Thank you, Madam Chair. I MOVE that this Assembly recommend an awareness and information video "A day in the Life of an MLA" be created by following and interviewing Members and Ministers about their work in the Legislative Assembly. It is important to show the difference between the role of a Minister and a Member. This would assist with awareness not only for potential candidates but the public in general. Thank you, Madam Chair.
Thank you. The motion is in order. To the motion. Member for Hay River South.
Thank you, Madam Chair. I support this recommendation and feel a video like this would be useful for both the public and anyone considering running in the next election. Thank you, Madam Chair.
Thank you, Member. To the motion. Member for Yellowknife North.
Thank you, Madam Chair. I'm not really opposed to this. I think it's fine for people to watch; I'd probably watch it.
I guess this came out of a bit of an ongoing concern at committee where people don't really realize what, I think especially Regular MLAs do. And I think the solution to that problem is we stop having the vast majority of our meetings incamera. We do business plans incamera. We just spent three weeks doing very tedious review incamera. And if people want to know what MLAs do all day, that's well, they can't see what we do. So I think it would just be much easier to review what we do incamera. I'm not too sure that people have as many doubts about what Ministers do, but maybe they do. They also do the vast majority of their work behind closed doors as well. So I think this is actually a transparency issue, and I'm not really sure that a little video is going to get us there to explain what we do behind closed doors all day. I think a good you know, if people want to know what MLAs do, they could probably watch this last hour of Committee of the Whole, and that would give you a sense of how most of our meetings look. Thank you, Madam Chair.
Thank you, Member. To the motion.
Question.
Question has been called. All those in favour? All those opposed? Abstentions? Motion is carried. We'll have some movie stars in here.
Carried
Member for Hay River South.
Thank you, Madam Chair. I move that this Assembly recommend that clearly articulated and publicly available information about the purpose of the Legislative Assembly and the work and roles of an MLA in the NWT be created so individuals can become more informed and engaged in the political process. This could include such things as educational and information resources, fact sheets, classroom activities, workshops or webinars. Thank you, Madam Chair.
Thank you. The motion is in order. To the motion. Member for Hay River South.
Thank you, Madam Chair. I support this motion. Our public affairs and communications team are doing great work and recently published two excellent videos along these lines. The more the better when it comes to helping the public understand what we do in this place. Thank you, Madam Chair.
Thank you, Member. To the motion. Member for Frame Lake.
Yeah, thanks, Madam Chair. I too will support this. I just don't think we do a very good job explaining what we do here and anything we can do to improve our way and means of telling people what we do here, I am in support of. And I think there's some reasonable ideas and suggestions here, and I know that some of this work is already underway by our public affairs folks. So I have no difficulty supporting this motion and the work that our staff are already doing. Thanks, Madam Chair.
Thank you, Member. To the motion. Member for Range Lake.
Thank you, Madam Chair. I also support this for the same reasons as the MLA. I think the more that we can get out to the public about what we do here in making this a viable option. In the last Assembly, the Regular Member and myself as Minister spent a lot of time trying to get women in leadership and a reality was is they often didn't know what was going on in this building. So the more that we can get to the public, the more it opens doors for those who do not think this building is accessible to them. So I'm supporting this motion.
Thank you. To the motion.
Question.
Question has been called. All those in favour? All those opposed? Abstentions? Motion is carried.
Carried
Member for Hay River South.
Thank you, Madam Chair. I move that this Assembly recommend that a campaign to advertise and promote the purpose of the Legislative Assembly and the work and roles of an MLA, along with messaging about how important it is for the public to be informed about how government is created. Thank you, Madam Chair.
Thank you. The motion is in order. To the motion. Member for Hay River South.
Thank you, Madam Chair. Madam Chair, along the same lines as the previous recommendation, I support this motion.
Thank you. Thank you, Member. To the motion.
Question.
Question has been called. All those in favour? All those opposed? Abstentions? The motion is carried.
Carried
Member for Hay River South.
Thank you, Madam Chair. Madam Chair, I move that this Assembly recommend that the information about pay and benefits be moved to a standalone tab in the side bar under the "Members" tab on the Legislative Assembly website. Thank you, Madam Chair.
