Thank you, Ms. Lee. Item 3, Members' statements. The honourable Member for Nahendeh, Mr. Antoine.

Mahsi, Mr. Antoine. Item 3, Members' statements. The honourable Member for Inuvik Boot Lake, Mr. Roland.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I as well would like to voice my concerns on behalf of my constituents in Inuvik Boot Lake and the companies of Inuvik that are dismayed with the decision on the suspension of BIP on the North Slave Correctional Centre.

The fear is that this could further impact other contracts with this government that help northern companies get some of the bids, compared to their southern competitors. The concern that this government could make such a move without talking to a lot of the people in the Northwest Territories is something I felt I must relay here, as many Members have in this House.

As Regular Members, we are not connected to this decision being made, and having to deal with it after the fact makes it very difficult indeed in responding to the constituents and businesses in our communities. They have come to understand how the government does its business, and when it changes as radically as it has done in this situation, it upsets the rhythm that communities and businesses have come to accept from this government.

With that, Mr. Speaker, I will be addressing this during question period. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Roland. Item 3, Members' statements. Item 4, reports of standing and special committees. The honourable Member for Range Lake, Ms. Lee.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to report on behalf of the Special Committee on the Implementation of Self-Government and the Sunset Clause. Mr. Speaker,

The Special Committee on the Implementation of Self-Government and the Sunset Clause was established by the 14th Legislative Assembly on March 7th, 2001. With specific reference to the sunset clause, the committee's responsibilities are defined as follows:

The special committee shall:

a) In relation to the sunset clause:

1. i) Provide information to Northwest Territories residents concerning the intent and effect of section 2 of the Legislative Assembly and Executive Council Act, which is also known as the sunset clause, as to the need to address section 2 before the next election and to solicit input and options; and
2. ii) Make recommendations to the Legislative Assembly concerning the sunset clause.

The sunset clause is a section of the Legislative Assembly and Executive Council Act. It did not exist before 1999 and was added to the act by the 13th Legislative Assembly.

As a result of amendments made in 1999, section 2 of the act now reads:

2(1) There are 19 electoral districts as named and described in Schedule A.

(2) Each electoral district is entitled to return one Member to the Legislative Assembly.

(3) This section and Schedule A are repealed on the dissolution of the 14th Legislative Assembly.

Subsection 2(3) is the sunset clause.

As explained above, the sunset clause provides for the repeal of all of section 2 as well as Schedule A of the Legislative Assembly and Executive Council Act when the present Assembly is dissolved. This means that no election for a 15th Assembly could be conducted, since there would be no legal electoral districts in the NWT.

The federal NWT Act provides that no Assembly shall continue for more than four years from the date of the return of the writs from its election. This means that the present Assembly cannot continue to function later than January 6, 2004. After that date, unless the sunset clause is amended or repealed, there will be no Legislative Assembly in the NWT.

This could have various repercussions.

One possibility is that the federal government may have to step in and pass amending legislation to provide for an election in the NWT. This could only be done by an Act of Parliament. It does not appear that the federal government would have the power to prescribe the electoral districts for a territorial election except by an amendment to the NWT Act.

Alternatively, if the sunset clause came into effect and dissolved the Assembly without a way for the people to elect their representatives, a member of the public or an interest group might challenge the legality of the sunset clause under section 3 of the Charter, on the grounds that the sunset clause is an unreasonable infringement of the right to vote in an election of a Legislative Assembly.

Either scenario would be unacceptable to the people of the NWT. Litigation would likely be time-consuming and would not bring about a timely election. It would not be desirable to leave the fate of the NWT political evolution in the hands of the federal government.

The status of the Cabinet appears to be uncertain in that case. The Legislative Assembly and Executive Council Act states that the Executive Council, also known as Cabinet, is responsible for the overall direction and management of the GNWT. The act also provides that the members of the Executive Council are to be appointed upon the recommendation of the Legislative Assembly and hold office "during the pleasure" of the Assembly. Finally, the act provides that the Premier shall continue to hold office following dissolution of the Legislative Assembly until the next Legislative Assembly chooses the next Premier.

Currently, Ministers continue in office between Assemblies until an election is held, a new Assembly is convened, and a new Cabinet is chosen. This is generally similar to practice in all federal, provincial and territorial governments in Canada. What is unclear is whether or not this practice could continue if the Assembly were dissolved without any arrangements for the election of a successor.

There is a very strong possibility that responsibility could shift back to the Commissioner, as "chief executive officer" of the NWT, operating under the instructions of the Minister of DIAND. Given the constitutional uncertainty of the Territories if the sunset clause were allowed to come into effect and territorial Ministers were no longer accountable to an Assembly, it is likely that constitutional advances, which the NWT has gone through during the past 30 years, could well be undone.

