Rylund Johnson

Mr. Speaker, I move, seconded by the Member for Great Slave, that Bill 61, An Act to Amend the Ombud Act, be read for the third time. And Mr. Speaker, I request a recorded vote. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Madam Chair. Bill 66, An Act to Amend the Property Assessment and Taxation Act, received second reading on November 3rd, 2022, and was referred to the Standing Committee on Government Operations for review. Committee engaged with stakeholders and the public in its review of the bill. Committee held a public review on the bill on January 23rd, 2023, and received two written submissions.

Committee was able to use that feedback to seek amendments that take transparency into consideration. Committee was pleased to work with the Department of Municipal and Community Affairs on these...

Thank you, Madam Chair. I'm going to start with some I think in hindsight, I believe both the Minister and committee would have done this differently, and I think there's some lessons to be learned here. You know, it's unfortunate that, you know, that the Minister and probably quite a few of the staff and a lot of the MLAs weren't allowed around for the last carbon tax but if you were ever introducing legislation on any topic, go look if there's an old committee report about it because these committee reports make the same recommendations every single time and there is there's stacks of...

Thank you, Madam Chair. Madam Chair, Bill 66, An Act to Amend the Property Assessment and Taxation Act received second reading in the Legislative Assembly on November 3rd, 2022, and was referred to the Standing Committee on Government Operations for review.

Committee sought feedback on Bill 66, and from that feedback committee was able to amend three clauses to make the bill more functional. The amendments made a clausebyclause review reflect a resolution advocated by a nonprofit organization and to address transparency concerning deadlines and decisions to approved purchases.

The committee...

No further questions, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I support MLA Cleveland's ongoing efforts to make sure we increase our population, but I don't want to do that on the backs of unplanned pregnancies, Mr. Speaker, and especially, I think, unplanned teen pregnancies are a reality in the North, and we all know that they have longterm consequences, and people, you know, may not have access to the contraception to make their own choices. And so my question seeing now that BC has provided universal contraception, is this something that the Minister of health supports. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Your Standing Committee on Government Operations is pleased to provide its report on Indigenous Representation in the Northwest Territories Public Service and commends it to the House.

The Standing Committee on Government Operations reviewed Indigenous representation in the Northwest Territories public service. Currently, Indigenous employees make up approximately thirty percent of the Government of the Northwest Territories public service while, at the same time, half of the NWT's population is Indigenous.

Finding ways to increase Indigenous representation in the GNWT...

Thank you, Madam Chair. Bill 67, An Act to Amend the Fire Prevention Act, received second reading in the Legislative Assembly on November 3rd, 2022, and was referred to the Standing Committee on Government Operations for review.

Bill 67 proposes changes to the Fire Prevention Act, which has not been reviewed since it was first passed in 1988. The committee sought public feedback on this legislation. During its review, the committee heard that clarity and certainty was needed with respect to the timelines of the appeal board process. The committee also heard concerns regarding the composition of...

Madam Chair, I would request a recorded vote.

Thank you, Madam Chair. Madam Chair, Bill 60, An Act to Amend the Petroleum Products and Carbon Tax Act, received second reading in the Legislative Assembly on November 1st, 2022, and was referred to the Standing Committee on Government Operations for review. Committee held a public technical briefing from the Minister of Finance and department officials on November 25th, 2022. Following that, the committee sought public feedback on Bill 60.

Committee heard serious concerns from the public about the carbon tax approach. Committee presented a report with five recommendations to the Legislative...