Yes, I am pleased to be here today to present Bill 6 --
---Laughter
Minister Sebert, continue.
-- the Miscellaneous Statute Law Amendment Act, 2016. The purpose of Bill 6 is to amend various statutes of the Northwest Territories for which minor changes are proposed or errors or inconsistencies have been identified. Each amendment included in the bill had to meet the following criteria:
it must not be controversial;
it must not involve the spending of public funds;
it must not prejudicially affect rights;
it must not create a new offence or subject a new class of persons to an existing offence.
The departments responsible for the various statutes being amended have reviewed and approved the changes.
The amendments proposed in Bill 6 are minor, uncontroversial or non-substantive and many consist of technical corrections to a statute. The amendments are of such a nature that the preparation and legislative consideration of individual bills to correct each statute would be time consuming for the government and the Legislative Assembly. I would like to thank the Standing Committee on Social Development for its review of Bill 6 and would be pleased to answer any questions Members may have regarding the bill.
Thank you, Minister. I will now turn to the chair of the Standing Committee on Social Development, the committee that considered the bill, for opening comments. Mr. Thompson.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, the Standing Committee on Social Development concluded its review of Bill 6, Miscellaneous Statute Law Amendment Act, 2016, on October 25, 2016 with a public hearing held here in the Legislative building.
The Miscellaneous Statute Law Amendment Act, 2016 is an efficient, effective and fiscal-sensible mechanism to address minor non-substantial errors and inconsistencies in territorial legislation. Committee members are pleased to support this practical use of the government resources in an open and transparent manner to improve the quality, clarity and consistency of the territorial legislation. Individual Members may have additional comments or questions as we proceed with this consideration of this bill. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you, Mr. Thompson. Minister, would you like to bring witnesses into the Chamber?
Yes, I would.
Sergeant-at-Arms, please escort the witnesses into the Chamber.
Minister, please introduce your witness to the Chamber.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. My witness is Kelly McLaughlin, the director of legislation.
Thank you, Minister, and welcome. I will now open the floor to general comments on Bill 6. I see no general comments. Does committee agree that we concluded general comments?
Agreed.
Does committee agree that we proceed to a clause-by-clause review of the bill?
Agreed.
Thank you, committee. We will defer the bill number and title until after the consideration of the clauses. Please turn to page 1 of the bill. I will call out the clause and if committee agrees please just respond "agree." Clause 1.
Agreed.
---Clause 1-14 inclusive
Agreed.
Committee to the bill as a whole. Does committee agree that Bill 6, Miscellaneous Statute Law Amendment Act, 2016, is now ready for third reading?
Agreed.
Bill 6 is now ready for third reading. Does committee agree that this concludes our consideration of Bill 6, Miscellaneous Statute Law Amendment Act, 2016?
Agreed.
Thank you, Minister, and thank you to your witness. Sergeant-at-Arms, please escort the witness from the Chamber. Committee, we have also agreed to consider Bill 8, An Act to Amend the Children’s Law Act. I will ask the Minister responsible for the bill to introduce it. Minister Sebert.
Yes. I am pleased to be here today to present Bill 8, An Act to Amend the Children’s Law Act. Bill 8 amends the Children's Law Act to allow for the establishment of a child support recalculation service. This service will allow child support payment amounts to be automatically recalculated using parents' updated income information on an annual basis. This will reduce the need for parents to go to court when there are changes in their income.
It will be a free, simple, and transparent process for both parents and can help to reduce the conflict associated with variations of child support amounts. The recalculation service will also help to ensure that children receive adequate financial support.
There are currently nine jurisdictions in Canada with some form of recalculation service. It is important to ensure that NWT residents are provided with the type of family law supports that promote access to justice and are available to most Canadians. Additional amendments unrelated to the establishment of the service are also included in the bill. These changes are editorial in nature and are focused largely on modernizing language in the act. I would like to thank the Standing Committee on Social Development for its review of Bill 8. I would be pleased to answer any questions that the committee may have regarding the bill.
Thank you, Minister. I will now turn to the Chair of the Standing Committee on Social Development. Mr. Thompson.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, the Standing Committee on Social Development concluded its review of Bill 8, An Act to Amend the Children’s Law Act, on October 25, 2016, with a public hearing held here in the Legislative Assembly building. Throughout the review of this bill, committee members were particularly interested in the future delivery of the in-house recalculation services by the Department of Justice.
These long-awaited amendments will bring positive, meaningful change to the lives of many of our constituents and their families and to Northerners at large, and the committee is pleased to support them. Individual Members may have additional comments or questions as we proceed with consideration of this bill. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you, Mr. Thompson. Minister, would you like to bring witnesses into the Chamber?
Yes, I would, Mr. Chair.
Sergeant-at-Arms, please escort the witnesses into the Chamber. Minister, please introduce your witnesses.
Mr. Chair, to my left, Emily Ingarfield, manager, policy and planning, and to my right, Thomas Drouin, legislative council.
Thank you, Minister, and welcome to our witnesses. I will now open the floor to general comments on Bill 8. I see no general comments on Bill 8. Does committee agree that there are no further general comments?
Agreed.
Can we proceed to a clause-by-clause review of the bill?
Agreed.
As there are 35 clauses, does committee agree that we group the clauses in groups of five?
Agreed.
Committee, we will defer the bill number and title until after consideration of the clauses. Please turn to page 1. Clauses 1 through 5.
Agreed.
Clauses 6 through 10.
Agreed.
Clauses 11 through 15.
Agreed.
Clauses 16 to 20.
Agreed.
Clauses 21 to 25.
Agreed.
Clauses 26 to 30.
Agreed.
Clauses 31 to 35.
Agreed.
Thank you, committee. Committee, to the bill as a whole. Does committee agree that Bill 8, An Act to Amend the Children’s Law Act, is now ready for third reading?
