Thank you are there any further questions under the Management Board Secretariat?
Seeing none, Finance Management Board Secretariat, infrastructure investments, $12,738,000. Does committee agree?
Agreed.
Thank you, Members. Please return now to the department summary found on page 32, Finance, 20232024 Capital Estimates, $16,118,000. Member for Kam Lake.
Madam Chair, I move that this committee defer further consideration of the estimates for the Department of Finance at this time. Thank you, Madam Chair.
Thank you the motion is in order. To the motion.
Question.
Question has been called. All those in favour? All those opposed? Abstentions? Motion is carried.
Carried
Thank you, committee. Is the committee prepared to move on to the next item?
Agreed
Thank you, committee, and thank you to the Minister. And sergeantatarms, please escort the witnesses from the Chamber.
Committee, we've agreed to consider Committee Report 3419(2), Standing Committee on Government Operations Report on the Review of the 20202021 Annual Report of the Ombud. I will go to the chair on the Standing Committee on Government Operations for any opening remarks. Member for Yellowknife North.
Thank you, Madam Chair. The committee report was read into the record on Tuesday, October 18th, 2022. The Standing Committee on Government Operations has reviewed the 20202021 Annual Report of the Ombud. The Ombud Act requires the Ombud to prepare an annual report. The report includes information on the number of inquiries, complaints received. It can also include recommendations. The Speaker tables the report in the Legislative Assembly. Once tabled, the committee reviews the report.
As part of the review of the Ombud, Ms. Colette Langlois appeared before committee on February 11, 2022. Committee commends her userfriendly approach in her annual report. The strong visuals, plain language, and ample statistics provided an excellent template to understand the Ombud’s activities. The Committee’s report follows up on previous recommendations from the Ombud and from committee to improve the Ombud Act – work that the Government of the Northwest Territories has declined to pursue in the life of the 19th Assembly.
Committee also makes two substantive recommendations in this report:
First, that the GNWT review and amend the Ombud Act by Fall 2025; and.
Second, that the Speaker amend the Rules of the Northwest Territories Assembly to allow annual reports of statutory officers to be made available to the public sooner.
Committee is pleased to submit this report to the Legislative Assembly and looks forward to its consideration. Individual Members may have comments on the report, and I would like to thank the committee for their work on this report. Thank you, Madam Chair.
Thank you. I will now open the floor to general comments on the Committee Report 3419(2), Standing Committee on the Government Operations Report on the Review of the 20202021 Annual Report of the Ombud. There are no comments. Mr. Johnson.
Madam Chair, I move that this committee recommends that the Government of the Northwest Territories, in consultation with the Standing Committee on Government Operations and within the first two years of the 20th Assembly, review each of the Ombud’s recommendations in her 20192020 Annual Report in the context of a wholistic review of the Ombud Act and amend the Act accordingly. Thank you, Madam Chair.
Thank you the motion is in order. To the motion. Member for Yellowknife North.
Thank you, Madam Chair. It is my intention, outside of my role as SCOGO chair but as an individual Member, to introduce a private Member's bill this sitting and hopefully get some changes to the Ombud Act in the life of this Assembly. Those are to be some of the smaller and easier changes. Some of the larger ones I think do require the government to go out and thoroughly consider them and perhaps engage with the public; you know, something beyond what a committee or an individual Member can do. And I guess this motion here is just reiterating and asking the government to once again look at the Ombud's report and review those recommendations.
I think in the context of other statutory officers, we had an Information and Privacy Commissioner who, for almost 20 years, made the same recommendations to amend the ATIPP Act and that was never done in her career until the very end the government finally got a new ATIPP Act. And I think that it's a disservice to all of our statutory officers when they repeatedly ask for the same changes and then committee repeatedly passes motions and then the government doesn't respond to those motions. So this motion here is reiterating to the government to look at those recommendations and take them seriously. I think it's a larger issue across all of our statutory officers. And I also think it's a bit of a confusion at times of who is responsible for bringing that legislation forward. In the case of the Ombud Act, you know, committee can only make recommendations. We don't have the ability to tell the government what to do. But, yeah, I do believe this act, you know, requires a holistic review after being in operation for a number of years, and we got to work with our Ombuds and all of our stat officers to make sure, you know, we support them and they don't find themselves just repeating themselves and banging their head against the wall, telling the government to do something, for 20 years. Thank you.
Thank you. To the motion.
Question.
Question has been called. All those in favour? All those opposed? All those abstaining? The motion is carried.
Carried
Mr. Johnson.
