I wish to table to following two documents entitled "Strengthening Our Core – 2016-2017 Annual Report of the Northwest Territories Hydro Corporation and the Northwest Territories Power Corporation," and "Proposed Mandate of the Government of the Northwest Territories, 2016-2017 (Revised) - with Tracked changes." Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Masi. Tabling of documents. Minister of Municipal and Community Affairs.
Mr. Speaker I wish to table the following two documents entitled "Status of Women Council of the Northwest Territories Annual Report 2016-2017," and a "Letter from the NWT Association of Communities to the Minister of Municipal and Community Affairs Regarding Governance Training and Elections, dated September 19, 2017." Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Masi. Tabling of documents. Minister of the Environment and Natural Resources.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I wish to table the following two documents entitled "Northwest Territories Species at Risk Committee Annual Report 2016-2017" and "Conference of Management Authorities Species at Risk Annual Report 2016-2017." Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
WHEREAS Tabled Document 419-18(2): Proposed Mandate of the Government of the Northwest Territories, 2016-2019 (Revised), has been tabled in this House;
AND WHEREAS the Proposed Mandate of the Government of the Northwest Territories, 2016-2019 (Revised) requires detailed consideration;
NOW THEREFORE I MOVE, seconded by the honourable Member for Yellowknife Centre, that Tabled Document 419-18(2), Proposed Mandate of the Government of the Northwest Territories, 2016-2019 (Revised) be referred to Committee of the Whole for consideration.
Masi. The motion is in order. The motion is non-debatable. All those in favour? All those opposed? The motion is carried.
---Carried
Thank you. I will now call Committee of the Whole to Order. What is the wish of committee? Mr. Beaulieu.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, committee wishes to consider Bill 24, An Act to Amend the Coroners Act; Bill 25, An Act to Amend the Residential Tenancies Act; Bill 28, Interpretation Act; Bill 29, Miscellaneous Statute Law Amendment Act, 2017; and Bill 30, Health Statute Law Amendment Act (Cremation Services). Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you, Mr. Beaulieu. Does committee agree?
Agreed.
Thank you, committee. We will begin consideration after a short break.
---SHORT RECESS
I will now call Committee of the Whole back to order.
Committee, we have agreed to begin our afternoon with consideration of Bill 24, An Act to Amend the Coroners Act. I will ask the Minister responsible for the bill to introduce it. Minister Sebert.
Yes. I am here to present Bill 24, An Act to Amend the Coroners Act.
I would like to thank the Standing Committee on Social Development for their review of this bill, and for the constructive feedback they have provided. A number of motions were made in committee, and I am pleased the bill has improved as a result. Bill 24 includes a number of proposed amendments to the Coroners Act to create greater efficiencies in the process to form a coroner’s inquest jury and the procedures for conducting a coroner’s inquest. To this end, the amendments would be:
Allow for the assembly of a jury panel, from which the jury may be selected;
Add provisions outlining the procedure for selecting jurors from the jury panel;
Allow persons to be excused from jury service in certain circumstances;
Allow the Chief Coroner to create rules of procedure for inquests; and
Improve the clarity and readability of certain provisions.
These proposed amendments came at the request of the Chief Coroner, and the bill has her support.
I would be happy to answer any questions that Members may have regarding Bill 24. Thank you.
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 24, An Act to Amend the Coroners Act, on August 22, 2017, with a public hearing held here at the Legislative Assembly building. The committee received no public submissions on the bill, and carried two motions to amend the bill. Enquiries can be extremely difficult for communities, including families and those fulfilling a civic duty by serving as a juror. Members are pleased that Bill 24 takes concrete steps to lessen that burden. 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, do you have any witnesses you would like to bring to the Chamber?
I do. May I proceed to the table?
