Thank you, Madam Chair. Election expenses, with consensus government system the NWT is unique in how elections are called. In other jurisdictions while there may be rumours about a pending election, elections begin as soon as the dates are formally announced. In the NWT the date for the election is often the subject of the discussion within the Assembly. Dates are set often well in advance of the signing of the writs. For example, in the last election the dates were set in May, although the election day was in October. The current system of accounting for election expenses does not take this extended time into account. In some cases candidates had set up offices and were actively spending campaign funds prior to the official election period.
In order to provide a level playing field for all candidates the Chief Electoral Officer suggests extending the spending limitation period, the Committee agrees.
Madam Chair, I move that this Committee recommends that the spending limitation period be extended to include the entire period from the date an election is announced by the Legislative Assembly until polling day.