Thanks, Madam Chair. I move that consideration of Tabled Document 46619(2), Supplementary Estimates(Operations Expenditures and Borrowing Authorization), No. 4, 20202021, be now concluded and that Tabled Document 46619(2) be reported and recommended as ready for further consideration in formal session through the form of an appropriation bill. Thank you, Madam Chair.
Thank you, Member. The motion is in order. To the motion?
Question.
Question has been called. All those in favor? All those opposed? Abstentions? The motion is carried. Tabled Document 46619(2) will be reported as ready for consideration in formal session through the form of an appropriation bill.
---Carried
Thank you, Ministers, and thank you to the witnesses appearing before us. SergeantatArms, please escort the witnesses from the Chamber.
Members, we will take a short recess, and we'll come back with our bills.
---SHORT RECESS
I now call Committee of the Whole back to order. Committee, we have agreed to consider Bill 31, an Act to Amend the Pharmacy Act. I will ask the Minister of Health and Social Services to introduce the bill.
Thank you, Madam Chair. I'm pleased to be here today to discuss Bill 31, an Act to Amend the Pharmacy Act.
The development of this bill is the result of swift effort by the Department of Health and Social Services and would not have been possible without the full support of the Standing Committee on Accountability and Oversight.
Madam Chair, the purpose of this bill is twofold:
First is to ensure that residents continue to have access to lifesaving naloxone kits in their communities and from organizations that work directly with residents at risk.
The proposed change will assist in the broader distribution of naloxone kits to non-health care providers and organizations outside of the NWT health system who can then redistribute the kits to residents who are at risk of opioid overdose.
The second purpose of the bill is to ensure that the health and social services system is supported to function efficiently and effectively, which is of particular importance during the current pandemic and our existing state of a public health emergency.
The authorization of electronic prescribing will support clear and secure communications between prescriber and pharmacist and improve patient safety and overall quality of care, increase convenience for dispensing new and refill prescriptions, and decrease risk of errors and liability when compared to handwritten prescriptions at the point of care.
I would like to take this opportunity to thank committee Members for the time they have taken in reviewing and responding to this bill.
I would be pleased to answer any questions Members have. And I have two witnesses to assist me. Thank you.
Thank you, Minister. SergeantatArms, you can please escort the witnesses into the Chamber.
Minister, can you please introduce your witnesses.
Yes, on the left is Kelly Mahoney, director of policy, legislation and communications, and on the right is Christina Duffy from the Department of Justice.
Thank you. I will now open the floor to general comments on Bill 31. Is the committee agreed that there are no comments oh, Member for Yellowknife North.
Thank you, Madam Chair. I don't anticipate having any questions during the detail, but I would just like to echo the Minister's statements that I'm happy to see this bill coming forward. I think it was great work to get this done so quickly, and to date, the territory has not seen, you know, nearly the level of opiate deaths that many other jurisdictions have had, especially our neighbors in the Yukon are going through a tragedy over there, but I think the more we can make naloxone accessible and make sure is on hand as a harm reduction measure, the better, and we'll eventually save lives. So thank you, the Minister for this.
Thank you, Member. Any further comments? Does the committee agree that there are no further general comments? We can proceed to the clause-by-clause review of the bill.
Committee, we will defer the bill number and title until after consideration of the clauses. Please turn to page 1 of the bill. Clause 1, does committee agree?
---Clauses 1 through 8 inclusive approved
Committee, to the bill as a whole, does the committee agree that Bill 31, an Act to Amend the Pharmacy Act, is now ready for third reading.
Agreed.
Thank you, committee. Does the committee agree that this concludes our consideration of Bill 31, an Act to Amend the Pharmacy Act?
Agreed.
Thank you.
Carried
Thank you, Minister, and thank you to your witnesses. SergeantatArms, please escort the witnesses from the Chamber.
Committee, we have agreed to consider Bill 32, an Act to Amend the Northern Employees Benefit Service Pension Plan Act. I'll ask the Minister of Finance to introduce the bill.
Thank you, Madam Chair. I am here to present Bill 32, an Act to Amend the Northern Employee Benefits Services Pension Plan Act .
