R.J. Simpson

Thank you, Madam Chair. I'm here today to present Bill 94: Miscellaneous Statute Law Amendment Act, 2023.

The purpose of Bill 94 is to amend various statutes of the Northwest Territories for which minor changes are proposed or errors or inconsistencies have been identified. Each amendment included in the bill had to meet the following criteria:

it must not be controversial;

It must not involve the spending of public funds;

It must not prejudicially affect rights; and,

It must not create a new offence or subject a new class of persons to an existing offence.

Departments responsible for the...

Yes, I would.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And, of course, legal opinions aren't shared on the floor of the House. But I will say that the territorial archivist, boy, I would feel for them if they were alone. But in addition, there's two senior archivists, two digital record archivists, an archive and library technician, and an audiovisual archivist. Given all that, though, I know they're still quite busy. And that team knows better than anyone that we do need to upgrade our facilities and work on the act because, you know, the things that need to be stored under the act are part of the issue, actually. So this...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And I don't want the Member to get ahead of himself. Proposing that a new building be built and having a grand opening are two very different things. So we'll see what happens in the future.

Every year the government proposes a slate of legislation that they would like to see proceed. About half of that legislation actually makes its way through an Assembly and is passed. So I can't speak for previous years, but there's been a number of pieces of legislation and the priorities of the Assembly have dictated what has made its way through and what hasn't. And, unfortunately...

Yes, I would.

Thank you. To my left, I have John MacDonald, the deputy minister of Education, Culture and Employment. And on my right, Laura Jeffrey, legislative counsel with legislation division and the Department of Justice.

Thank you, Madam Chair. I'm here today to present Bill 81, An Act to Amend the Education Act, No. 2.

Bill 81 represents the first phase of amendments that make operational and technical improvements necessary to improve the education system. A second phase will continue beyond the 19th Assembly to allow for more indepth discussions with Indigenous governments, education bodies and the public on the future of education governance in the Northwest Territories.

This bill seeks to amend the Education Act to recognize the vital role Indigenous peoples and Indigenous governments have in education...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I understand that it was back in the sometime in the 90s, I'm not sure exactly when, when the archives, they started storing archives off site. And as I mentioned, there are some minor upgrades planned for next year. Hopefully, the Member will support funding for those upgrades. And those would include, at the offsite space, minor space improvements, fencing, so secure access to the documents. New racking so there you know, more stable storage. As well as some temperature and humidity control improvements where possible. So given the situation and the needs, ECE is...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And, of course, we are currently deliberating the capital budget in Committee of the Whole, so I don't want to go too much into that because that document is properly before committee of the House. But I can say that ECE has taken undertaken work to explore the renovation or replacement of the Prince of Wales Northern Heritage Centre and, in particular, as the Member mentions, the need for archival space. So there has been a comprehensive planning study, the development of estimates to explore various options ranging from replacing the entire museum to pursuing more...

Mr. Speaker, I move, seconded by the Honourable Member for Yellowknife South, that Bill 82, Legal Profession Act, be read for the third time. And, Mr. Speaker, I request a recorded vote. Thank you.