Thank you, Mr. Speaker. There was also
significant agreement among the presenters to the Standing Committee that a defined arbitration/mediation process should be incorporated into the Unanimous Shareholder Agreement. The proposed USA calls for the two shareholders to use their best efforts to resolve any disputes on the application or interpretation of the USA as quickly as possible. If the two parties cannot resolve the dispute, they agree to refer the matter to a mediator. If the parties cannot resolve the dispute with the assistance of the mediator, they agree to refer the matter to a sole arbitrator for resolution. If the parties cannot agree on the appointment of a sole arbitrator, the matter will be referred to an arbitration panel, made up of one member from the Western Territory, one member from Nunavut and the third member to be appointed by the two members appointed by the two Territories. The decision of the arbitrator will be binding upon the two parties. The party who is unsuccessful in the arbitration will bear all costs unless otherwise ordered by the arbitrator.
The Interim Commissioner's Office believes the dispute resolution process to be inadequate. The ICO believes that the terms, application and interpretation, need to be clearly defined. The Western Coalition suggests that a provision be added to describe the rules and procedures on arbitration and to stipulate the law to be applied to the resolution of arbitration. The dispute resolution clause should include the procedure for either party to give notice of their intention to enter into arbitration, a timeframe to select an arbitrator and the identification of the location where the arbitration is to take place.
Michael Miltenberger, MLA for Thebacha, expressed his view that the proposed arbitration process is too complicated. He is not confident that a dispute could be resolved in a reasonable length of time.
In conclusion, the Standing Committee on Government Operations has maintained since the beginning of the review process that passage of Bill 1, The Power Corporation Act is contingent upon successful negotiation between the ICO and the GNWT of a mutually acceptable Unanimous Shareholder Agreement. The Minister responsible for the NWT Power Corporation has advised the committee and the House that negotiations are ongoing and that the parties need time to negotiate an equitable agreement. Since the Fifth Session is expected to prorogue before Bills 1 and 2 can be considered in the context of an agreement having been reached, the responsible Ministers intend to introduce new legislation during the Sixth Session of the 13th Assembly. Although it may appear that the two sides are widely divergent in their positions on the future of the Power Corporation, the committee is hopeful that there are sufficient common positions between the Government of the Northwest Territories and the Interim Commissioner's Office to facilitate the successful negotiation of a Unanimous Shareholder Agreement.
Committee Members agreed that it was still important to report on the review and public hearings on the two bills to date. The standing committee will conduct a detailed clause by clause review of the reintroduced bills and will report to the Legislative Assembly on its review. Some technical drafting issues with the Power Corporation Act have been raised and will need to be addressed, but they do not impact upon the intent of the bill. Assuming the successful negotiation of a viable Unanimous Shareholder Agreement, the committee is confident that these issues can be dealt with at a later date.
Bill 2, An Act to Amend the Public Utilities Act did not elicit strong sentiments from the stakeholders making presentations to the standing committee. All parties seem to agree that the proposed amendments would be satisfactory if a mutually acceptable USA can be worked out. The standing committee recognizes that the proposed amendments are enabling provisions and that their usefulness depends upon the continued cooperation of the two Public Utilities Boards. The standing committee has no difficulty with the proposed amendments at this time.
Mr. Speaker, that concludes the report of the Standing Committee on Government Operations on the review of Bill 1, Power Corporation Act and Bill 2, An Act to Amend the Public Utilities Act.
I would therefore move, seconded by the honourable Member for Kivallivik, that Committee Report 7-13(5) be received by the Legislative Assembly and adopted. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.