The Northern Employee Benefits Pension Services Pension Plan Act, or NEBS, is a defined benefit pension plan that operates in both the Northwest Territories and Nunavut. NEBS provides pension services for municipal, local housing authority, and nonprofit sectors in both jurisdictions. In 2015, each jurisdiction adopted mirror legislation to formally establish the pension plan.
The NEBS pension plan has been in existence, in one form or another, for over 40 years. Broadly speaking, NEBS pension plan is self-regulating, meaning government provides minimal oversight of the day-to-day operations of the pension plan, and the pension plan is administered by the NEBS Pension Committee for the benefit of plan Members.
This bill is intended to address administrative and regulatory issues that have arisen since the act was proclaimed and to ensure that the legislative framework will support continued growth and management of the NEBS pension plan.
The proposed amendments to the act were developed through an extensive collaborative process involving both the NEBS Board of Directors and the Government of Nunavut.
The proposed amendments under Bill 32 involve four distinct changes:
First, redefine and name the pension committee as the legal authority responsible for operation and management of the NEBS pension plan;
Second, changes to the composition of the pension committee to provide more flexibility with respect to the number of Members representing, first, the interest of employers and, second, the interests of individual plan members;
Third, an expansion of the power that the pension committee has with respect to implementing policies and procedures required for proper administration of the pension plan. The Minister responsible for the Act will also receive a new power to regulate the scope and reach of the proposed new policies and procedures; and,.
Fourth, a new regulatory power will be provided to the Minister responsible for the Act to approve temporary measures necessary to permit a timely response to a crisis or emergency that could imperil the financial standing of the pension plan and negatively affect the benefit security of its members.
This proposed new power is based on similar provisions contained in the federal Pension Benefits Standards Act.
Finally, these proposed amendments to the Northern Employee Benefits Services Pension Plan Act will not require any consequential amendments to any other GNWT statutes. That concludes my opening remarks, Madam Chair. Thank you.
Thank you, Minister. Would you like to bring witnesses into the Chamber? SergeantatArms, please escort the witnesses to the Chamber.
Minister, please introduce your witnesses.
Thank you, Madam Chair. Madam Chair, on the left Deputy Minister, Department of Finance, Bill MacKay. And on the right are legislative drafter, I believe, Sherry Giroque although I guess yes, she's nodding at me.. I didn't have her title with me, I apologize.
Sorry. Could you repeat the last name.
Giroque.
Thank you. I will now open the floor to general comments on Bill 32. Member for Frame Lake.
Thanks, Madam Chair. I guess, as I understand it, NEBS also operates in Nunavut, and I think the Minister talked about how there was some consultation with Nunavut in preparing the bill. I don't think Nunavut has passed similar legislation and, of course, they had their election not that long ago, but is there any indications from the new government as to what they're doing with their legislation? Thanks, Madam Chair.
Thank you, Member. Minister.
Thank you, Madam Chair. Madam Chair, I don't have any new updates since the election. Let me see if perhaps there's been some discussions with the officials level. I'll ask the deputy minister to speak to that, please.
Thank you. Deputy Minister.
Thank you, Madam Chair. There has not been any discussions, well, as the Member noted, this fell off the order paper and wasn't passed in the last Nunavut government. But NEBS, the NEBS board and officials from NEBS are in contact with officials from Nunavut so I'm sure they'll nudge them to get it back introduced into the legislature there. I'd also add that the plan is to have this legislation come into force at the same time the Nunavut legislation comes into force, and there's provision in the bill which allows for the Commissioner and Executive Council to declare it in force. Thank you.
Thank you. Any further questions? Does the committee agree that there are no further general comments? We'll proceed to a clausebyclause review of the bill.
Committee, we will defer the bill number and title until after consideration of the clauses. Please return to page 1 of the bill.
Clause one, does committee agree?
---Clauses 1 through 7 inclusive approved
Committee, to the bill as a whole, does committee agree that Bill 32, an Act to Amend the Northern Employees Benefit Service Pension Plan Act is now ready for third reading?
Agreed.
Thank you, committee.
Does the committee agree that this concludes our consideration of Bill 32, an Act to Amend the Northern Employees Benefit Service Pension Plan Act. Thank you, Ministers, and thank you to your witnesses. SergeantatArms, please escort the witnesses from the Chamber.
