Question has been called. All those in favour? All those opposed? The motion is carried.
---Carried
Bill 48 has had a second reading and is referred to standing committee. Second reading of bills. Minister of Finance.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I move, seconded by the honourable Member for Inuvik Boot Lake, that Bill 50, Supplementary Appropriation Act (Infrastructure Expenditures), No. 4, 2018-2019, be read for the second time.
Mr. Speaker, this bill makes supplementary appropriations to the infrastructure expenditures for the Government of the Northwest Territories for the 2018-2019 fiscal year. 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
Bill 50 has had a second reading. Second reading of bills. Minister of Finance.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and thank you, colleagues. Mr. Speaker, I move, seconded by the honourable Member for Hay River South, that Bill 51, Supplementary Appropriation Act (Operations Expenditures), No. 4, 2018-2019, be read for the second time.
Mr. Speaker, this bill makes supplementary appropriations for operations expenditures for the Government of the Northwest Territories for the 2018-2019 fiscal year. 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
Bill 51 has had a second reading. Second reading of bills. Minister of Finance.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and thank you, colleagues. Mr. Speaker, I move, seconded by the honourable Member for Thebacha, that Bill 52, Supplementary Appropriation Act (Infrastructure Expenditures), No. 1, 2019-2020, be read for the second time.
Mr. Speaker, this bill makes supplementary appropriations for infrastructure expenditures for the Government of the Northwest Territories for the 2019-2020 fiscal year. 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
Bill 52 has had a second reading. Second reading of bills. Minister of Finance.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and thank you, colleagues. Mr. Speaker, I move, seconded by the honourable Member for Range Lake, that Bill 53, Supplementary Appropriation Act (Operations Expenditures), No. 1, 2019-2020, be read for the second time.
Mr. Speaker, this bill makes supplementary appropriations for operations expenditures for the Government of the Northwest Territories for the 2019-2020 fiscal year. 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? Motion carried.
---Carried
Thank you, committee. I will now call Committee of the Whole to order. What is the wish of committee? Mr. Testart.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. The committee would like to consider Tabled Document 237-18(3), Independent Commission to Review Members' Compensation and Benefits 2018 Review of Members' Compensation and Benefits Report, August 2018. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you, Mr. Testart. We will continue after a short recess. Thank you.
---SHORT RECESS
I call Committee of the Whole to order. Committee, we have agreed to consider Tabled Document 237-18(3). I will now open the floor to general comments on the tabled document. Ms. Green.
Masi, Mr. Chair. I am pleased to provide opening comments on this matter. In October 2017, an independent commission was established by the Speaker to review Members' compensation and benefits. This review is a requirement of Section 35.1 of the Legislative Assembly and Executive Council Act and routinely takes place within the first two years of a newly elected Assembly. The 18th Assembly's commission was comprised of three members: Mr. Norman Yakelaya, who was the commission chair; Ms. Donna Allen; and Mr. John Hazenberg.
In August 2018, the commission submitted its report to the Speaker who tabled it on October 11, 2018. The report makes 11 recommendations for consideration. With the exception of a recommended increase to the compensation for the chair of the Standing Committee on Rules and Procedures to make it equivalent to the compensation of other committee chairs, this report recommends no increases to the compensation and benefits of MLAs.
The purpose of our debate this afternoon is to publicly review and consider each of the commission’s recommendations. The recommendations adopted by the House today will be considered by the Board of Management who will use them to make recommended changes to legislation and amend existing regulations and policies. Any changes to legislation will be brought back to the Assembly for consideration in one of the two remaining sittings. Changes to regulation or policy resulting from the recommendations will be tabled by the Speaker. Consistent with longstanding practice, all changes to MLA compensation and benefits resulting from this process will take effect at the commencement of the next Legislative Assembly.
This concludes my opening remarks, Mr. Chair. Once other members have offered their general observations, I am prepared to introduce motions to adopt the commission’s recommendations. Mahsi, Mr. Chair.
Thank you, Ms. Green. Any further comments? Mr. O'Reilly.
Thanks, Mr. Chair. I want to thank the three members of the commission, Mr. Yakelaya, Ms. Allen, Mr. Hazenberg, for the work that they did. I did meet with them personally while they were doing their work. I want to thank them for the thoughtful report that they put together and just reiterate again that, while we go through these recommendations, none of them apply to sitting MLAs. They will only apply to the people who are elected for the 19th Assembly. Thanks very much, Mr. Chair.
