Thanks, Mr. Chair. First off, I would like to thank the Standing Committee on Social Development for its review of the bill. Bill 30, the Health Statutes Amendment Act (Cremation Services), is a private Member's bill which proposes amendments to the Public Health Act and to the Vital Statistics Act.
Together, the minor amendments in Bill 30 will allow greater certainty for cremations to be performed here in the NWT, reducing costs and wait times for bereaved families, and further diversify the domestic service economy. Specifically, amendments to the Public Health Act will create the ability to make regulations for cremation and crematoriums. Amendments to the Vital Statistics Act will define cremation and crematoriums and ensure that only a funeral planner can carry out cremations that are to take place in a crematorium.
Although the existing regulatory regime does not prohibit cremation, it is largely silent on how this service is to be provided. Burial, cremation, and funeral services are not governed by specific legislation in the Northwest Territories.
In introducing this bill, I would like to provide Members with a brief background on the cremation service situation and on how these amendments will improve services for the public and provide certainty for service providers. All Canadian jurisdictions except the Northwest Territories and Nunavut have legislation for cremation. There are about 200 deaths each year among NWT residents. There are two recognized funeral planners in the NWT (located in Inuvik and Yellowknife) and others, on a case-by-case basis, in small communities.
Of the approximately 100 funerals handled annually by the main service provider, cremation is the chosen option for about 40-45 per cent of families, even though cremation services are not available in the NWT. Cremation currently takes place in Edmonton, and transportation costs alone are approximately $1,500 from Yellowknife. Shipment to and from Edmonton adds several days' delay at a time when families may wish to proceed as promptly as possible with a funeral. These transportation costs and delays will be reduced or eliminated by the availability of local service suppliers.
The proposed bill would amend the Public Health Act and the Vital Statistics Act to state clearly that cremation is both permitted and governed by the current regime. This provides certainty for service providers and communities, and it will explicitly allow cremation as a permitted method of interment under the existing statutory scheme. For the service providers, clarifying cremation practice and regulatory authority and the use of consistent definitions in cremation legislation, provides greater certainty.
The private Member's bill does not seek to establish new powers with respect to cremation. It does not create any new regulatory structure to govern the performance of cremation. Above all, the private Member's bill does not require cremation. It does provide greater clarity for anyone designated to offer funeral services in the NWT, enabling service providers to include cremations within the existing system.
Prior to deciding to proceed with a private Member's bill, I consulted widely on how to make NWT-based cremation possible. In response to my inquiries, the Minister of Health and Social Services stated in an email in December 2016 that the department had done a jurisdictional scan of cremation legislation. The Minister indicated he would work with other departments to determine the legislative steps necessary to make cremation services available in the NWT.
In the winter 2017 Legislative Assembly session, I made a statement on cremation and asked whether Cabinet was prepared to bring forward a bill. In response, the Minister of Health and Social Services and Minister of Municipal and Community Affairs suggested that a private Member's bill may be the best way to move forward.
Since then, I have worked closely with the Office of the Law Clerk and consulted with a potential service provider in preparing the proposed legislation. It was decided that the best approach was to ensure certainty through minor amendments of the existing law.
The proposed approach maintains the current regulatory regime governing burial, funeral services, and the final disposition of human remains in the NWT. The bill explicitly provides that cremation is permitted by this system.
Regulations under the Public Health Act could be brought forward by Health and Social Services at some point in the future, as the department would have the authority to regulate cremation and crematoriums. For now, there is no proposal to create regulations. The establishment of crematoria may require municipal approvals including zoning and business licensing. These matters will continue to be regulated by local governments under the Department of Municipal and Community Affairs municipal governance legislation. This is consistent with other jurisdictions in Canada.
Creation of the ability to perform cremations has no financial implications for the Government of the NWT.
In summary, I believe this private Member's bill:
Responds to a real and immediate need to enable improved services for NWT families and consumers, at reduced expense and with an expansion to the local service economy and tax base;
Has been carefully constructed, in consultation with a potential service provider and the Minister of Health and Social Services;
Provides the legislative support necessary to permit these operations with greater legal certainty and clarity;
Creates the ability for further and more specific direction of these practices by establishing the ability to write regulations; and
Allows this legislative improvement to be made even though this action was not among the legislative priorities of the government.