Committee, we've agreed to consider Bill 33, National Indigenous People's Day Act. I will ask the Minister of the Executive and Indigenous Affairs to introduce the bill. [Audio] oh, wait.
I'm here to present Bill 33, National Indigenous Peoples Day Act.
The National Indigenous Peoples Day Act, which is intended to repeal and replace the existing National Aboriginal Day Act which came into force in 2002.
In this bill, the term "Aboriginal" is being replaced with the term "Indigenous Peoples", which is more inclusive and is also consistent with federal and internal naming conventions.
This proposed bill is intended to honor and celebrate the culture and achievements of First Nations, Metis, and Inuit people of Canada as well as the Dene, Metis, and Inuvialuit people of the Northwest Territories and recognizes June 21st each year as National Indigenous Peoples Day which is celebrated in the Northwest Territories as a statutory holiday.
June 21st was chosen as the date of this national celebration due to significance of the summer solstice when many Indigenous people have historically celebrated their culture and heritage.
As part of the legislative amendment process, notice of the proposed changes were made to Indigenous governments with an opportunity to provide feedback.
Should the proposed amendments be approved, coincidental amendments would also be made to the legislation, including the Employment Standards Act, the Public Service Act, and the Interpretation Act.
That concludes my opening remarks, and I'm prepared to answer any questions Members may have. Thank you, Madam Chair.
Thank you, Minister. Would you like to bring witnesses into the Chamber? SergeantatArms, please escort the witnesses into the Chamber.
Minister, Madam Premier, please introduce your witnesses.
Thank you. Madam Chair, I have Christina Duffy raise your hand director of legislation division, and Ms. Lauren Alexandra is the director of shared corporate services. Thank you, Madam Chair.
Thank you, and welcome. I will now open the floor to general comments on Bill 33. Member for Great Slave.
Thank you, Madam Chair. Madam Chair, I just want to say that I'm very supportive of this bill. The first time I ever thought about what the meaning of the word "aboriginal" could mean was at a Pathfinder meeting, which is a division of Girl Guides, when one of the Girl Guides or the Pathfinders turned to me and asked why the holiday was called Aboriginal Day when AB means not and therefore it meant not aboriginal. So in her mind, already at that age, she knew that the that the wording was wrong and she couldn't understand it. So I'm happy to sit here today and see during my term that this is changing, and I can go back to her now at 18 and tell her we've changed it legally. Thank you.
Thank you, Member for Great Slave. Member for Hay River South.
Thank you, Madam Chair. And I support this bill as well. I think as an Indigenous person, and you know, I've got to speak up to this, you know, to this change. It's important that, you know, Indigenous people have a day that, you know, we can celebrate, and we do have a lot to celebrate. And I know that in the last day everybody or the last time everybody thought we were supposed to have a holiday, and we were wondering why we didn't. But we had one anyway. So no, it's important, and, you know, there we've got culture. The other day I talked about, you know, moose hide. Like, you know, it just goes on and on, and it's the little things and it brings people together, and, yeah, lots of interaction, lots of storytelling, and, you know, if we don't do anything, we don't do that celebration, and we need we need to keep in the forefront as well because, you know, as claims gets settled throughout Canada and the Northwest Territories, we Indigenous people need to know that, you know, that we're taken seriously and that a good change is coming and, you know, we look forward to the time when, you know, that we are 51 percent hires in the Northwest Territories government, and when our children are educated and meet the standards that are met in the territories, so we've got lots to look for; we've got lots to celebrate, and we got a very resilient and strong past. Thank you.
Thank you, Member for Hay River South. Any further general comments to Bill 33? Is committee agreed that there are no further general comments? Can we proceed to a clause-by-clause review of the bill?
Agreed.
Committee, we will defer the bill number and title until after consideration of the clauses. Please turn to page 1 of the bill. Clause 1, does committee agree?
---Clauses 1 through 5 inclusive approved
Committee, to the bill as a whole, does committee agree that Bill 33, National Indigenous Peoples Day Act is now ready for third reading?
Agreed.
Does committee agree that this concludes our consideration of Bill 33, National Indigenous Peoples Day Act?
