Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In 2019, the NWT Association of Communities passed a resolution asking for permission to have alternative voting methods such as online voting or telephone voting. I note our own territorial election allows this to happen, so my question to the Minister of MACA is: Are we going to allow our communities the option of having online or telephone voting? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Member for Yellowknife North. Minister of Municipal and Community Affairs.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and thank you to the Member for the question. This year, online voting in the elections was not identified as one of the working priorities with the Association of Communities. We will be working with the Fire Prevention Act, seniors, and property taxation. Online voting was not a discussion. It was not a topic that we elaborated on in any conversation. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
I think there is some confusion here in the small amount of work it is to allow them municipalities to have online voting. It is simply a permissive clause. It's probably one or two sections in the legislation, and then they have to develop their own bylaws to do that. I recognize that the NWT has identified the Property Assessment Taxation Act, the Fire Prevention Act, and the Seniors and People with Disabilities Act for changes, but those are significant overhauls they've been asking for for years. What I am asking for is for MACA, which has failed to bring forward any legislation thus far, to draft a simple one- or two-clause piece of legislation that gives municipalities the options of having their elections online. Is the local Authorities Elections Act going to be brought forward in the life of this Assembly at all, such that I could possibly propose this change?
During the lifetime of this Assembly, no, this will not be brought forward. It was not identified as a priority throughout the Northwest Territories and within our smaller communities. However, that doesn't stop me from looking at the idea of the online voting. One of the things that flags concern for me is the communication and if the communities actually have the capacity to carry this through. I have not received any further information to see what this would look like throughout the Northwest Territories.
If the Minister wants to look at what it looks like, we just had an election. In 2016, the Gwich'in had an online election, and then in 2019, they decided to add telephone voting because it was more accessible for their elders. There are already small communities with software in place using this for their elections. I would like to give those same communities the ability to run their community elections with online voting. The NWTAC passed a resolution asking for this. I don't know how much more they can identify a priority. They have an AGM; they pass resolutions and ask us to do things. Is the Minister willing to reach out to the NWTAC and see if they would support the introduction of this change, considering they have already asked for it?
Yes, the Department of Municipal and Community Affairs will engage in a conversation with the NWTAC to explore the opportunity for online voting. Also, I will have my department reach out to the Gwich'in, as well, to see how this online voting was perceived in the communities and if it was successful and how many residents they were actually able to reach out to.
Thank you, Minister. Final supplementary. Member for Yellowknife North.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. MACA has a lot of legislative work to do. This is a small one. I recognize it's not as big a priority as the Fire Prevention Act, but considering that I don't see any MACA legislation coming forward in this Assembly or, I believe, the next year, I think a small, simple bill will be a win for this department, showing they can actually pass legislation. My question is: Is the Minister willing to direct her department to share some of the policy work that has been done in this area, perhaps a jurisdictional scan. I know Ontario lets the municipalities vote online. The Rules and Procedures Committee has done a thorough research on how online voting in our last election -- is the Minister willing to ask her department to compile some of that research and share it with committee? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
I will have my department follow up and see what that would look like having online voting within the Northwest Territories, but once again to the Member that this is not a priority of this government or the department. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
