Thank you, Mr. Chairman. The Standing Committee on Legislation has had the opportunity to review Bill 9, An Act to Amend the Motor Vehicles Act. This bill amends the Motor Vehicles Act to allow for the use of a single licence plate. Enforcement officers in the Northwest Territories were consulted regarding possible enforcement difficulties that may arise from the issuance of a single licence plate. No problems are anticipated. Therefore, the committee agrees, with the amendment, to allow for the issuance of a single licence plate and sticker.
However, Mr. Chairman, the amendments to change the terminologies to single licence plates provided the committee with the opportunity to review section 48(2) of the current legislation. The clause states that a person must keep the licence plate that is attached to the motor vehicle free of dirt and obstacles. Some Members of the committee held the view that, given the extreme condition of highways in the Northwest Territories, this legislation was too rigid and could cause undue hardship to vehicle owners. It would require vehicle owners to continuously keep their licence plate free of dirt, snow or other obstacles in the north where extreme conditions on highways prevail. Members also felt that the legislation left vehicle operators at the mercy of possible overzealous enforcement officers. To address this issue, the committee proposed an amendment to clause 24 of Bill 9 to insert the word "reasonable" in front of the words "free of dirt". The committee felt that this amendment would allow for the enforcement flexibility. The department suggested that deleting the words "free of dirt and obstruction" and substituting "is legible" would be more in line with the proposed purpose of section 48(2) of the current legislation.
Lengthy debate occurred over the proposed amendment, in my absence, to clause 24 of the bill. It was decided that the clause, as originally stated in the bill, would prevail as a satisfactory compromise between the committee and the Minister, who could not be reached. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.