Kieron Testart

Mr. Speaker, I wish to report to the Assembly that the Standing Committee on Government Operations has reviewed Bill 54, Standard Interest Rates Statutes Amendment Act. Mr. Speaker, committee wishes to report that Bill 54 is now ready for consideration in Committee of the Whole, and, Mr. Speaker, I seek unanimous consent to waive Rule 75(5) and have Bill 54 moved into Committee of the Whole for consideration later today. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

---Unanimous consent granted

Thank you. What is the policy rationale for increasing these fees? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I rise today to discuss the important steps this Assembly has made to strengthen our democratic institutions in the Northwest Territories.

During the 18th Assembly, we should all be proud of our shared record towards this end. We have made all committee meetings public by default; we have ensured that important votes of this House are recorded; we ensure that there was time for the public to comment on choosing the Premier during the Territorial Leadership Committee before this House voted on that outcome. The Legislature has improved its broadcast of proceedings, both...

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Over the course of our review of this legislation and hearing from other Members, honourable Members, some of who were Members of the committee and others who participated in some of our discussions around Bill 54, it became apparent that there was a lot of land tenure uncertainty in the Northwest Territories. Although this bill doesn't directly affect that, the consequences of overdue tax arrears on unpaid land taxes is a live issue in many of our communities, in particular for Indigenous peoples and our smaller communities.

Although this bill sets the standard interest...

Thank you, Mr. Chair, and I know this is not really the opportunity to ask questions, but I am just curious as to why. The committee has made several observations in its report around their sound rationale and argument to raise the age from 19 to a higher age, as has been done in British Columbia. This is on page 10 of the report, and there are a number of arguments that it should be raised from 18 to around 21, or higher than the age for other substances. The committee knows that the Canadian Cancer Society argues that tobacco should be different than alcohol and cannabis, and I understand...

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Just as the last statutory officer report, the committee reviewed both the 2015-2016 and 2016-2017 Annual Reports of the Office of the Languages Commissioner. It should be noted that the Languages Commissioner has made several recommendations in those reports that can be found on pages 9 through 14 of the standing committee's report.

Although the committee is not moving any recommendations with this, the committee believes that many of these recommendations are worth considering for, potentially, the 19th Assembly, as they will have to do a full statutory review of the...

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I move the chair rise and report progress. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I move, seconded by the honourable Member for Hay River North, that Committee Report 22-18(3): Standing Committee on Government Operations Report on the Review of the 2016-2017 and 2017-2018 Annual Reports of the Information and Privacy Commissioner of the Northwest Territories be received by the Assembly. Mr. Speaker, I seek unanimous consent to waive Rule 100(4) and have Committee Report 22-18(3) moved to Committee of the Whole for further consideration today. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you. My understanding is, just in one case of another provincial jurisdiction doing this, in British Columbia, when a land transfer tax or fee was implemented in the 1970s, the explicit policy rationale was for income redistribution. Large home purchases would bring about revenue that could be invested in social programs and policies. I guess the contention I have here is this is a fee that is going to disproportionately affect ratepayers in one part of the territory and largely ignore the state of play in other parts of the territory.

I am not opposed to new taxes as long as they are...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I move, seconded by the honourable Member for Hay River North, that Committee Report 21-18(3), Report on the Review of the 2015-2016 and 2016-2017 Annual Reports of the Office of the Languages Commissioner for the Northwest Territories, be received by the Assembly, and Mr. Speaker, I seek unanimous consent to waive rule 100(4) and have Committee Report 21-18(3) moved into Committee of the Whole for further consideration today. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.