Kieron Testart

Mr. Chair, I move that Bill 20 be amended by deleting subclause 17(3) and substituting the following:

(3) The Ombud may investigate any decision, recommendation, act, order, or omission within the Ombud's mandate that occurred no earlier than January 1, 2016. Thank you.

Mr. Chair, the motion is for the Chair to leave the chair, so yes, it would be to leave. No reporting of progress.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, the Standing Committee on Government Operations developed this amendment based on its consultations and the feedback we received from the public that the mandate section of this bill was dense, overly legalistic, and difficult to understand. Standing committee set to work to make it more legible and to also clarify a concern that was also raised by the public that government policy was not explicitly referenced in the act itself, whereas it is a long-standing component of what an Ombud can do in the execution of their duties. So this amendment makes the mandate...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Chair, the Standing Committee on Government Operations is pleased to speak to Bill 20, the Ombud Act.

It began its consultations after the bill was given second reading. The committee wrote to invite input from a broad array of stakeholders and organizations in the Northwest Territories, such as municipal governments, chambers of commerce, non-governmental organizations, and professional societies. Committee also wrote to Indigenous governments in the NWT to seek their input, and in particular, to canvas their interest in accessing the services of the Ombud on a cost...

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I move that this Assembly recommends that the Minister responsible for Public Engagement and Transparency work closely with the Office of the Clerk of the Legislative Assembly and the newly appointed Ombud to ensure the timely development and launch of a robust public awareness campaign to support the opening of the Office of the Ombud and increase residents' understanding of services the office provides and how to access them. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Committee would like to consider Committee Report 10-18(3), Report on the Review of Bill 20: Ombudsperson Act, and Bill 20, Ombudsperson Act. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I seek unanimous consent to waive Rule 100(4) and move Committee Report 10-18(3) into Committee of the Whole for further consideration later today. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Thank you, colleagues.

Motion 10: To amend subclause 22(1) to allow the Ombud to discontinue acting on a matter where the complainant has abandoned the complaint.

Motion 11: To amend Bill 20 by deleting clause 23 and substituting new language.

Clause 23 provides that the Ombud cannot investigate any matter that falls under the jurisdiction of another statutory officer with Ombud-like powers. The amendment was proposed for clarity, to identify precisely which statutory officers are referred to.

Motion 12: To amend clause 24 by adding a new provision after subclause 24(5).

S...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I seek unanimous consent to waive Rule 100(4) and move Committee Report 9-18(3) into Committee of the Whole for consideration later today. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, I appreciate where the Member is coming from. I know many Northerners are constantly concerned about the ever-increasing cost of living, especially those in small communities.

However, what these amendments were designed to do is to empower cities, towns, and villages to implement taxes to support tourism opportunities in their communities. When the standing committee consulted with all of the six cities, towns, and villages that would be subject to these new bylaw provisions, the vast majority of them spoke in favour of the City of Yellowknife being allowed to...