R.J. Simpson

Madam Speaker, I move, seconded by the honourable Member for Inuvik Boot Lake, that Bill 18, An Act to Amend the Legal Profession Act, be read for the second time. This bill amends the Legal Profession Act to remove the requirement that an applicant for admission as a member of the society must be physically present in the Northwest Territories to take and sign the oath or affirmation that is required before engaging in the practice of law in the Northwest Territories. Thank you, Madam Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. There is money in Finance and there is money in ECE because the funding initiative was a joint venture. Finance provided funds for the technology, primarily, so the Chromebooks, Internet access, and things like that. The work to get those out the door is underway. For the most part, the total amount of money is being split evenly between the school boards. There were some school boards that needed additional teaching positions, so note that money is flowing to those specific school boards versus those that did not need those positions. We have allocated a good chunk of...

Madam Speaker, I move, seconded by the honourable Member for Inuvik Boot Lake, that Bill 17, An Act to Amend the Corrections Act, be read for the second time. The bill amends the new Corrections Act which is not yet in force. The bill amends the section of the act dealing with rule breaches and the imposition of disciplinary and corrective measures. It ensures that reasons must be provided for both a finding of guilt respecting an alleged breach of a rule and any disciplinary or corrective measures imposed. It ensures that an inmate can appeal both a finding of guilt and any measures imposed...

Yes, I would.

Madam Speaker, I wish to table the following document: "Aurora College Corporate Plan, 2020-2021." Thank you, Madam Speaker.

Thank you. First, I want to apologize to Mr. Patzer, whose name escaped me. He is probably the first person in the Department of Justice that I met, about six years ago, so my apologies on that one. This bill, it's also important because we are in a situation where, for a lawyer to come up to the territory, they would have to self-isolate for two weeks. We are in a situation where there is a backup of cases, and we need this service. I thank the committee for working with the department to move this along. Thank you.

There is a plan. I think it's too big to talk about right now because it starts when children first enter school. I was looking just a few minutes ago at a framework or a strategy from 2010, when the Member for Monfwi was the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment. I am happy to say that a lot of the actions identified in there are things that have now been completed; there is progress being made. Just the other day, I released or officially launched the Our Languages curriculum, so now, there is a curriculum, a solid curriculum, in schools, that can be implemented across the territory...

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Again, we have Mr. Mike Reddy, director of legislation. [Microphone turned off]

Thank you, Madam Speaker. There is currently no accreditation body in the territory for accrediting translators. I have a list of translators here who the department uses. I think there are 33 names on there. I think 16 of them have interpreter/translator certificates from bodies like Aurora College, and a number also have qualifications in linguistics and things like that. I don't say it enough, but I do want to take this opportunity to thank the translators. I stand in the House, and I listen. Sometimes, I do not know what Members are saying, but the translators have to listen to that...

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I am here today to present Bill 18, An Act to Amend the Legal Profession Act. I would like to thank the Standing Committee on Accountability and Oversight for their review and to Members for supporting the expedited consideration of this bill. The purpose of Bill 18 is to remove the requirement that an applicant for admission as a member of the NWT Law Society must be physically present in the NWT to take and sign the oath or affirmation before a judge that is required before engaging in the practice of law in the NWT.

This amendment is expected to remove unnecessary costs...