I welcome the committee's review of this proposed legislation. I would be happy to answer any questions Members may have. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you, Mr. O'Reilly. I will turn to the chair of the Standing Committee on Social Development, which considered the bill. Mr. Thompson.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, the Standing Committee on Social Development concluded its review of Bill 30: Health Statutes Law Amendment Act (Cremation Services) on August 22nd, 2017, with a public hearing held here at the Legislative Assembly's building. During its review of this private Member's bill, the committee received one public submission, a letter of support from Ms. Janice McKenna, owner and director of McKenna Funeral Services in Yellowknife. Committee is pleased to support this bill. Individual Members may have additional comments or questions as we proceed with the consideration of this bill. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you, Mr. Thompson. Does Mr. O'Reilly have witnesses he would like to bring into the Chamber?
Yes, Mr. Chair, I do.
Sergeant-at-Arms, please escort the witnesses into the Chamber. Mr. O'Reilly, please introduce your witness.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. I have Ms. Laura Jeffrey, who is the legislative counsel for this bill, and she is sitting to my left. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you, Mr. O'Reilly. Welcome back, Ms. Jeffrey. I will open the floor to general comments on the bill. Do we have any general comments? I see Mr. Testart.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. I appreciate how this bill was designed and the problem it is trying to solve. I think it is important that we offer low-cost funeral services for Northerners, but there are some technical questions I would like to ask the honourable Member who is sponsoring this bill.
In the current version of the Public Health Act, it would appear that there is authority to regulate funeral services and the disposal of human bodies. Now, this bill corrects that by being explicit and brings more clarity to the act of cremations, but what is missing from this bill seems to be that it creates exclusivity for funeral planners in performing cremations and offering crematoria. With this exclusivity should come some sort of duty, a duty to comply with the regulatory system, a duty to be qualified, a duty to be trained, a duty to obtain a permit, a duty to maintain records, and a duty to maintain sanitation.
If you look at what is comparable in other Canadian jurisdictions, you will find, in the Province of Alberta, the Funeral Services Act; in the Province of British Columbia, the Cremation, Interment and Funeral Services Act; in Manitoba, the Pre-Arranged Funeral Services Act and the Funeral Directors and Embalmers Act; in New Brunswick, the Pre-Arranged Funeral Services Act; in Newfoundland and Labrador, the Embalmers and Funeral Directors Act. As you can see, across the gamut, there are explicit ways to regulate the profession and to create that duty.
Now, I acknowledge there may be other means and secondary sources for imposing standards and for exercising control on the providers of funeral services and on funeral planners in the Northwest Territories. However, if the Member would like to speak to that and provide some clarity on what those secondary sources and existing regulatory measures are that can be brought towards this, I would be more comfortable supporting this bill with that clarification. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you, Mr. Testart. Mr. O'Reilly, how do you respond?
Thanks, Mr. Chair. I appreciate the question from the Member. I think, first off, I would like to say that this bill is an interim step. There was not an attempt to try to regulate funeral planners, their accreditation, and so on in this bill. That is not the purpose of it. That is not what I tried to set out to do in the first place.
There is a definition for funeral planner, and it is found in the Vital Statistics Act. It is defined as follows: funeral planner means a person who takes charge of a dead body for the purpose of burial, cremation, and other disposition. The duties of a funeral planner are defined under section 60 of the Vital Statistics Act. I will be the first to admit that it is not a comprehensive set of duties.
As the Member has indicated, there is a lengthy means of regulating this service in other jurisdictions, and I agree that we should probably ultimately aim towards moving in that direction. That is not the purpose of this bill. It was to at least ensure that cremation comes in under our existing system. I think the steps that the Member has outlined are the next logical ones, but they are not going to be addressed through this bill. I would be happy to work with my colleagues on the Cabinet side to try to move forward with some level of regulation of this profession, as well, but that is the next step after this bill. Thanks, Mr. Chair.
Thank you, Mr. O'Reilly. Anything further, Mr. Testart?