Madam Chair, I move that this committee recommends that the Speaker of the Northwest Territories, in consultation with the Standing Committee on Rules and Procedures and before the end of the 19th Assembly, review and amend the Rules of the Northwest Territories Legislative Assembly to allow annual reports of statutory officers to be released publicly once they are received and before they are tabled. Thank you, Madam Chair.
Thank you the motion is in order. To the motion. Member for Yellowknife North.
Thank you, Madam Chair. It's not often, actually, that committee gets to pass motions directed at the Speaker so I'm happy to do that. We also made a similar one for the public accounts. But what often happens is the Speaker will have a document in his possession but wait until the Assembly has to be sitting until it's tabled, in this case July 1st. So committee would like to get these reports the minute that they are completed and submitted to the Speaker and not sometimes have to delay their review by three months simply because session is not in. So, Mr. Speaker, if you're listening, we'd like these reports a little sooner. Thank you
Thank you. To the motion.
Question.
Question has been called. All those in favour? All those opposed? All those abstaining? Motion is carried.
Carried
Mr. Johnson.
Madam Chair, I move that this committee recommends that the Government of the Northwest Territories provide a response to this report within 120 days. Thank you, Madam Chair.
Thank you the motion is in order. To the motion.
Question.
Question has been called. All those in favour? All those opposed? All those abstaining? Motion is carried.
Carried
Thank you, committee. Do you agree that you have concluded consideration of Committee Report 3419(2), Standing Committee on Government Operations Report on the Review of the 20202021 Annual Report of the Ombud?
Agreed.
Thank you, committee. We have concluded consideration of Committee Report 3419(2), Standing Committee on Government Operations Report on the Review of the 20202021 Annual Report from the Ombud. Member for Kam Lake.
Thank you very much, Madam Chair. Madam Chair, I move that the chair rise and report progress. Thank you, Madam Chair.
Thank you there's a motion on the floor to report progress. The motion is in order and nondebatable. All those in favour? All those opposed? The motion is carried.
Carried
I will now rise and report progress.
SHORT RECESS
Mr. Speaker, your committee has been considering Tabled Document 72319(2), Committee Report 3419(2), Bill 58, Bill 59, and would like to report progress with four motions carried and that Committee Report 3419(2) is concluded. And, Mr. Speaker, I move that the report of Committee of the Whole be concurred with. Thank you.
Thank you, Member for Inuvik Twin Lakes. Do we have a seconder? Member for Hay River North. All those in favour? All those opposed? Any abstentions? The motion is carried.
Carried
My apologies, Mr. Speaker. No, that's not it either, Mr. Speaker. I am well equipped; it's here.
Thank you, Minister. The motion is in order. To the motion. The Minister has requested a recorded vote. All those in favour, please rise.
The Member for Yellowknife South, the Member for Sahtu, the Member for Range Lake, the Member for Inuvik Boot Lake, the Member for Yellowknife Centre, the Member for Hay River North, the Member for Inuvik Twin Lakes, the Member for Deh Cho, the Member for Thebacha, the Member for Kam Lake, the Member for Nunakput, the Member for Yellowknife North, the Member for Monfwi, the Member for Great Slave, the Member for Nahendeh.
All those opposed, please rise. All those abstaining, please rise.
Thank you. The results of the recorded vote: 15 in favour, zero opposed, zero abstentions. The motion is carried. Bill 53 has had third reading.
Carried
Orders of the day for Friday, October 28th, 2022, 10 a.m.
Prayer
Ministers’ Statements
Members’ Statements
Returns to Oral Questions
Oral Question 1163-19(2), Homelessness
Oral Question 1188-19(2), Memorandum of Understanding with the Canadian Red Cross
Oral Question 1246-19(2), Infertility Treatment
Recognition of Visitors in the Gallery
Acknowledgements
Oral Questions
Written Questions
Returns to Written Questions
Replies to the Commissioner’s Address
Petitions
Reports of Committees on the Review of Bills
Reports of Standing and Special Committees
Tabling of Documents
Notices of Motion
Motions
Notices of Motion for First Reading of Bills
First Reading of Bills
Second Reading of Bills
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters
Bill 23, An Act to Amend the Public Utilities Act
Bill 29, Resource Royalty Information Disclosure Statute Amendment Act
Bill 58, An Act to Amend the Legislative Assembly and Executive Council Act
Bill 59, An Act to Amend the Elections and Plebiscites Act
Tabled Document 723-19(2), 2023-2024 Capital Estimates
Report of Committee of the Whole
Third Reading of Bills
Orders of the Day
Thank you, Mr. Clerk. This House stands adjourned until Friday, October 28, 2022 at 10 a.m.
---ADJOURNMENT
The House adjourned at 4:34 p.m.
