R.J. Simpson

Thank you. No, but when it comes to the GNWT, there are other ways that we protect workers. So I know the Department of Finance has introduced new security requirements for bids and contracts earlier this year, and that will help protect small businesses, specifically those engaged in constructing GNWT projects, by providing adequate payment coverage through labour and material bonds. Thank you.

Thank you. And further to Mr. Yap's comments, this would not apply to settlement lands.

Engagement that was done with Indigenous governments occurred during the committee process actually. The chair referenced this. We reached out to a number of the Indigenous governments and organizations in the territory explaining the situation and requested feedback on potential inclusion of Indigenous governments or exclusion from the act. Thank you.

Private lands can be seized and sold. Thank you.

Thank you. Municipal governments don't have the same powers of taxation. They don't have the same revenue as the GNWT. And there's chances that they could be in a situation where they can't pay workers. And we also have to look at the bill as a whole and what is the point of the bill if, you know, we add more and more and more exclusions, then are we really fulfilling the spirit of this legislation. Thank you.

Thank you, Madam Chair. So this bill, the GNWT is exempt from provisions of this bill that other levels of government are not exempt from. And that's actually the current situation in the Northwest Territories right now under the current Mechanics' Lien Act. So this is a continuation of the status quo in terms of the application of the bill to governments. Thank you.

Thank you. To my right is Matthew Yap, director of legal registries with the Department of Justice. To my left, Brian Asmundson, registrar of land titles. And behind me is Mr. Ian Rennie, legislative counsel with the Department of Justice.

Thank you, Madam Chair. I'm pleased to be here to present Bill 65, Builders' Lien Act.

The purpose of Bill 65 is to repeal the current Mechanics' Lien Act and replace it with a more modern Builders' Lien Act to address modern construction practices.

Lien legislation is in place to ensure that parties who contribute work, labour, or materials to a construction project in the NWT are paid, and to provide a remedy if they are not. Lien legislation also creates stability and predictability for owners of construction projects by setting out their obligations to other parties involved in a...

I don't have a problem generally with you know, with I wouldn't generally have a problem with something like this. You know, like the Member from Yellowknife North, I'm not a fan of the recurring statutory reviews. As a Regular Member, I've been part of those. I found that, if anything, they hinder progress on amending acts. But, you know, we just discussed the UNDRIP Act and, you know, we're moving in a different direction in the coming Assemblies. And in this even in this government, we have introduced protocols and processes that limit the amount of legislation that we can do. And going...

Mr. Speaker, this Legislative Assembly has made it a priority to advance universal child care for residents of the Northwest Territories. In December 2021, we signed the Canadawide Early Learning and Child Care Agreement with the federal government, and since then we have worked closely with licensed early learning and child care programs and early childhood educators to advance this mandate. As of April 1st, the average cost of licensed child care for children five years of age and younger has been reduced, on average, by 60 percent. This means that families in the NWT are now saving up to...

Thank you, Madam Chair. This is a standard nonderogation clause. You can find it in other pieces of legislation. I think that this is a good idea. I'm happy to support this. And going forward, we should always consider including these in bills. Thank you.