The Nunavut Legislative Assembly and its independent officers.

• Author: Tootoo, Hunter

Canada's newest territory, Nunavut, came into existence on April 1, 1999. Upon its creation Nunavut inherited the majority of its statutes from the Northwest Territories. A number of these statutes established independent officers of the Legislative Assembly including the Conflict of Interest Commissioner, the Languages Commissioner, the Chief Electoral Officer, and the Information and Privacy Commissioner. This article looks at the functions of these and other independent officers as well as recent developments in Nunavut.

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At the first sitting of the Legislative Assembly of Nunavut in April, 1999, the Assembly approved terms of reference for its Standing Committees. Each Standing Committee consisted of five Regular MLAs (MLAs not sitting on Cabinet). The Standing Committee Ajauqtiit was empowered to conduct the initial recruitment and selection process for the Information and Privacy Commissioner, Conflict of Interest Commissioner and Languages Commissioner. The Clerk of the Legislative Assembly initially held the position of Chief Electoral Officer.

The Standing Committee undertook a competitive, merit-based recruitment and selection process. All positions were advertised in the media and prospective candidates were interviewed by the Committee sitting as a panel, using an agreed-to set of standardized questions. The Standing Committee's recommendations were brought to Full Caucus (all 19 MLAs) for review and ratification. In all cases, the Committee's recommendation was approved, and formal motions to recommend the appointments of the successful candidates were unanimously adopted by the House in the fall of 1999 and the spring of 2000. The Standing Committee tabled a final report on each of the following appointments:

* Conflict of Interest Commissioner (Robert Stanbury)

* Languages Commissioner (Eva Aariak)

* Information and Privacy Commissioner (Elaine Keenan Bengts) who also served as the Information and Privacy Commissioner of the Northwest Territories)

A number of developments have taken place since the initial appointments of independent officers were made. In 2001, the Legislative Assembly passed a new Integrity Act during its spring sitting, which was held in the community of Cambridge Bay. This Act was the final product of a comprehensive review undertaken by the Conflict of Interest Commissioner. The new Act consolidated conflict of interest provisions and other related matters applying to MLAs into a single...