The North Territories.

• Author: Ball, Michael
• Position: Legislative Reports

Legislation

The Fifth Session of the 17th Legislative Assembly reconvened on October 16,

2014 and was scheduled to sit until November 6, 2014. During this sitting, the House considered the 2015-2016 Capital Estimates, two supplementary appropriation bills dealing with both infrastructure and operations expenditures, as well as legislation including the Human Tissue Donation Act, and amendments to the Education Act, the Public Service Act and the Pharmacy Act.

Committees

From September 8-26, 2014, the Standing Committees of the Legislative Assembly reviewed departmental business plans for the 2015-2016 fiscal year. The Standing Committee on Economic Development and Infrastructure, the Standing Committee on Government Operations, and the Standing Committee on Social Programs met with the ministers and senior officials from all government departments as part of the review process.

On October 16, 2014, the Government of the Northwest Territories tabled its response to the Standing Committee on Government Operations Report on the Review of the 2014 Report of the Auditor General of Canada on Northwest Territories Child and Family Services along with Building Stronger Families: An Action Plan to Transform Child and Family Services. These documents address the recommendations made by the Standing Committee on Government Operations with respect to changes necessary in child and family services and describe how these changes will be accomplished.

Following the release of its June, 2014 report titled Establishing an Office of the Ombudsman for the Northwest Territories, the Standing Committee on Government Operations invited Andre Marin, Ombudsman of Ontario, to visit Yellowknife. During his visit Mr. Marin met with Committee Members and participated in a Town Hall meeting with the general public on the role and potential contributions of an Ombudsman.

The Standing Committee on Government Operations continues to consider Bill 12: Northern Employee Benefits Services Pension Plan Act. The act sets out the legislative framework for the continuation of the Northern Employee Benefits Services (NEBS) Pension Plan to continue as a multi-employer, multi-jurisdictional public sector pension plan for employees of approved public sector employers in both the Northwest Territories and Nunavut. Bill 1, which is before the Nunavut Standing Committee on Legislation, largely mirrors Bill 12.

On October 30, 2014, the Legislative Assembly adopted a motion to extend the...