Ramsay. The motion is in order. To the principle of the bill.
