Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, the Standing Committee on Social Programs reviewed Bill 17, An Act to Amend the Territorial Court Act and the Justices of the Peace Act, at its meeting on May 28, 1998. The committee would like to thank the Minister of Justice and officials from the Department of Justice for presenting the bill and responding to the committee's questions. Bill 17 is in large part a response to developments over the last several years relating to judicial independence in the Northwest Territories and across Canada. This bill would amend the Territorial Court Act to provide for the establishment of NWT Judicial Renumeration Commission, as required by a recent decision of the Supreme Court of Canada.
On September 18, 1997, the Supreme Court of Canada ruled on the question of whether the Governments of PEI, Manitoba and Alberta had breached the Constitutional principle of judicial independence when they cut back the salaries and benefits of provincial court judges in recent years. The SCC held that, to preserved judicial independence, each province and territory must establish an independent commission between the judiciary and the Executive. The body would report regularly to the Executive and the Legislature on the adequacy of judicial compensation and on any proposed changes or freezes to judicial compensation.
The Supreme Court of Canada later clarified its decision and said that each jurisdiction must have a commission by September 18, 1998. If a commission was not set up, the independence of the territorial court judges in the Northwest Territories could be successfully challenged.
Under the bill, the Judicial Renumeration Commission would review judges salaries and benefits every three years or more often if requested and would make recommendations to the Minster on these matters. The recommendations of the commission would be binding. Committee Members questioned the Minister about several aspects of the bill, in particular, some Members questioned whether the recommendations of the commission should be binding. Under the court decision, the recommendations are not required to be binding, but they should not be set aside lightly. If a recommendation is not followed, the decision must be able to be justified in court. The committee recognizes that there are benefits to providing for binding recommendations and that this would result in the less likelihood of litigation or compensation issues. The bill also would add a provision that the Cabinet may not vary the location of which a territorial judge may reside, except with the consent of the judge. This is consistent with the Supreme Court of Canada decision.
The second aspect of this bill would amend the Justice of the Peace Act and the Territorial Court Act to clarify that a Justice of the Peace has jurisdiction to deal with the youth under the Young Offenders Act. Subject to the terms of the JP's appointment, the JP could preside at a trial of a young person for offences under either federal or Northwest Territories law, where the offence is an eligible offence under the regulations. The bill also provides that JPs are appointed as youth court judges on the recommendation of the Chief Judge. Currently, the recommendation of the Chief Judge is not required.
Mr. Chairman, committee Members may have additional comments or questions on this bill as we proceed. This concludes the standing committees comments on Bill 17, An Act to Amend the Territorial Court Act and the Justices of the Peace Act. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.