Thank you. The motion is in order. To the motion. The Member for Hay River South.
Madam Chair, I support this motion. I understand that the Legislative Assembly has started a major overhaul of its website. A redesign project will help improve users experience through an easier searchable platform, navigation, and enhanced administrative capabilities. This will allow the public to have easier access to detailed and accurate information about their MLA's compensation and benefits. Thank you, Madam Chair.
Thank you, Member. To the motion.
Question.
Question has been called. All those in favour? All those opposed? Abstentions? Motion is carried.
Carried
Member for Hay River South.
Thank you, Madam Chair. I move that this Assembly recommend that an electronic package of any relevant materials relating to the work of future independent commissions to review Member's compensation and benefits be delivered to the Members of future independent Commissions as soon as they are appointed to allow them time to read, review, and prepare for the work they will conduct and complete. Thank you, Madam Chair.
Thank you, Member. The motion is in order. To the motion. Member for Hay River South.
Madam Chair, I support this motion.
Thank you, Member. To the motion.
Question.
Question has been called. All those in favour? All those opposed? Abstentions? Motion is carried.
Carried
Members, that concludes our consideration of recommendations of the 2021 Independent Commission to review all MLA compensation and benefits. On behalf of all the Members, I'd like to thank the commission for their hard work and thoughtful recommendations. It is an important principle that we rely on the advice of independent outside experts when we make changes to our compensation and benefits, and that any changes we make do not take effect until the new Assembly is elected.
We are now less than a year out from the next election, and I hope this report and the recommendations we have adopted will clarify things for the public, especially anyone considering letting their names stand for public office.
Committee, do you agree that the consideration of Tabled Document 52819(2) is now complete?
Agreed
Thank you, Members. We'll take a break.
SHORT RECESS
I call committee back to order. Committee, we've agreed to consider Tabled Document 65419(2), 20212022 Northwest Territories Electoral Boundaries Commission Final Report. I will go to the deputy chair of Caucus for any opening comments. Member for Hay River South.
Thank you, Madam Chair. I am pleased to provide opening comments on this matter as deputy chair of the Caucus.
As required by legislation, the House appointed an Electoral Boundaries Commission in 2021. The Commission published an interim report in December of 2021 to generate public input and discussion. Public consultations were hampered by COVID19 but three virtual public hearings were held from February 14th to the 18th, 2022. Three residents appeared at these public hearings, and 12 others provided written submissions to the Commission. The commission's final report was tabled in the Legislative Assembly on May 27th, 2022, and included five recommendations.
Our debate this afternoon will publicly review and consider each of these recommendations. The recommendations adopted by the House today will be considered by the Board of Management who will use them to draft and introduce legislation. Hopefully later this sitting, any changes resulting from these recommendations will take effect at the start of the 20th Legislative Assembly.
This concludes my opening remarks, Madam Chair. Once other Members have offered general observations, I am prepared to introduce motions to accept the Commission's recommendations. Thank you, Madam Chair.
Thank you, Member. Are there any further opening comment from Members? Thank you, Members. We will now proceed to the consideration of the report's recommendation. Member for Hay River South.
Thank you, Madam Chair. The first recommendation is that the total number of electoral districts of the NWT remain at 19. The Commission is recommending some adjustments to the electoral boundaries in Yellowknife and Inuvik to balance the size of the constituencies in these multiMember communities.
I move that the existing electoral districts be maintained subject to necessary adjustments to boundaries between electoral districts within Yellowknife and Inuvik as recommended by the 2021 Electoral Boundaries Commission. Thank you, Madam Chair.
Thank you, Member for Hay River. The motion is in order. To the motion. Member for Hay River South.
Madam Chair, I recommend that this motion be accepted. I know that even minor adjustments to the electoral boundaries can be problematic for both Members, candidates, and most importantly residents. But some of the ridings in Yellowknife have grown much more rapidly than others and rebalancing is required. The same is true to a lesser extent in Inuvik. We strike independent Commissions to do this work for us to try and keep politics out of these important decisions. Madam Chair, I support the recommendations. Thank you.
