Thanks.

Do we agree?

Agreed.

Thank you. Proceed, Mr. Sergeant-at-Arms. Thank you. For the record, Mr. Minister, would you please introduce the witnesses?

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. On my immediate right, of course, is Margaret Melhorn, deputy minister of Finance. On my immediate left is Denise Gagnon, who is the legislative drafter for the Department of Justice in the legislative division of the Department of Justice. Thank you.

Thank you. Welcome to the committee. The floor is open for general comments. Do you want to go clause by clause? It is in your green binder, Bill 6, An Act to Amend the Income Tax Act. Clause 1, Income Tax Act is amended by this act. Agreed?

Agreed.

Thank you. Clause 2. Agreed? Mr. Ootes.

Thank you. Are you requesting a quorum here, Mr. Ootes?

Thank you. Clause 2 of Bill 6. Agreed?

Agreed.

Thank you. Clause 3 of Bill 6. Agreed?

Agreed.

Thank you. Bill as a whole?

Agreed.

Thank you. Does the committee agree that Bill 6 is ready for third reading?

Agreed.

Bill 6 is now ready for third reading. I thank the witnesses and Mr. Minister. Thank you. Another on the table that was agreed to earlier by this committee is Bill 10, Miscellaneous Statutes Amendment Act, 1998. On behalf of this bill, Mr. Todd.

Yes, Mr. Chairman. I will deal with this Bill today. Mr. Arlooktoo, as you know, is in Ottawa. The purpose of Bill 10, Miscellaneous Statutes Amendment Act, 1998 is to amend various statutes of the Northwest Territories that contain errors, inconsistencies or anomalies that have been identified in the ongoing statute review project or that have been brought to the attention of the Department of Justice by Members of the public or by the staff adjusters and other departments. The department's responsible for the administration of various statutes being amended by the Miscellaneous Statutes Amendment Act, 1998, have each reviewed and approved the changes to the statutes under their authority. Most changes proposed in the bill are minor in nature and many consist of grammatical or spelling corrections to either the English or French version of the statute. Other changes have the effect of repealing certain provisions of the statutes that have expired, lapsed or otherwise ceased to have effect. The bill also provides for the repeal of Expo '92 Revolving Fund Act which is spent in its entirety. The amendments are of such a nature that the preparation and legislative consideration of individual bills to correct each statute would be time consuming for the government and the Legislative Assembly, particularly at this juncture when we must be frugal with both time and resources. In order for an amendment to be included in the bill, it had to meet the following criteria: It must not be controversial. That would be nice. It must not involve the spending of public funds. It must not prejudicially affect the rights of persons, and it must not create a new offence or subject a new class of persons to an existing offence. In our view, the amendments proposed in Bill 10, met these criteria. During its initial review of Bill 10, the Standing Committee on Government Operations expressed concerns with provisions amending the Condominium Act and the Legal Service Act. Minister Arlooktoo concurred with the Standing Committee and agreed that a motion should be brought forward before this committee to address these concerns. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

Thank you, Mr. Todd. Your answer for Mr. Arlooktoo is noted for the time being. I have Mr. Henry on behalf of the Standing Committee on Government Operations. Mr. Henry.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. The Standing Committee on Government Operations reviewed Bill 10, Miscellaneous Statutes Amending Act, 1998 at its meeting on February 19, 1998. The committee would like to thank the Minister of Justice and his officials for presenting the bill. The bill corrects errors and inconsistencies that have been identified in various NWT statutes. The amendments made are intended to be noncontroversial and uncomplicated. In general, the standing committee agreed that the amendments fulfil the intent of the bill and is noncontroversial. However, committee Members had questions and concerns about some aspects of the bill and had reached agreement with the Minister that motions would be made to amend two clauses of this bill in committee of the whole.

Some committee Members expressed concern about the proposed amendments to the Condominium Act, dealing with condominium plans. The amendments would allow engineers to certify that the buildings in question have been constructed and that the diagrams of the units are accurate in relation to the buildings. Currently only architects are able to provide similar certificates. Some Members were of the opinion that, as the term engineer covers a broad field, it would be appropriate to clarify that such certificates could only be given by engineers qualified in the relevant area.

The Minister provided an undertaking to the standing committee that a motion would be moved in committee of the whole to address this concern. This motion would amend clause 8 of the bill.

Committee Members also questioned the Minister about the rationale for the proposed amendments to the Legal Services Act. The amendments would change the composition of the Legal Services Board, which is responsible for administering legal aid. As the bill currently stands, three members of the board would be removed. The lay member, who is a person and is not a member of a law society or the public service, would be appointed on the nomination of the Attorney General of Canada and the executive director of the board. The Minister explained these changes were proposed by the Legal Services Board. The standing committee had no difficulty with two of the proposed changes. The federal government had notified the board that it no longer wished to nominate a representative. As well, the board proposed the removal of the executive director because that person is a staff member and takes direction from the Board. The Committee understands the executive director will continue to attend all board meetings. However, in some committee Members had concerns with the proposed removal of the lay person from the board. The Minister advised that in the opinion of the board, there will continue to be a balance of legal and lay membership because each of the regional committees nominates a board member. However, in the standing committee's view, it is important to ensure there is a category of membership that specifies that a person is not a member of the law society or of the public service. The Minister again provided an undertaking to the standing committee that a motion would be moved, in committee of the whole to address this concern. The motion would amend clause 19 of the Miscellaneous Statutes Amending Act, 1998.

Mr. Chairman, committee Members may have additional comments or questions on this bill during review in committee of the whole. This concludes the report of the Standing Committee on Government Operations on Bill 10, Miscellaneous Statutes Amending Act, 1998. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

Thank you. We are dealing with Bill 10, Miscellaneous Statutes Amendment Act, 1998. Before we get into the general comments, I would like to ask the honourable Minister if he wished to bring in witnesses? Agreed?