Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Later today I will table a draft act to establish an office of the ombudsman. You and all Members will know that I have been pursuing the issue since I was first elected eight years ago. It’s not a new issue by any means. MLAs have been talking about establishing an ombudsman office since 1992, five Assemblies ago. The general public has been looking for such an office long before that.
There have been numerous motions passed in this House recommending the establishment of an ombudsman office. The Standing Committee on Government Operations was mandated by the House to review the question. Their very thorough and comprehensive report recognized the need in the NWT and recommended establishing an office. That was over a year ago now, yet we still have no action by this government to develop legislation to establish an ombudsman act.
Too expensive, Cabinet says. Too time consuming to write the legislation, they said. Well, that second argument has been quashed. With the help of our very capable Legislative Assembly research staff, I have a draft ombudsman act all ready to go. It may not be perfect. It may not reflect precisely how an NWT ombudsman office would operate, but the groundwork has been done. The document can be handed to the Justice department legislative drafters for language adjustment and final tweaking.
It can be, with political will, presented for the first reading during the winter 2016 sitting of the 18th Legislative Assembly.
At the risk of being repetitive, I want to list some of the many reasons why the NWT needs an ombudsman office:
The office is an avenue of last resort for the public, one that is impartial, free and accessible.
It’s an avenue of last resort for landlord tenant issues that are outside the jurisdiction of the rental officer.
It’s an avenue of last resort for housing or income support issues where an appeal has been denied.
It’s an avenue of last resort for administrative decisions by officials in hospitals and other medical facilities.
It’s an avenue of last resort for residents to ensure fairness in the delivery of government services and programs.
At the appropriate time, I will table this draft legislation. My fervent hope is that the 18th Assembly will make the passage of an ombudsman act one of their priorities and that an ombudsman act is one of the first priorities that they can check off the to-do list as completed.
Thank you, Ms. Bisaro. The Member for Sahtu, Mr. Yakeleya.
