Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Unless there is an amendment to the NWT Act I am not aware of, the NWT Act provides that every Assembly shall continue for four years from the date of return of the writs, for a general election, and no longer. That is unlike the provisions in the Nunavut Act, which allow the Nunavut Assembly to continue for a period of up to five years. That is very much the Canadian norm in legislatures. We still have the provisions that say we shall continue for four years and no longer. There could be some real chaos if a decision came down very close to the end of this 13th Assembly and there was insufficient time to meet and address the consequences of the decision. It appears there is no statutory framework, Mr. Chairman, to permit an extension. The court would very much, if they were to delay the election, be relying on non-statutory, non-legislative powers and their own inherent jurisdiction. I am not quite sure they would have that inherent jurisdiction to do so. It would be a tricky issue, Mr. Chairman.
Law Clerk (Ms. Macpherson) on Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
In the Legislative Assembly on November 10th, 1998. See this statement in context.
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
November 9th, 1998
Page 365
Law Clerk Ms. Macpherson
See context to find out what was said next.