Thank you, Minister. Sergeant-at-Arms, please escort the witnesses into the Chamber. Minister, would you please introduce your witnesses to the Chamber.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. To my left is Emily Ingarfield, the manager of policy, and to my right, Laura Jeffrey, legislative counsel. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you, Minister. I will open the floor to general comments on the bill. Are there any general comments? I see none. Can we proceed to a clause-by-clause review of the bill? Committee, please turn to page 2 of the bill. We will defer bill number and title until after consideration of the clauses. Clause 1, does the committee agree?
---Clauses 1 through 7 inclusive approved
Thank you, committee. To the bill as a whole, does the committee agree that Bill 24, reprint, An Act to Amend the Coroners Act is now ready for third reading?
Agreed.
Thank you, committee. Bill 24 is now ready for third reading. Does committee agree that this concludes our consideration of Bill 24?
Agreed.
Thank you, committee. Thank you to the Minister and your witnesses. Sergeant-at-Arms, you may escort the witnesses from the Chamber.
Committee, we have agreed to next consider Bill 25, An Act to Amend the Residential Tenancies Act. I will ask the Minister responsible for it to introduce it. Minister Sebert.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. I am here to present Bill 25, An Act to Amend the Residential Tenancies Act.
The Residential Tenancies Act was amended in 2015 to make a number of changes, including providing for the enforcement of orders through filing with the Supreme Court, allowing for applications to terminate tenancy agreements due to domestic violence, providing a remedy to a tenant for termination on notice of rent increase where rent is not then increased, and establishing a regulation-making authority to set fees for the filing of applications with the rental officer. Since these changes were made, a number of additional concerns regarding the act have been brought to the attention of the department from both the public and by Members.
Bill 25 addresses these concerns, and includes amendments which would:
Permit the filing of rental officer orders electronically or by mail;
Provide authority to rental officers to correct minor errors in their orders; and
Adjust the definition of "tenant."
These amendments would help increase access to justice for tenants and landlords in the Northwest Territories by allowing easier filing of rental officer orders. They would also create efficiencies by allowing for correction of minor errors in rental officer orders without requiring that the order be taken to court. Lastly, they would allow the continuing allocation of subsidized public housing in an appropriate and fair manner.
I would like to thank the Standing Committee on Social Development for its review of the bill, and I would be happy to answer any questions that Members may have regarding Bill 25. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you, Minister. I will now turn to the Chair of the Standing Committee on Social Development, which considered the bill for any opening comments. Mr. Thompson.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, the Standing Committee on Social Development concluded its review of Bill 25, An Act to Amend the Residential Tenancies Act, on August 22, 2017, with a public hearing held here at the Legislative Assembly building. Although the committee received no public submissions on the bill, the committee is aware that the operations of the Northwest Territories rental office has recently been of interest to our colleagues in the House and to our constituents. We look forward to improvements in the services Northerners receive at the rental office. 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 them into the Chamber?
Thank you, Mr. Chair. I would like to have that opportunity, thank you.
Sergeant-at-Arms, please escort the witnesses into the Chamber. Minister, would you please introduce your witnesses.
Mr. Chair, Emily Ingarfield, the manager of policy, to my left, and Laura Jeffrey, legislative counsel, to my right.
Thank you, Minister. I will open the floor to general comments on the bill. Any general comments from Members? Seeing none, we can proceed to a clause-by-clause reading of the bill. We will defer bill number and title until after consideration of the clauses. Please turn to page 2 of the bill. As I read out the clauses, please reply with "agreed" if committee agrees. Clause 1.
---Clauses 1 through 6 inclusive approved
Thank you, Committee. To the bill as a whole. Does committee agree that Bill 25, An Act to Amend the Residential Tenancies Act is now ready for third reading?
Agreed.
Thank you, committee. Bill 25 is now ready for third reading. Does committee agree this concludes our consideration of Bill 25, An Act to Amend the Residential Tenancies Act?
Agreed.
Thank you, committee. Thank you again to the Minister and thank you again to the witnesses. Sergeant-at-Arms, please escort the witnesses from the Chamber.
Next on our agenda, we have agreed to consider Bill 28, Interpretation Act. Once again, I will turn to the Minister responsible for the bill to introduce it. Minister Sebert.
