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.
Mr. Speaker, your committee has been considering 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 Statutes Law Amendment Act (Cremation Services) and would like to report that Bills 24, 25, 28, 29 and 30 are ready for Third Reading. Mr. Speaker, I move I move that the report of the Committee of the Whole be concurred with. Thank you.
