Agreed.
Agreed. Committee, to the bill as a whole oh, Mr. O'Reilly.
Yeah, thanks, Mr. Chair. So I believe I heard the sponsor of the bill say that there are parts of this bill that are going to come into force right away. And what's the mechanism for doing that? Because it just says here that it's going to be fixed by order of the Commissioner. So what's the mechanism by which parts of this bill are going to come into force right now or maybe on a sense later this week when the Commissioner's in the Chamber. How is that done, because it's not really in the bill itself anywhere. Thanks, Mr. Chair.
Member for Hay River South.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The process is that the Speaker will request that the Commissioner to bring in the parts into force. Thank you.
Mr. O'Reilly.
Okay, thanks, Mr. Chair. So I don't know, which parts of the bill, then, are immediately going to come into force? Thanks, Mr. Chair.
Member for Hay River South.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. I will turn that over to Mr. Mercer. Thank you.
Mr. Mercer.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. I'm just looking for the exact sections here now but essentially the sections that will come into effect will be exclusively those that deal with the new complaint resolution powers of the Integrity Commissioner. And I believe those are found in section 23 of the bill primarily, which amends section 101 and 102 of the existing act. So those will come into effect immediately upon assent. It may take two or three days for the appropriate instruments to be drafted by the Department of Justice but will happen immediately after that. The remainder, some sections will come into force in the run up to the election. But most of the sections, particularly those dealing with Member's compensation will come into force on the first day of the first sitting of the 20th Legislative Assembly. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Mahsi for that. Mr. O'Reilly.
Thanks, Mr. Chair, and thanks for that. I just find this a really curious practice that why wouldn't that just be spelled out in section 31 of the bill? So it's just left to the discretion of the Speaker and/or the Commissioner as to which parts are brought into force? Thanks, Mr. Chair.
Member for Hay River South.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. Yeah, I guess what happens is that the Speaker will ask the Commissioner to act on bringing these sections into force, and that's kind of the process that we follow. Thank you.
Mahsi for that. Mr. O'Reilly.
Yeah, okay, thanks. Look, I don't want to prolong this; I just think it should be spelled out in the bill. I trust the Speaker and so on, but I just don't know why we don't write this stuff out in the bill itself as to which parts are going to come into force right away. But I do support bringing the changes to the mandate and the authority of the Integrity Commissioner into force right away, just for the record. And I want to thank the commission for their work in bringing forward a number of matters that are contained in the bill. Thanks, Mr. Chair.
Mahsi, Mr. O'Reilly. Committee, to the bill as a whole, does the committee agree that Bill 58, An Act to amend the Legislative Assembly and Executive Council Act, is now ready for third reading?
Agreed.
Agreed. Thank you, committee. Does committee agree that this concludes our consideration of Bill 58, An Act to Amend the Legislative Assembly and Executive Council Act?
Agreed.
Agreed, mahsi. Thank you, Member for Hay River South and thank you to your witnesses. Sergeantatarms, please escort the witnesses from the Chamber. Mahsi.
Committee, we have agreed to consider Bill 59, An Act to Amend the Elections and Plebiscites Act. I will ask the sponsor of the bill, the Member for Hay River South, to introduce the bill.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, I am pleased to speak to Bill 59: An Act to amend the Elections and Plebiscites Act. The bill proposes some changes to the act. These are being made on the recommendation of the chief electoral officer and the Standing Committee on Rules and Procedure. If passed, the changes will be in place for the next general election in 2023.
Some changes relate to the register of electors (voters list). If the bill is passed, Elections NWT will be able to share information from the voters list with municipalities running elections and the Electoral Boundaries Commission. 16 and 17yearolds will be able to register with Elections NWT and automatically be added to the voters list on their 18th birthday. The bill will also allow emails to be kept as part of the voters list.
Finally, the CEO will be able to get information from public bodies to help keep the voters list current.
Other changes in the bill will mean that returning officers will no longer post the home address of candidates and official agents. Instead, they will post what community they live in.
The bill changes the start day of advance polling from 24 to 21 days before an election. The bill makes a number of changes to set deadlines based on business days rather than calendar days. This ensures all reporting deadlines fall on a regular business day.
In terms of polling stations, the bill makes some minor changes including removing the need for two electors to witness the count, requiring returning officers to report if they appoint a police officer to maintain security at a polling station, and allowing the CEO to provide direction on the use of cell phones at polling stations.
The bill creates an election rebate program which allows a candidate, who is acclaimed or receives 5 percent or more of the votes cast, to apply for a rebate of some of their personal money spent on their campaign. Candidates will not be able to get a rebate for any personal funds they contribute that is eligible for a tax rebate under tax laws.
The bill includes specific information that must be included in regulations if online voting is being used for absentee ballots.
That concludes my remarks on Bill 59. I am pleased to hear comments or respond to questions from committee. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Member for Hay River South, would you like to bring witnesses into the Chamber?
Yes, I do, Mr. Chair.
Sergeantatarms, please escort the witnesses into the Chamber.
Member for Hay River South, please introduce your witnesses.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. To my left is Stephen Flanagan, legislative drafter. To my right is Glen Rutland, deputy clerk, House procedure and committees. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Mahsi. I will now open the floor to general comments on Bill 59, An Act to Amend the Elections and Plebiscites Act.
Seeing no general comments from committee, is committee agreed that there are no further general comments?
Agreed.
Agreed. 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. I will call the clauses in groups. Please turn to page 1 of the bill.
Clause 1, does committee agree?
---Clauses 1 through 10 inclusive approved
Clause 11, does committee agree?
Agreed.
Clause 12, does committee agree? Mr. Johnson, was that on 11?
Thank you, Mr. Chair. What this clause is proposing is it is presently illegal to sell liquor on polling day in the NWT according to this act. And in our infinite wisdom we're going to make it illegal to also sell cannabis on polling day. So instead of having one archaic and outdated law, we're going to have two. What was the point of legalizing cannabis if we're just going to close some random licensed premises? I can guarantee almost no one knows. I don't even know why we would be doing this. I think this is an absolutely ridiculous suggestion, and I am not in favour of it. Thank you.
Mahsi. Member for Hay River South.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. And I'll take that as a comment.
Mr. Johnson. Clause 12, does committee agree?
---Clauses 11 through 32 inclusive approved
Committee, to the bill as a whole, does committee agree that Bill 59, An Act to Amend the Elections and Plebiscites Act, is now ready for third reading?
Agreed.
Mahsi, committee. Does committee agree that this concludes our consideration of Bill 59, An Act to Amend the Elections and Plebiscites Act?
Agreed.
Mahsi, Member for Hay River South, and mahsi to your witnesses. Sergeantatarms, please escort the witnesses from the Chamber. Mahsi. Member for Frame Lake.
Mahsi, Mr. Chair. I move that the chair rise and report progress.
There's a motion on the floor to report progress. The motion is in order and nondebatable. All those in favour? All those opposed? Motion is carried.
Carried
I will now rise and report progress.
Madam Speaker, your committee has been considering Bill 58, Bill 59, and would like to report progress that Bills 58 and 59 are ready for third reading. And Madam Speaker, I move that the report of the Committee of the Whole be concurred with. Mahsi.
Thank you. Do I have a seconder? Member for Frame Lake. All those in favour? All those opposed? Abstentions?
Carried.
