Thank you, Mr. Chairman. The Standing Committee on Governance and Economic Development reviewed Bill 8, An Act to Amend the Motor Vehicles Act, at its meetings on October 29 and November 1, 2001.
This bill amends the Motor Vehicles Act to remove some of the few remaining exemptions for wearing a seat belt in a motor vehicle. The bill does allow for exemptions to drivers of a bus, emergency or enforcement vehicle.
The bill as originally drafted also removed the exemption that allows persons to ride in the box of a truck in certain circumstances.
The committee would like to thank the Honourable Vince Steen, Minister of Transportation, and his officials who appeared before the committee to present the bill and respond to the issues raised by the committee.
Members of the committee would also like to thank Mr. Percy Kinney, chief coroner of the Northwest Territories, for his very helpful comments concerning the dangers of high-risk behaviour and injury prevention.
Some committee members expressed concern for the needs of the residents of our smaller communities. It was felt that communities should have the power to permit riding in the box of a truck within their boundaries as the transportation needs in those situations can be quite different than for larger centres.
For these reasons, amendments to the bill were proposed which would permit a community to pass a by-law or regulation permitting persons to ride in the box of a truck when the vehicle is being operated at 25 kilometres per hour or less. The committee considered whether all communities in the Territories would have the capacity, either by community by-law or request to the Minister, to effect the exemption on a local basis. The committee is satisfied that all communities have the ability in one of the two methods outlined in the amendment.
The committee also considered whether the bill should be amended to include unincorporated communities or band councils respecting the ability to pass by-laws or regulations for this exemption. However, such an amendment would accord a capacity to these communities that they do not otherwise have under other governing legislation.
Mr. Chairman, these motions to amend Bill 8 were passed by a majority of the committee and the Minister concurred with these amendments. Committee members may have additional comments or questions on this bill during the review in committee of the whole.
The concludes the committee's comments on Bill 8, An Act to Amend the Motor Vehicles Act. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
