Kevin O'Reilly

Thanks, Mr. Chair. The Chief Electoral Officer and I think even our staff found a few inconsistencies in the legislation itself, some cross-referencing and things like this that should be cleared up. Those are detailed in the report, and I'm not going to drag people through those. That's what this recommendation is about, is some housekeeping clarifications that are required in the act. Thanks, Madam Chair.

Thanks, Mr. Chair. We had this issue raised with us by a member of the public, Mr. Wasylciw, and he said that it may be more convenient if someone's travelling away from their home within the Northwest Territories on polling day, where they could go in and cast their vote in any poll, not just where they necessarily live. Certainly, I know from personal experience, one of the federal, last federal elections, I cast a vote in Winnipeg, I was visiting our daughter, for candidates in the Northwest Territories. It's something that is done at the federal level. We also recognize that this might...

Thanks, Mr. Chair. Now, I'll go through a series of motions which are the recommendations from the report itself.

Thanks, Mr. Chair. This is to make sure that family members of a candidate are not eligible to serve as returning officers or additional assistant returning officers to maintain the integrity of the election and so on. That's what these section numbers are really all about, and it comes from a recommendation from the Chief Electoral Officer, so committee thought that this was something they wanted to recommend, as well. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thanks, Mr. Chair. I move that this committee recommends that the Elections and Plebiscites Act be amended to prohibit a candidate's polling agent from being able to assist an elector in casting a vote. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Mr. Speaker, my second set of questions are on the Taltson Hydroelectric Expansion Project. My questions are for the Minister of Infrastructure. The Executive's 2030 Energy Strategy and a Climate Change Strategic Framework rely heavily upon greenhouse gas reductions supposedly resulting from a major expansion of the Taltson hydroelectric system. Could the Minister describe the phases of the proposed Taltson hydroelectric expansion set out in the 2030 Energy Strategy, including the following:

Identify the time frames of construction, how each phase of construction will be financed, and to whom...

Thanks, Mr. Chair. I move that this committee recommends that the Chief Electoral Officer undertake a review of the requirements to publicly disclose a candidate's residential address and return to the Legislative Assembly within six months with the findings of that review and any potential amendments to the Elections and Plebiscites Act. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thanks, Mr. Chair. Right now, the act does not include this explicit prohibition, and in our consideration of the committee, we felt that this was something that we should spell out very clearly in the legislation. That's why it's here before you. Thanks, Mr. Chair.

Merci, Monsieur le President. I want to thank the Minister for that. I know the Minister recently announced a community suicide prevention fund at $225,000 total, and up to $45,000 per project. That would really only help maybe up to five communities. Can the Minister say how this program will be further rolled out, especially in collaboration with our existing staff and counsellors, and how the initial projects are going to be monitored and evaluated? Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.

Thanks, Mr. Chair. I move that this committee recommends that Elections NWT post all election data that is included in its report in a machine-readable format on the Elections NWT website. Thanks, Mr. Chair.