Thank you, Mr. Chair. I certainly appreciate that. There is only so much that can be done with this type of legislation. Now, I know that there are funeral directors operating in the Northwest Territories who have certification from the Province of Alberta, and, in other examples in the Northwest Territories, we often use Alberta's qualifications, or we use other provinces', as well.
Has the honourable Member from Frame Lake had the opportunity to have that discussion with a representative from the government side on doing something similar, of applying Alberta's qualifications to our funeral directors? That might save us some time, and potentially money, in order to ensure that this profession is well-regulated and that there are those professional standards set. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you, Mr. Testart. Mr. O'Reilly.
Thanks, Mr. Chair. I appreciate the question again. I think it is fair to say that I have had some very preliminary discussions with at least a couple of our Cabinet colleagues about this, but we all know that there is a lengthy legislative agenda that we would like to accomplish together as part of this 18th Assembly. I am not responsible for that, but I am happy to work with them and Regular Members to try to move forward with that. There are other professions, even medical professions, that are not currently regulated; occupational therapy, physios, and so on. There are a number of professions, medical professions, that are not even regulated, so to sort of bring this one out and to bring it to the forefront, I am not sure that that is the priority that we might move forward together on.
I think there is a clear recognition, at least on my part and I think for other Members in this House, that it is something that we should move towards, but this is an interim step. That is what this bill is trying to accomplish. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you, Mr. O'Reilly. Mr. Testart.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. I appreciate again where my honourable friend is coming from on this one, to create a service as an interim measure, so I guess I cannot ask this question directly. I will just include it in the debate.
It would be lovely if a member of the government's side could offer some clarity on their position on this issue and whether or not they have contemplated the regulatory issue that I have raised earlier today. Apart from that, I have nothing further for the honourable Member, and I am pleased to support his bill. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Testart. Do I have any further general comments? I see Minister Abernethy.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. I would like to thank the Member for Frame Lake for bringing forward this private Member's bill to propose amendments to the Vital Statistics Act and the Public Health Act, to provide some certainty that cremation can be authorized in the Northwest Territories. We do support the bill in principle.
Currently, NWT residents are sent south for cremation and are subject to a comprehensive legislative framework in Alberta. As the Member appreciates, an NWT regulatory framework for cremation will involve input from several departments of the Government of the Northwest Territories. If and when the bill is passed by this Legislative Assembly, I commit to working together with the Departments of Justice, Environment and Natural Resources, and Municipal and Community Affairs to develop regulatory changes that may be required.
It will be necessary for officials to consult with industry as appropriate and as is prudent. From a Health and Social Services perspective, we would consider regulatory amendments under the Public Health Act and, to be clear, these regulations would be restricted to sanitation standards, air quality, and other public health matters, but would not include specific rules around the business of crematoria, as it is beyond the scope of the Public Health Act.
We have not established a work plan or timelines, as this is a private Member's bill. However, if and when the bill passes, the department will make it a priority to meet with the other departments and map out the work required and the associated timelines, recognizing that we have a heavy mandate to commitments for many different areas in the government and this would have to fit in there. It might not happen as quickly as some want, but it is something that we will work towards. Thank you.
Thank you, Minister. Anything further? I see no further general comments. We can begin with a clause-by-clause review. We will defer the bill title and number until after the consideration of the clauses. Please turn to page 2 of the bill. I will call out the clauses. Clause 1, does committee agree?
Agreed.
Clause 2.
Agreed.
Thank you, committee. To the bill as a whole. Does committee agree that Bill 30, private Member's public bill: Health Statutes Law Amendment Act (Cremation Services) is now ready for third reading?
Agreed.
Bill 30 is now ready for third reading. Does committee agree that this concludes our consideration of Bill 30?
Agreed.
Thank you, committee. Thank you to Mr. O'Reilly and your witness. Sergeant-at-Arms, you may escort the witness from the Chamber. What is the wish of committee? Mr. Beaulieu.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, I move that we rise and report progress. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Thank you, Mr. Beaulieu. There is a motion on the floor to report progress. The motion is in order and non-debatable. All those in favour? All those opposed?
---Carried
