The Member for Nahendeh, the Member for Frame Lake, the Member for Deh Cho, the Member for Hay River North, the Member for Yellowknife North, the Member for Kam Lake, the Member for Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh.
Masi. All those opposed, please stand.
The Member for Yellowknife Centre, the Member for Nunakput, the Member for Inuvik Boot Lake, the Member for Range Lake, the Member for Great Slave, the Member for Yellowknife South, the Member for Inuvik Twin Lakes, the Member for Hay River South, the Member for Thebacha, the Member for Mackenzie Delta, the Member for Sahtu.
Masi. All those abstaining, please stand. The results of the recorded votes: seven in favour, 11 against, zero abstention. The motion is defeated.
---Defeated
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I move, seconded by the honourable Member for Range Lake, that Bill 31, Northwest Territories 911 Act, be read for the first time. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Masi. The motion is in order. The motion is non-debatable. All those in favour? All those opposed? The motion is carried.
---Carried
Masi. Bill 31 has had its first reading. First reading of bills. Minister of Health and Social Services.
Mr. Speaker, I move, seconded by the honourable Member for Range Lake, that Bill 32, Naturopathic Profession Statutes Amendment Act, be read for the first time. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
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, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I move, seconded by the honourable Member for Hay River South, that Bill 30, An Act to Amend the Human Rights Act, be read for the second time. This bill amends the Human Rights Act to:
consolidate the office of the Human Rights Commission and the office of the Director of Human Rights into a single agency, the Human Rights Commission;
clarify the public interest mandate of the commission;
provide that restorative principles are to be applied to human rights protections and processes in the Northwest Territories;
provide for the carriage of complaints by the commission, in recognition of its public interest mandate;
add gender expression as a prohibited ground of discrimination; and
adjust terminology in the French version relating to gender identity.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Masi. The motion is in order to the principle of the bill.
Question.
Question has been called. All those in favour? All those opposed? The motion is carried.
---Carried
Masi. Bill 30 has had its second reading. Member for Nahendeh.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I seek unanimous consent to waive rule 89(3) and have Bill 30, An Act to Amend the Human Rights Act, referred to the Standing Committee on Government Operations. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
---Unanimous consent granted
I now call Committee of the Whole to order. What is the wish of committee? Mr. Testart.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. Committee would like to consider Committee Report 10-18(3), Report on the Review of Bill 20: Ombudsperson Act, and Bill 20, Ombudsperson Act. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you, Mr. Testart. Does committee agree?
Agreed.
Thank you, committee. First, a brief recess.
---SHORT RECESS
I will call Committee of the Whole back to order. Committee, the first document that we have agreed to consider is Committee Report 10-18(3), Standing Committee on Government Operations Report on the Review of Bill 20, the Ombudsperson Act. I will go to the chair of the Standing Committee on Government Operations for opening comments. Mr. Testart.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. Yesterday the Standing Committee on Government Operations reported on its review of Bill 20 as a substantive report. That report was read into the record, and I am happy to answer any questions that Members of this committee have on that report, but otherwise, I will have the record speak for itself. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you, Mr. Testart. I will open the floor to general comments on the report. Just so everyone is aware, the committee report contains recommendations. Generally, those recommendations are moved as motions by the chair of the committee. Mr. Testart.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. I move that this Assembly recommends that the Minister responsible for Public Engagement and Transparency work closely with the Office of the Clerk of the Legislative Assembly and the newly appointed Ombud to ensure the timely development and launch of a robust public awareness campaign to support the opening of the Office of the Ombud and increase residents' understanding of services the office provides and how to access them. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you, Mr. Testart. There is a motion on the floor. To the motion.
Question.
Question has been called. All those in favour? All those opposed?
---Carried
Mr. Testart.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. I move that this Assembly recommends that the Minister responsible for Public Engagement and Transparency work closely with the Office of the Clerk of the Legislative Assembly and the newly appointed Ombud to ensure that appropriate procedures are established to advise the Tlicho government of any investigations by the Ombud of the Tlicho Community Services Agency and for the provision of the Ombud's report to the Tlicho government. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you, Mr. Testart. There is a motion on the floor. The motion is in order. To the motion. Minister Sebert.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. We will be abstaining from this motion, but taking the motion as advice to Cabinet. Thanks.
Thank you, Minister. To the motion.
Question.
Question has been called. All those in favour? All those opposed?
---Carried
Committee, do we agree that we have concluded consideration of Committee Report 10-18(3), Report on the Review of Bill 20, Ombudsperson Act?
Agreed.
