Robert C. McLeod

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I am here to present Bill 19, Municipal Statutes Amendment Act.

Bill 19 proposes amendments to three of the municipal statues, the Cities, Towns and Villages Act, the Hamlets Act and the Charter Communities Act. The proposed amendments result from issues raised over the past several years by municipal governments. Additional minor amendments of a miscellaneous nature are included as requested by the Department of Justice.

The other municipal statue, the Tlicho Community Government Act, is not addressed in this bill. The Tlicho Government must consent in a separate...

I would, Mr. Chairman.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I have with me Mr. Mike Aumond, deputy minister of MACA, Laura Gareau is the director of corporate affairs for MACA, and we have Kelly McLaughlin, legislative counsel, Department of Justice.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I am here to present Bill 15, An Act to Amend the Fire Prevention Act.

This bill makes one technical amendment to the Fire Prevention Act to enable the fire marshal to act where an owner or occupant of a structure cannot be identified.

The Department of Justice legal counsel recommended that MACA amend the act so that it would be clear that the fire marshal can apply to the Supreme Court for permission to take corrective action where the fire marshal cannot establish the identity of the owner or occupant of the building. There are some additional minor amendments that...

Mr. Speaker, that is one of the reasons that I had to go into the seniors’ homes and bring along interpreters so they can best understand the options and what they may be getting into. That would be a good opportunity to make sure all the proper documentation is placed so they can have a complete application that doesn’t hurt their chances of getting assistance.

I can say again that we do provide a lot of assistance for seniors. Under the old program, it was a fixed 10-year forgivable period so they had to wait 10 years before they were able to apply again. Now, with the new program, it can be...

Mr. Speaker, we give opportunities for seniors to contact us and in the response to some questions on the floor last year I did commit to the Member that those seniors that wanted us to come to their units, we would come and we would provide an interpreter so they can best understand the programs and some of the options that are available to them. As far as going door to door, again, we like to work with the seniors and obviously we want to help them, and if the seniors feel like they are in need of work on their home, then we give them the opportunity to contact us and we go to their homes...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Supporting a healthy and sustainable volunteer sector is one of the priorities that the government is addressing as part of the Building Our Future Initiative. Today I am pleased to advise Members on an important opportunity to recognize the significant contribution volunteers make to all our communities.

Launched in 1991, the NWT Outstanding Volunteer Awards Program celebrates exceptional volunteer service in the Northwest Territories. In the 21 years the program has been operating, over 700 individuals and groups have been nominated for awards by others from their...

The NWTAC was our conduit to the smaller communities and we consult with them and they, in turn, consulted with their member communities on some of the proposed amendments. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I have with me to my left Mr. Michael Aumond, deputy minister of MACA. To my right is David Kravitz, manager, community governance at MACA; and Lana Birch-Rideout, legislative counsel, Department of Justice. Thank you.

The Member is throwing accusations out there and talking about ethics and I take offense to that. All the proper processes were followed, it came down to -- and I’ve heard from folks in Norman Wells -- the fact they just don’t like it and in the words of one member of the Norman Wells Community Council, we got beat to the punch. That’s the basis for all of this. If there needs to be a transparent review of how this land was disposed of, we welcome that, because all proper processes were followed. Thank you.