David Ramsay

Thank you, Mr. Chair. We are losing employees to retirement at the Department of Justice and I also wanted to wish Mr. MacDougall well on his retirement. He has had a long and dedicated service to the government and to the people of the Northwest Territories. I know he put a lot of work into Bill 64, so I wanted to thank him and wish him well.

---Applause

Thank you, Madam Chair. I am pleased to be here today to talk to you about Bill 62, An Act to Amend the Coroners Act. I would like to thank the Standing Committee on Social Programs for its careful review of the bill.

Bill 62 will amend the Coroners Act to create consistency in the powers that are afforded to coroners in the NWT and in other Canadian jurisdictions. The amendments will also:

expand the investigative powers of coroners;

expedite the investigative process where possible, in the interest of returning bodies to families in a more timely manner;

clarify what personal information can be...

Yes, Mr. Chairman. Thank you.

Thank you, Madam Chair. To my right is Mr. Mark Aitken, assistant deputy minister, Attorney General’s office. To my left is Brian Asmundson, public trustee, Northwest Territories.

Thank you, Madam Chair. I just wanted to mention to the House that it’s the last time Ms. Kemeys-Jones is going to be appearing at the witness table at the Legislative Assembly. I want to thank her for all her work and I’m sure Members join me in thanking her very much for all her years of dedicated service to the people of the Northwest Territories. Thanks.

---Applause

Thank you, Madam Chair. I am pleased to appear before the committee today to assist in your review of Bill 59, Estate Administration Law Amendment Act.

The Estate Administration Law Amendment Act is an omnibus bill that would amend four separate acts that deal with estate administration: the Children’s Law Act, the Guardianship and Trusteeship Act, the Intestate Succession Act and the Public Trustee Act.

A primary focus of the proposed amendments is the changes necessary to ensure that existing legislation is consistent with the new Estate Administration Rules of the Supreme Court of the...

Thank you. They’re usually working off their fines anyway. So now they’d be having the ability to work off the surcharge as well. So we don’t anticipate any further workload. Thank you.

Thank you, Madam Chair. Yes, I would.

Thank you, Madam Chair. Yes, we can do that and we will do that. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I wish to table the following two documents, entitled “2014-2015 Grants and Contributions Results Report, October 2015,” and “NWT Community Futures Program 2013-2014 Annual Report.” Thank you.