Thank you, committee. This concludes our consideration of Committee Report 10-18(3). Next, we have agreed to consider Bill 20, Ombud Act. I will ask the Minister responsible for the bill to introduce it. Minister Sebert.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. I am here today to introduce Bill 20, Ombud Act.
I would like to thank the Standing Committee on Government Operations for their review of Bill 20 and for the constructive feedback that they have provided. A number of motions were made in standing committee, and I am pleased that the bill has improved as a result.
This bill represents a longstanding priority for Members of the Legislative Assembly, as well as the government's general commitment to enhancing transparency and accountability.
An Ombud serves as a check on government, monitoring its treatment of citizens and promoting accountability in public administration. Specifically, an Ombud investigates whether the administrative decisions, recommendations, actions, or omissions of government authorities in relation to citizens are improper, based on principles of administrative fairness.
An Ombud is independent. As an Officer of the Legislative Assembly, they have the freedom to offer honest criticism to the institutions that they investigate.
An Ombud is impartial. They are advocates for fairness. They are not advocates or agents for any party to a dispute.
Investigations by an Ombud are confidential. The information collected by the Ombud will not be subject to disclosure under our access to information laws, and the Ombud cannot be compelled to provide information in proceedings of a judicial nature.
Further, Ombud investigations require a credible review process. The bill sets out what the Ombud can investigate and provides the Ombud with wide powers of investigation.
The Ombud's powers also include the discretion to resolve matters informally, the authority to make findings and develop recommendations to resolve unfairness and improve administrative practices, and the ability to report matters to the Premier, Legislative Assembly, and the public.
I would be pleased to answer any questions that Members may have regarding Bill 20.
Thank you, Minister. I will now turn to the chair of the Standing Committee on Government Operations, which considered the bill, for opening comments. Mr. Testart.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Chair, the Standing Committee on Government Operations is pleased to speak to Bill 20, the Ombud Act.
It began its consultations after the bill was given second reading. The committee wrote to invite input from a broad array of stakeholders and organizations in the Northwest Territories, such as municipal governments, chambers of commerce, non-governmental organizations, and professional societies. Committee also wrote to Indigenous governments in the NWT to seek their input, and in particular, to canvas their interest in accessing the services of the Ombud on a cost-sharing basis in a manner similar to that provided for the Yukon Ombudsman Act.
The committee held seven public hearings on Bill 20 in Inuvik, Norman Wells, Fort Resolution, Hay River, Behchoko, Ndilo, and Yellowknife. As well, committee received eight written submissions on the bill from the Yellowknife Chamber of Commerce, the Tlicho government and K'atlodeeche First Nation, former MLA Ms. Wendy Bisaro, Mr. Collin Baile, the NWT Seniors' Society, the NWT Branch of the Canadian Bar Association, and the City of Yellowknife.
On behalf of committee, I would to thank the communities who welcomed us on our travels and everyone who provided input on Bill 20.
The clause-by-clause review was held on October 25, 2018. At this meeting, committee moved 18 separate motions to amend Bill 20. Fifteen were carried with concurrence from the Minister, and three were defeated with no concurrence from the Minister.
Mr. Chair, the committee members intend to move some of these amendments in this Committee of the Whole clause-by-clause review. However, it has come to our attention that one of the amendments proposed during the committee's review to add a preamble to the bill is not in order with commonly accepted legislative process in rules and procedures. I will quote from Erskine and May, "If the bill is without a preamble [as it the case with Bill 20] the committee may not introduce one as an amendment." Therefore, one of the amendments that we were considering tonight will not be proceeded with, and the other amendments that were introduced at the committee stage will be brought forward by myself or other Members during this review.
With that, individual Members may have additional comment, but otherwise, I look forward to our debate on this important piece of legislation. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you, Mr. Testart. I understand there are witnesses that the Minister would like brought into the Chamber. Sergeant-at-Arms, please escort the witnesses into the Chamber. Minister, you may take your seat at the table. Minister, would you please introduce your witnesses for the record.
Yes, thank you, Mr. Chair. To my left is Mike Reddy, legislative counsel; to my right is Charlene Doolittle, deputy secretary to Cabinet; and to her right is Allison Anderson, Cabinet policy advisor. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you. Welcome to the witnesses. I will now open the floor to general comments on Bill 20. Seeing none, we will proceed to a clause-by-clause review of the bill. Does committee agree that we consider the clauses in groups?
Agreed.
Thank you, committee. We will defer the bill number entitlement until after consideration of the clauses. There are 46 clauses in the bill and one schedule. Please turn to page 5 of the bill. I will call out the clauses. If committee is in agreement, please respond accordingly.
---Clauses 1 through 14 inclusive approved
