Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I am pleased to report, on behalf of the Standing Committee on Legislation, on Bill 12, An Act to Amend the Judicature Act, No. 2.
The Standing Committee on Legislation has had the opportunity to complete its review of Bill 12, An Act to Amend the Judicature Act, No. 2, and the committee is ready to report its findings to the House.
Bill 12 proposes to amend the Judicature Act of the NWT in four ways:
1. creating the office of the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court;
2. move the fixing of tariffs of fees and expenses into regulations;
3. removing references to the rules of the Alberta Supreme Court; and,
4. eliminating fees paid to jury panels and non-expert witnesses.
The amendments proposed in Bill 12 are generally administrative in nature. They would not change the legislation in a substantial way, they would change the manner in which pre-existing functions are administered.
The standing committee supports the creation of the office of the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, as well as the moving of the fixing of tariffs of fees and expenses into regulations. The creation of the office of the Supreme Court Chief Justice would formally recognize the responsibilities currently being provided by the senior judge of the Supreme Court and the fixing of tariffs of fees and expenses in regulation to allow for the revisions of fees in a timely manner.
The standing committee, however, did have many reservations regarding the elimination of fees for jury panels and non-expert witnesses. The Minister explained that this amendment was introduced as a cost-saving measure. It was estimated that $150,000 could be saved by the government by eliminating these fees. Members of the standing committee felt that although the fee paid to jury panels and non-expert witnesses may be a token amount, it could prove a hardship on the public and therefore was not in the public interest.
Therefore, on December 13, 1994, the committee voted down clause 5 of Bill 12 with the concurrence of the Minister and the bill was referred to committee of the whole for deliberation as reprinted. That's the report of the Standing Committee on Legislation, Mr. Chairman. Thank you.