I would like to thank the Minister and the witness. Thank you. Could we go back to page 2-5, in regard to final consideration of the Department of the Executive? Page 2-5, under department Executive, department summary, operation expense, total operation expense, $40,453,000. Agreed?

Does the committee agree the Department of the Executive is concluded?

Agreed. Moving on to page 1-7, Legislative Assembly. We will take a five minute break.

-- Break

I would like to call the committee to order. Next on the list of items is the review of the Legislative Assembly. I would like to ask the Speaker if he has any opening remarks.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Does the committee responsible for overseeing this department have any comments? Mr. Dent.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, Members of the Standing Committee on Accountability and Oversight met on Wednesday, May 24th, 2000 to review the 2000-2003 business plan and the 2000-2001 main estimates for the Legislative Assembly.

The program delivered by the Office of the Legislative Assembly is divided into five ongoing activities: Office of the Speaker, Office of the Clerk; expenditures on behalf of Members; Office of the Chief Electoral Officer; and Commissioner of Official Languages. The Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Commissioner and Conflict of Interest Commissioner are included in the Office of the Clerk.

Goals, Strategies, Outcomes and Outcome Measures

The committee expressed to the Speaker their dissatisfaction with the lack of clearly defined outcomes and outcome measures in the Legislative Assembly's business plan. Upon the committee's request, more defined outcome measures have subsequently been supplied.

Affirmative Action Statistics

As in the case for the whole Government of the Northwest Territories, the committee was dissatisfied with progress made by the Legislative Assembly in the area of affirmative action. Every government department should be striving to achieve a workforce that is representative of the population it serves. The Legislative Assembly does not appear to be doing this. Committee members felt that the Legislative Assembly should be setting an example for the rest of government in attempting to achieve a more representative workforce. The committee encourages the Legislative Assembly to set targets in regard to affirmative action representation and implement programs to achieve these targets.

Official Languages

The Standing Committee on Accountability and Oversight noted that the Official Languages Commissioner did not submit a business plan to the committee for review. The committee is gravely concerned with the lack of a co-ordinated approach taken by the Government of the Northwest Territories in regard to our official languages. The lack of a co-ordinated effort and attention of our government places the future of aboriginal languages in the Northwest Territories in jeopardy.

The Official Languages Act of the Northwest Territories has provisions for mandatory review every ten years. According to the act, the Legislative Assembly or a committee designated or established by the Legislative Assembly shall review the provisions and operation of the Official Languages Act. This review is to be done at the next session following December 31st, 2000. The Members look forward to this review. This concludes the committee's report on this department. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

Thank you, Mr. Dent. I would like to ask the Speaker if he would like to bring in any witnesses.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. With the permission of the committee, I would like to invite the finance manager and Mr. Hamilton.

Does the committee agree?

Thank you. Would the Sergeant-at-Arms please escort the witnesses in?

Mr. Speaker, could you please introduce your witnesses for the record?

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I would like to introduce Mr. Myles Moreside, director of corporate services, to my left. On my right, Mr. David Hamilton, Clerk of the Legislative Assembly, who will assist me with any questions the Members may have.

Thank you. General comments? Mr. Lafferty.

Thank you, Mr. Lafferty. Could we have some order in the House please? Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I am pleased to advise the Member that the Board of Management looked at the issue raised by the Member for North Slave and was impressed with the design of the second card he put forward. The Board of Management will look further at a new but consistent design that would perhaps change from the standard we are now using, and may incorporate some of the suggestions the honourable Member has submitted to us.

Mr. Lafferty.

Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. The names of the electoral districts or ridings are in a schedule of the Legislative Assembly and Executive Council Act. They are described and named in that act and they had been done by previous governments after realignments with the involvement of the Members then, and perhaps the constituents, as far as the name is concerned.

If any changes are to be made, they can be made in consultation with the people involved. How you could go about doing that would be an amendment, introduced either by the government and followed through to complete the change, or a Private Member's Bill, which perhaps would take a little longer to do, but it is achievable. Those would be the ways of doing it. Of course, that would be with the support of the House and of the communities involved in that electoral district.