Thank you. No, it will not.
Thank you. Member for Frame Lake.
Okay. How come it did last time? Is it crafted differently this time? What's the difference here, and thanks, Madam la Presidente.
Thank you.
Madam Chair, I will have the clerk explain.
Thank you.
Thank you, Madam Chair. The legislation in the 18th Assembly actually didn't affect remuneration for Legislative Assembly staff, management or otherwise. The Government of the Northwest Territories at the time, these two things were happening concurrently, the Government of the Northwest Territories at the time had frozen the annual increments for senior management staff and excluded employees, and the vast majority of the employees in the Legislative Assembly are excluded employees. So when that action was taken, the ledge employees were affected. But that happens distinctly from the legislation that was adopted, Madam Chair. Thank you.
Thank you. Member for Frame Lake.
Yeah, no, okay. I appreciate that explanation. So it was really outside of the legislation. That was something that the Department of Finance of the day decided to do. So okay, I accept that. And thanks, Madam Chair.
Thank you. Are there any further general comments on Bill 73? Oh, yes, Member for Hay River North.
Thank you, Madam Chair. So there is actually an independent commission to review Members' compensation and benefits. It is required to be established under the Legislative Assembly and Executive Council Act. It's appointed with individuals who are independent, neutral, and knowledgeable according to the legislation, and that commission is supposed to review and make recommendations about Members' compensation. That's because nobody wants politicians deciding what they get paid. This bill is to adjust the indemnities and allowances for Members. So despite the fact that this Act contains a requirement to have a commission to determine our or to make recommendations that, you know, hopefully we accept about indemnities, we are going ahead and adjusting them proposing to adjust them on our own. I think that's concerning in and of itself. So I just want to point that out so people are aware that we are taking a strange approach. And I admit that these are strange times with inflation what it is, but I'm not sure if I just want the public to be aware that this is the situation. So thank you.
Thank you. Are there any other general comments under on Bill 73? Does committee agree that there are no further general comments? Can we proceed to a clausebyclause 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?
Agreed.
Member for that's that's clause 2. Oh, okay, sorry. Clause 1, does committee agree?
Agreed.
Clause 2, does committee agree? Member for Hay River South.
Thank you, Madam Chair. I'd just like to, you know, acknowledge the, you know, the comments I heard from the Members. You know, and I respect, you know, that they the comments, I respect the decisions that each make. You know, we're all here, I think, to do the best we can for the residents of the Northwest Territories. And if we all thought the same, we probably wouldn't be doing a good job. So I'm glad that we have diverse views, and that's what makes it work. And for this vote, I'd like a recorded vote as well, Madam Chair. Thank you.
The Member for Hay River South. The Member for Yellowknife North. The Member for Monfwi. The Member for Hay River North.
All those opposed, please stand.
The Member for Thebacha. The Member for Kam Lake. The Member for Frame Lake. The Member for Great Slave. The Member for Nahendeh. 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 Deh Cho.
All those abstaining, please stand.
The Member for Tu NedheWiilideh.
The results of the recorded vote are: Four in favour, 11 opposed, one abstention. The motion is defeated.
Clause 2, does committee agree?
Agreed.
Clause 3, does committee agree? Member for Frame Lake.
Thanks, Madam Chair. I just love this place. Here we are, at what time is this? It's 9:30 talking about salaries for MLAs. I just gotta love this place.
Okay, I think there is a problem with this, where MLAs are talking about their own salaries, period, any time. I just think it's a no winner.
