Further to that, Mr. Chairman, I'm wondering whether or not Mr. Dent has determined if there is any case law which influenced him to use the words "attempt" and "threatened" in his bill?
Debates of June 13th, 1995
Topics
Bill 32: An Act To Amend The Legislative Assembly And Executive Council Act, No. 2
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Page 1296
Jeannie Marie-Jewell Thebacha
Bill 32: An Act To Amend The Legislative Assembly And Executive Council Act, No. 2
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Page 1296
Bill 32: An Act To Amend The Legislative Assembly And Executive Council Act, No. 2
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Page 1296
Charles Dent Yellowknife Frame Lake
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, in drafting the wording of the bill, I sought legal counsel to ensure that the bill would have some understanding if it were ever taken to court. Therefore, I would like to ask again that legal counsel be permitted to address the specifics of this question.
Bill 32: An Act To Amend The Legislative Assembly And Executive Council Act, No. 2
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
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Bill 32: An Act To Amend The Legislative Assembly And Executive Council Act, No. 2
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
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Macpherson
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. The wording used in the bill is very, very similar to the wording used in the Criminal Code because of the fact that there is a significant body of case law interpreting the wording used: "attempt" or "threatening to use violence." It was felt that that was the best place to draw the wording from. There is a tremendous amount of case law dealing with the area of firearms prohibition and the wording contained in the bill is taken directly from that section. So I can advise the Member that there are many cases and a relatively clear understanding of those words, in terms of words being traditionally considered. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Bill 32: An Act To Amend The Legislative Assembly And Executive Council Act, No. 2
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Page 1296
Bill 32: An Act To Amend The Legislative Assembly And Executive Council Act, No. 2
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Page 1296
Jeannie Marie-Jewell Thebacha
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I think it's important to have on record the definition and interpretation of this bill, where it is developed from, with respect to the words "attempted" and "threatened" because they can be misinterpreted in the future in the court process. I think it's very important for the public to understand clearly the meaning of the bill when those words will be interpreted for future reference. With that, I have no further comments. Thank you.
Bill 32: An Act To Amend The Legislative Assembly And Executive Council Act, No. 2
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Page 1296
Bill 32: An Act To Amend The Legislative Assembly And Executive Council Act, No. 2
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
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Fred Koe Inuvik
Thank you. Under clause 2.6.(2), the words "practices of parliament" are used. Can someone explain why that particular phrase is in this particular act? We're dealing with an act relating to the Legislative Assembly of the Northwest Territories. Why would we use the practices of Parliament, and I assume that's the Canadian Parliament?
Bill 32: An Act To Amend The Legislative Assembly And Executive Council Act, No. 2
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Page 1296
Bill 32: An Act To Amend The Legislative Assembly And Executive Council Act, No. 2
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
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Acting Law Clerk Ms. Stewart
The Constitution Act of 1867 provides that Canada shall have a constitution similar in principle to that of the United Kingdom. A constitution similar in principle to that of the United Kingdom is one founded on a parliamentary democracy. Parliament, as part of that parliamentary democracy, has a number of privileges, rights and powers, as well as procedures and other conventions that
govern their proceedings and manner of acting in different circumstances.
The words "practices of Parliament" were intended to capture not only things that were set out in the rules and procedures of the Legislative Assembly, not only things that were included in the Legislative Assembly and Executive Council Act or conventions of this Legislative Assembly, but also to include all those other privileges of a Parliament in a parliamentary democracy.
Bill 32: An Act To Amend The Legislative Assembly And Executive Council Act, No. 2
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
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Bill 32: An Act To Amend The Legislative Assembly And Executive Council Act, No. 2
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
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Fred Koe Inuvik
Similarly, the last part of that section reads "or otherwise." What are other examples that fit under this category, or why is that qualification there?
Bill 32: An Act To Amend The Legislative Assembly And Executive Council Act, No. 2
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Page 1297
Bill 32: An Act To Amend The Legislative Assembly And Executive Council Act, No. 2
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Page 1297
Acting Law Clerk Ms. Stewart
I would request that we defer that to Mr. Dent. I wasn't involved in the drafting of that particular provision or the drafting, at all, of the bill and I'm not entirely sure what was intended.
Bill 32: An Act To Amend The Legislative Assembly And Executive Council Act, No. 2
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Page 1297
Bill 32: An Act To Amend The Legislative Assembly And Executive Council Act, No. 2
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
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Charles Dent Yellowknife Frame Lake
Mr. Chairman, the phrasing of this clause was actually suggested by Mr. Miles Pepper of the GNWT Department of Justice. He is the assistant deputy minister. My understanding of the reasoning for this wording is to ensure that there is no truncation of the rights and powers which are inherent in this Legislature. If we are not careful, we could in fact limit the rights of the Legislature with an act when we codify responses to certain actions. With this wording, we have been assured that we are not in any way infringing on the inherent rights of the Legislature.
Bill 32: An Act To Amend The Legislative Assembly And Executive Council Act, No. 2
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Page 1297
Bill 32: An Act To Amend The Legislative Assembly And Executive Council Act, No. 2
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
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Some Hon. Members
Agreed.
---Agreed
Bill 32: An Act To Amend The Legislative Assembly And Executive Council Act, No. 2
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
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Bill 32: An Act To Amend The Legislative Assembly And Executive Council Act, No. 2
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Page 1297
Some Hon. Members
Agreed.
---Agreed
Bill 32: An Act To Amend The Legislative Assembly And Executive Council Act, No. 2
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
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The Chair Tony Whitford
Thank you. Does the committee agree that Bill 32 is ready for third reading?
Bill 32: An Act To Amend The Legislative Assembly And Executive Council Act, No. 2
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Page 1297
Some Hon. Members
Agreed.
---Agreed
Bill 32: An Act To Amend The Legislative Assembly And Executive Council Act, No. 2
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
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The Chair Tony Whitford
Thank you. Bill 32 is now ready for third reading. Mr. Dent, I would like to thank you for assisting the committee in this effort, and Ms. MacPherson, we look forward to seeing you back.
---Applause
Bill 32: An Act To Amend The Legislative Assembly And Executive Council Act, No. 2
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
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The Chair Tony Whitford
I would like to thank Ms. Stewart for assisting the committee in its deliberations on Bill 32. Thank you, Ms. Stewart, and we hope to see you again.