Thank you, Mr. O'Reilly. Any further comments, committee? Seeing none. Ms. Green.
Mr. Chair, I move that this Assembly recommends that an exit strategy for Members of the legislative Assembly be developed and implemented as a resource for all who are leaving politics.
Thank you. There is a motion on the floor. Ms. Green.
Mr. Chair, this recommendation, as well as the next two, address the supports that are provided to Members who do not return to the next Assembly. They propose development of an exit strategy for Members and allow them to access support services for up to a year after they leave office. This particular motion calls for the development of an exit strategy for outgoing Members to address such issues as the avoidance of conflicts of interest in their post-retirement life, the disposal of public assets and equipment, records management and disposal, and an understanding of the tax implications of retirement benefits such as pensions, transition, and retraining allowances. Mr. Chair, I support this recommendation.
Thank you, Ms. Green. To the motion. Mr. O'Reilly.
Thanks, Mr. Chair. I support this recommendation, as well. For those who are transitioning out of political life, sometimes, there can be some dramatic changes. What this is proposing to do is to just make sure that there is some guidance in place to help with that kind of transition. We already have a training assistance program that can provide assistance up to $10,000 for Members as they move back into private life. This is just recognizing, and comes from the members of the commission, that sometimes there are other things that people have to consider in terms of their retirement and pensions and so on. This is just making sure that there is a more holistic approach to MLAs as they transition into private life. For that reason, I support it. Thanks, Mr. Chair.
Thank you, Mr. O'Reilly. To the motion. Minister Cochrane.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. Just as yesterday, when we were talking about assisting women to get into politics and I spoke about not knowing the roles and responsibilities as a Minister, I know that, when we first became elected Members, we were given an orientation session, but in all honesty, it was a blur. Things came really fast. I hardly remember any part of that.
One thing I have learned, I have learned my roles. One Minister I have to give credit to, the MLA from Great Slave, who taught me to never do anything unethical, illegal, or immoral. I respect that, and I have upheld that throughout my term here.
I recognize this is for the next Assembly, but I want to make sure that any Members who leave have full comprehension on what they are dealing with and what their obligations were. I fully support this motion. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you, Minister Cochrane. Any further questions, committee? Seeing none, to the motion.
Question.
Question has been called. All those in favour? All those opposed. Any abstentions? Motion carried.
---Carried
Ms. Green.
I move that this Assembly recommends that the Government of the Northwest Territories should pay for the Planning for Retirement Course or the Successful Transition to Retirement Course for any Member who is leaving the government at the end of their term.
Thank you, Ms. Green. To the motion. Ms. Green.
Mr. Chair, this recommendation should properly refer to the Legislative Assembly and not the government, but its intention is clear. The government provides excellent courses to the public service to plan not only for the financial aspects of retirement but also the emotional and lifestyle implications that are often of equal or greater importance. If adopted, the board of management will consider whether the fee for this course will become an allowable constituency budget expense or will be paid by the Legislative Assembly. I support this recommendation, Mr. Chair.
Thank you, Ms. Green. To the motion. Next, we have Mr. Vanthuyne.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. While I appreciate the comments and the points noted by the previous speaker, I, too, recognize that this particular motion actually should have maybe referenced the Legislative Assembly rather than the Government of the Northwest Territories as the payee. That aside, I am of the opinion that, while I supported the previous motion with regard to an exit strategy and that there should be support provided in that way, I feel that Members who are planning to retire or, in some instances, are not re-elected have the obligation within their own purview to plan ahead and do their retirement planning and take that as their own personal responsibility. Through the time in which they are here in the Legislative Assembly, I feel that they have access to our human resources division, including the Legislative Assembly's director of corporate affairs, here to help them with their planning as it relates to their retirement. For those reasons, I won't be in support. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Vanthuyne. To the motion. Mr. O'Reilly.
Thanks, Mr. Chair. Unlike the previous speaker, I will be supporting this. I think most good employers do actually provide some assistance with pension and retirement planning, and I don't know why the Legislative Assembly would be any different. I think we should be doing this for the Members who are not returning, so I will support the motion. Thanks, Mr. Chair.
Thank you, Mr. O'Reilly. To the motion. Mr. Testart.