So what this motion would actually do is, and I should have let me take a step back. I am okay with going with a fiveyear rolling average. I think that it probably will even out some of the bumps and so on, but I just don't think that we should you be doing it and applying it to ourselves. It should apply to the next Assembly and that's what the effect of this motion is, is that it would change the implementation date for the fiveyear rolling average from I guess Thursday of week, when the Commissioner would come in and provide assent to the bills, it would change it on Friday to September the 4th. So come into effect in the next Assembly. And that's generally what we do when we consider our, you know, remuneration or things like that. We don't want it to impact our own remuneration in any way, so. And I think that's a principle. Look, and I recognize in doing this that MLAs will receive a 6.8 percent increase as of April 1st. We don't give that to ourselves; that's already in the legislation. So it's not like we're giving ourselves an increase. That's what the legislation already says. But I do think it is a problem when MLAs start to tinker and change their own salaries while they're sitting, and I think that's a nono. And so that's why I brought this forward, Madam Chair. I don't think it's going to pass but I guess I'm a pretty principled guy and I am going to bring it forward and make everybody stand so I am going to ask for a recorded vote. Thanks, Madam Chair.
The Member for Frame Lake. The Member for Great Slave. The Member for Deh Cho.
All those opposed, please stand.
The Member for Yellowknife North. The Member for Nahendeh. The Member for Yellowknife South. The Member for Yellowknife Centre. The Member for Hay River North. The Member for Hay River South. The Member for Thebacha. The Member for Kam Lake.
All those abstaining, please stand.
The Member for Tu Nedhe Wiilideh. The Member for Sahtu. The Member for Range Lake. The Member for Inuvik Boot Lake.
The results of the recorded vote are three in favour, eight opposed, four abstentions. The motion is defeated.
Clause 3, does committee agree?
Agreed.
Committee, to the bill as a whole, does committee agree that Bill 73, An Act to Amend the Legislative and Executive Council Act, No. 4, is now ready for third reading.
Agreed.
Thank you, committee. Does committee agree that this concludes our consideration of Bill 73, An Act to Amend the Legislative and Executive Council Act, No. 4?
Agreed.
Thank you, Member, and thank you to your witnesses. Sergeantatarms, please escort the witnesses from the chamber.
Committee, we have agreed to consider Bill 76, An Act to Amend the Electoral Boundaries Commission Act. I will ask the sponsor of the bill, the Member for Thebacha to introduce the bill.
Thank you, Madam Chair. I am pleased to appear today on Bill 76, An Act to Amend the Electoral Boundaries Commission Act.
The amendments proposed in this Act are in response to Motion 7019(2). Members passed that motion on November 3rd, 2023.
Madam Chair, this bill amends the Electoral Boundaries Commission Act to establish a commission within two years of the 2023 general election. Normally a commission would not be required until after the 2027 general election. However after this House rejected the recommendations from the most recent commission, it was decided to require a commission after the 2023 general election.
The Act requires a commission to be set up every second Assembly. If passed, commissions will now be created after the 2023 and 2031 general elections.
Madam Chair, the legislation already required a commission to be created within the first two years of an Assembly. The Act was left this way as part of the transition report and we recommended to the next Assembly to create the commission earlier within the first 18 months.
Bill 76 also expands the size of the commission. The commission has been three people a current or retired judge and two public members. Members were concerned this did not provide enough room for a broader range of views on the commission.
If passed, Bill 76 expands the members from three to five people.
Bill 76 also changes who can serve as chairperson of the commission. The Act currently provides that a current or retired judge of the Supreme Court of the Northwest Territories chair the commission. Given limited judicial resources, this can be a challenge. Bill 76 allows for a current or sitting judge but also allows for an appointment of a person who is qualified to serve as a judge. This means a lawyer with more than ten years’ experience will be eligible to serve as chair. This ensures that the commission has legal knowledge at their disposal. This is important as the commission's recommendations could ultimately affect someone's constitutionallyprotected voting rights.
Finally, in recognition of concerns raised by members in the public about riding names, Bill 76 has geographic and place names as to what the commission needs to consider when electoral boundaries and names of ridings.
Finally, the bill makes minor amendments to modernize language used in the Act. This includes moving to genderneutral language. Thank you, Madam Chair.
Thank you. Member, would you like to bring witnesses into the chamber?
Thank you.
Sergeantatarms, please escort the witnesses into the chambers.
Member, would you please introduce your witnesses.
Thank you, Madam Chair. On my left is Glen Rutland, our deputy clerk. And on my right is Christine Duffy, legislative counsel.
