Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Bill 7, Miscellaneous Statutes Amendment Act, 1999, amends various statues of the NWT. It corrects errors or inconsistencies that have been identified in the ongoing statute revision project or that have been brought to the attention of the Department of Justice by members of the public or by the staff of the Department of Justice or other departments. In this respect, some changes proposed in Bill 7 consist of grammatical or spelling corrections to either the English or French version of the statute. Other amendments contained in Bill 7 relate to statutes or provisions of statutes that have not been proclaimed in force. The bill repeals sections 5, 6 and 8 of an Act to Amend the Jury Act. The matters dealt with in those sections, in addition to other matters, are addressed in the amendments to the Jury Act contained in this bill.

Most of the proposed changes to the Jury Act clarify the regulation-making powers so that procedural matters may be dealt with effectively in regulations. Bill 7 also repeals an unproclaimed 1992 act amending the Real Estate Agents Licensing Act. Departments responsible for the administration of the various statutes being amended by the Miscellaneous Statutes Amendment Act, 1999, have each reviewed and approved the changes to the statutes under their authority.

The amendments are of such a nature that the preparation and legislative consideration of the individual bills to correct each statute would be time- consuming for the government and the Legislative Assembly. In order for an amendment to be included in the bill, you have to meet the following criteria:

a. It must not be controversial;

b. It must not involve the spending the public funds;

c. It must not prejudicially affect the rights of persons; and,

d.It must not create a new offence or subject a new class of person to an existing offence.

Mr. Chairman, in our view the amendments proposed in Bill 7 meet those criteria. My officials will be pleased to answer any questions you may have. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.