Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I wish to table the following five documents entitled "2017-2018 Water Stewardship Strategy Progress Review Summary," "NWT Cumulative Impact Monitoring Program, 2017-2018 Annual Report and 2017-2018 Project Results," pursuant to section 13(1) of the Natural Resources Conservation Trust Act, "The Natural Resources Conservation Trust Fund Financial Statements for the year ended March 31, 2017," and, pursuant to sections 16(2) and 23(3) of the Species At Risk Act, "Conference of Management Authorities Species At Risk Annual Report 2017-2018," and "Northwest Territories Species At Risk Committee Annual Report 2017-2018." Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Masi. Tabling of documents. Minister responsible for the Workers' Safety and Compensation Commission.
Tabled Document 250-18(3):
Workers' Safety and Compensation Commission Annual Report 2017
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, pursuant to section 106(3) of the Workers' Compensation Act, I wish to table the following document entitled "Workers' Safety and Compensation Commission Annual Report 2017 Northwest Territories and Nunavut." Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Masi. Tabling of documents. Member for Yellowknife Centre.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I would like to table a document with the title "Review of the Social Work Diploma Program Final Report, April 5, 2018."
I will now call Committee of the Whole to order. What is the wish of committee, Mr. Testart?
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, the committee would like to take under consideration Bill 13, An Act to Amend the Securities Act; Bill 14, Miscellaneous Statute Law Amendment Act, 2018; Bill 15, Document Formalization, Service and Notice Reform Statute Law Amendment Act; Bill 16, An Act to Amend the Social Assistance Act; and Bill 17, An Act to Amend the Student Financial Assistance Act. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Thank you, Mr. Testart. Does committee agree?
Agreed.
Thank you, Mr. Testart. As you can all tell, I am in a rush, so no break today, but I will give everyone a couple of minutes to get organized here. My understanding is that we should move through these pretty quick, so there is no sense in taking a 20-minute break and coming back for only a few minutes. So everyone get organized, take about two minutes, and we will get started right away.
Thank you, committee, for your patience. Committee, we have agreed to consider a number of bills. The first is Bill 13. I will begin by asking the Minister responsible for the bill to introduce it. Minister Sebert.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. I am pleased to be here today to discuss Bill 13, An Act to Amend the Securities Act. I would like to thank the Standing Committee on Social Development for their review of this bill.
The purpose of securities legislation is to facilitate the raising of capital in the private sector, while providing appropriate protections and remedies for investors. As cross-border trading has evolved over time, the regulation of securities in Canada has become a coordinated activity among all provinces and territories. When the Northwest Territories enacted securities legislation in 2008, it was in line with the coordinated system of regulation across Canada. Since that time, however, most provinces and territories have agreed that regulatory improvements are required; this bill addresses those issues.
The proposed amendments will ensure securities legislation remains harmonized across jurisdictions and will protect members of the public who are investors by streamlining enforcement procedures, making it easier for investors to enforce their rights in court and ensuring that the average investor has access to better-quality, timelier, and easier-to-understand information with which to make their investment decisions.
I would be pleased to answer any questions that the committee may have regarding Bill 13. Thank you.
Thank you, Minister. I will now turn to the chair of the Standing Committee on Social Development, which is the committee that 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 13, An Act to Amend the Securities Act, on September 27, 2018, with a public hearing held at the Legislative Assembly building. The committee received no public submissions on the bill. The committee supports the government's effort to align territorial legislation with contemporary needs in Canadian interjurisdictional agreements. Individual Members may have additional comments or questions as we proceed with considering this bill. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you, Mr. Thompson, for that introduction. Minister, would you like to bring witnesses into the Chamber?
Yes, I would, please.
Thank you, Minister. Sergeant-at-Arms, please escort the witnesses into the Chamber. Minister, please introduce your witnesses for the record.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. I have, to my right, Jeremy Walsh, policy officer, and to my left, Christina Brownlee, legislative counsel.
Thank you. I will open the floor to general comments from committee. Do we have any general comments on the bill? There are no general comments. We can proceed to a clause-by-clause review of the bill. Unless I hear any objections, I will proceed in groups.
Agreed.
Thank you. Committee, please turn to page 1 of the bill. I will call out the clauses. If committee agrees, please respond accordingly. Clauses 1 through 5.
Agreed.
Clauses 6 through 10.
Agreed.
Clause 11.
Agreed.
Thank you, committee. To the bill as a whole. Does committee agree that Bill 13 is now ready for third reading?
Agreed.
Sorry, committee. Let's do this right, here. Does committee agree that Bill 13, An Act to Amend the Securities Act, is now ready for third reading?
Agreed.
Thank you, committee. Bill 13, An Act to Amend the Securities Act, is now ready for third reading. Does committee agree that this concludes our consideration of Bill 13?
Agreed.
Thank you, committee. Thank you to the Minister and to your witnesses. Minister, you may take your seat. Sergeant-at-Arms, you may escort the witnesses from the Chamber.
Thank you, committee. Sorry for the delays. It is our first day back in committee, so we are just ironing out the kinks. Committee, we have next agreed to consider Bill 14, the Miscellaneous Statute Law Amendment Act, 2018. I will turn to the Minister responsible to introduce the bill. Minister Sebert.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. I am pleased to be here today to discuss Bill 14, the Miscellaneous Statute Law Amendment Act, 2018.
The purpose of Bill 14 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; and
it must not create a new offence or subject a new class of persons to an existing offence.
Departments responsible for the various statutes being amended have reviewed and approved the changes. The amendments proposed in Bill 14 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 14 and would be pleased to answer any questions Members may have regarding the bill. Thank you.
Thank you, Minister. I will turn to the chair of the Standing Committee on Social Development, the committee that 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 14, the Miscellaneous Statute Law Amendment Act, 2018, on September 27, 2018, with a public hearing held at the Legislative Assembly building.
So-called "housekeeping bills" such as these ensure that territorial legislation is subject to regular review for consistency and accuracy. A minor amendment was made at the committee clause-by-clause review and was concurred with by the Minister. Following the committee's review, a motion was carried to report Bill 14, the Miscellaneous Statute Law Amendment Act, 2018, as ready for consideration in Committee of the Whole as amended and reprinted. 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, I understand you have witnesses you wish to bring into the Chamber?
Yes, thank you.
Sergeant-at-Arms, please escort the witnesses into the Chamber. Minister, please introduce your witness for the record.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. Mike Reddy, director, legislation division.
Thank you, Minister. Welcome to the witness. I will open the floor to general comments on Bill 14. General comments? Seeing none, committee, do you agree that we move to the clause-by-clause review of the bill?
Agreed.
Thank you, committee. We will defer the bill number and title until after consideration of the clauses. Please turn to page 1 of the bill. Once again, I will call the clauses in groups unless I hear any objections.
Agreed.
Thank you, committee. Clauses 1 through 5.
Agreed.
Thank you, committee. Clauses 6 through 10.
Agreed.
Thank you, committee. Clauses 11 through 15.
