R.J. Simpson

With me today I have Victoria Carmichael, legislative counsel with the Department of Justice. Thank you.

Thank you, Madam Chair. I'm here today to present Bill 12, Business Day Statute Law Amendment Act. The purpose of Bill 12 is to fix an error that was made in 2017 when amendments to the Interpretation Act resulted in some government offices technically being required to be open on Sundays. This was not the intent of the changes in 2017.

Bill 12 will amend four pieces of legislation to deal with this problem and to ensure Sundays are not interpreted as business days, including

Subsection 150(5) of the Business Corporations Act;

Section 59 of the Consumer Protection Act;

Section 62 of the Judicature...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I wouldn't say that the human resource allocations were part of the divisional drug strategy, but there have been increases to the RCMP numbers in the Member's riding. K'atlodeeche First Nation had two positions added, one this year, one last year. The detachment in Fort Providence has also had positions added. And that's in addition to the new crime reduction unit and the emergency response team that are getting staffed up that also work territorially. So there's more assets available in the communities, and there's more territorial assets available to respond to...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And so, of course, Nutrition North is a federal program and it has its own criteria and it's related to accessibility, road access. That being said, we obviously have higher costs of living in the Northwest Territories, and that's an appropriate thing to bring forward to our discussions with the federal government and the ministerial special adviser, and I think it's important to also highlight Indigenous businesses and how we can better support them. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Last year Minister Vandal, who was at the time the Minister responsible for Nutrition North, announced that there would be -- they'd be undertaking their five-year review of the program and that that review is expected to be completed this year. And so we are waiting that and are engaging at every opportunity that we can.

As well, we have -- or the Minister last year also announced that there would be a -- let me just find this position -- a ministerial special representative independent of the federal public service appointed to review the Nutrition North program. That...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. There will be no change in the cost of this position. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Trespass Act, the legislative proposal is targeted for the second quarter of 2025-2026, so that would mean within the first six months of the upcoming fiscal year. And after a legislative proposal is created, it, of course, is shared confidentially with our colleagues in the Standing Committee on Accountability and Oversight. They have up to six weeks to provide feedback on that legislative proposal at which point it comes to Cabinet for a decision, and after that decision, if Cabinet decides to proceed, then the bill is drafted and that can take some time as well...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Yes. Thank you.

Thank you. I'd be happy to. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And of course I spoke with my Cabinet colleagues, and I've spoken with Indigenous leaders, and there is a lot of support, a lot of positive feedback about this decision. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.