Thanks, Mr. Chairman. As noted in the legislative action paper, considerable discussion has taken place in the Northwest Territories during recent years around the issue of access to government records.

During its public hearings, the Standing Committee on Legislation consistently heard that members of the public from all parts of the Northwest Territories view access to government records to be linked to the basic right to participate in government in a democratic society. Many individuals and organizations made the point, forcefully, that this should be a priority of this government.

For example, in Yellowknife, the Status of Women Council of the Northwest Territories presented this point of view:

"Access to information should be given. We, the people, elected the legislators and either benefit or suffer from their actions or decisions. It is absurd to us that any information, with very few exceptions, should be withheld from the public."

The standing committee also heard that in many circumstances, accessing government information is difficult at present. For example, in Pond Inlet, Mr. Anaviapik to the committee:

"As an ordinary person, trying to get assistance from the government is almost impossible. Most of the time they tell us that they will get back to us. This is usually the only answer we get."

Based on the submissions received during public hearings and extensive discussions and consideration of the issues, the Standing Committee on Legislation was of the opinion that the development of right to information legislation should be made an immediate priority of this government. A right to information bill should be introduced in the Legislative Assembly as soon as possible, and not later than the fall of 1993. If this bill receives second reading, it should again be referred to the Standing Committee on Legislation for a detailed review.

Ombudsman

The Standing Committee on Legislation also received several expressions of support for the creation of an ombudsman for the Northwest Territories. Although those submitting their comments to the committee were not unanimous, the Members of the standing committee were of the opinion that the creation of an ombudsman office for the Northwest Territories could be justified.

For instance in Cambridge Bay, the standing committee received the comments of Mr. Peterson, who described his view of the benefits of an ombudsman for the Northwest Territories:

"We are advocating an ombudsman position that would allow information to be revealed where parties to an impasse could negotiate a settlement or resolve an issue. an individual may be off track. An ombudsman could explain, after investigating the problem, to the individual in a way that he can understand. In other cases, the government could be off track and the ombudsman could explain to the government people that, listen, it is not in the best interest of the government to buy this. It has to treat this person or business with respect and openness and get on about the business of running government without dragging everyone into court with bitterness, mistrust or distrust to develop. We are not suggesting that the ombudsman be the judge and jury. In fact, we would like him to be a capable negotiator, a diplomat, ambassador, or whatever, for everybody to look up to and trust on both sides."

The Standing Committee on Legislation also supports in principle the notion that ombudsman legislation be developed for the Northwest Territories. The standing committee recognized the obligations and duties of government to the people that it serves, and felt that recourse to an independent body by those individuals who may have been aggrieved should be available, in the interest of ensuring accountable and efficient government.

However, during the public hearings, the standing committee received requests for a more concrete proposal respecting the creation of an ombudsman. The concept of an ombudsman has not received the amount of attention and debate as has access to information. Throughout the review process, it was expressed to the committee that the lack of information in the legislative action paper made it difficult for the public to develop an informed response. As it was not clearly expressed, members of the public were not able to get a full sense of the role that the government proposed the ombudsman should play in the Northwest Territories.

The standing committee was of the opinion that a more detailed proposal for the creation of an ombudsman should be

made available for public review. This could be best accomplished through the tabling of a second legislative action paper outlining specific options in this area. Preferably, the legislative action paper could be appended by a draft bill for review. The standing committee anticipates that such a proposal would be provided by the fall of 1993.

I would like to hand this back to the chairman, now, Mr. Chairman.