Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, I have a motion to amend Clause 10 of the bill to introduce a number of changes respecting the Judicial Council. The first change will be to paragraph 31(1)(e) and subsection 31(4) regarding appointments of lay persons to the Judicial Council. The bill was amended in standing committee to clarify that lay persons appointed to the Judicial Appointments Advisory Committee may not be members or former members of any law society in Canada, not merely the Law Society of the NWT. The proposed amendment would clarify the same effect that lay persons appointed to the Judicial Council may not be members or former members of any law society in Canada.

The second change would be the addition of a clause which would introduce the principle that diversity of the population and gender balance will be a consideration of the Law Society and the Commissioner in the Executive Council in appointing members to the Judicial Council.

The third change concerns compensation for legal costs of a complainant in manners before the Judicial Council and would empower the Judicial Council to recommend compensation in certain cases.