The sunset clause reflected the disagreement within the 13th Assembly over the allocation of seats for the 14th Assembly and it was stated as intended for only the 14th Assembly. Governance issues were raised as major concerns to be dealt with before the 14th Assembly was dissolved.

In this light, it is important to review the progress that has been made in these areas since 1999:

• • On January 7, 2000 the Dogrib Agreement-in-Principle was signed by representatives of the Dogrib Treaty 11 Council, the Government of Canada and the GNWT. This is a comprehensive land claim and self-government agreement. Negotiations are currently proceeding towards a final agreement.
• • The Akaitcho First Nations and the GNWT signed the Akaitcho Political Accord on June 2, 1999. This was followed on July 25, 2000 by the Akaitcho Treaty 8 Framework Agreement and on June 28, 2001 by the interim measures agreement. The signatories to the two latter agreements were the Akaitcho First Nations, the Government of Canada and the GNWT.
• • The Deh Cho Framework Agreement and Deh Cho Interim Measures Agreement were both signed by the Deh Cho First Nations, the Government of Canada and the GNWT on May 23, 2001.
• • The Salt River Treaty Land Entitlement Agreement was initialled by negotiators for the Salt River First Nation, the GNWT and the Government of Canada on November 15, 2001. It was ratified by the Salt River First Nation in December, 2001 and is to be signed on June 21st of this year.
• • A political accord was signed between the Gwich'in Tribal Council, the Inuvialuit Regional Corporation, the Government of Canada and the GNWT on October 2, 1999.
• • An agreement-in-principle on self-government in the Beaufort-Delta region has been initialled by negotiators for the Gwich'in Tribal Council, the Inuvialuit Regional Corporation, the GNWT and the Government of Canada. Signature of the agreement-in-principle is expected to follow the conclusion of a review of it by the federal government.
• • Negotiations are continuing with the South Slave Metis Tribal Council and the federal government on land and resources. Self-government negotiations are to begin when the land and resources negotiations are concluded. The GNWT signed a bilateral political accord with the South Slave Metis Tribal Council on November 23, 2001.
• • Self-government negotiations are continuing with the Deline First Nation Government, the GNWT and the Government of Canada.

An Intergovernmental Forum has been established by the Aboriginal Summit, the GNWT and the Government of Canada to deal with matters like economic development, capacity building and devolution. Through the forum, a Memorandum of Intent on Devolution and Resource Revenue-Sharing was signed on May 22, 2001 by the Aboriginal Summit, the Government of Canada and the GNWT.

The above list of agreements and processes, involving federal and aboriginal parties as well as the GNWT, is impressive. In the committee's view, it indicates the good faith in which these matters are being dealt with.

The people of the NWT elected the first Members of the Legislative Assembly in 1951. The Assembly became a fully-elected body in 1975. Responsible government, meaning a shift in responsibility from the appointed Commissioner to Ministers and elected MLAs, was introduced in 1985. This placed basic political power and responsibility in the hands of the Assembly.

Elected Assemblies are today based upon the principle of "one person, one vote." This has never meant absolute parity in the number of voters in each electoral district. To give only one example from outside the NWT, in 1989 electoral districts in British Columbia ranged in size from 5,511 persons (Atlin) to 68,347 (Surrey-Newton), with an average of 41,873 per district.

The enactment of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms in 1982 has meant that the population sizes of electoral districts must correspond more closely to the average. This is now evident from a number of court cases. "Equality" of voting power has not been upheld, but "relative parity," balanced with a recognition of the need for "effective representation," has.

Consistent with this, many Legislatures have passed statutes limiting the degree of variance allowed. (Federal, Provincial and Territorial Practices, Annex III)

Part of the problem in allocating electoral districts within a jurisdiction is finding a way to provide adequate representation for the sparsely populated areas without under-representing the more populous urban areas. This problem is tied to the fact that MLAs have more than one role to play.

The first has been termed the "ombudsman" role. It is especially important for the smaller communities in the NWT. The second has been termed the "legislative" role, though it is broader than the simple enactment of legislation. It tends to be the primary representative concern of the larger communities.

Across Canada, the standard practice is to establish electoral districts after recommendations are received from an Electoral Districts Boundaries Commission. Such commissions are set up at "arm's length" from the government and Legislative Assembly and operate independently. Their recommendations are intended to be independent of what any particular political body, group or person may wish. Upon receipt of their recommendations, it is usually the responsibility of the Assembly to implement or modify the recommendations received.

NWT Electoral Districts Boundaries Commissions have been provided for by legislation. They have carried out a process of public consultation by holding hearings in communities and have reported to the Assembly. The practice of appointing a judge and two other commissioners was adopted in 1978, then followed for the next twenty years, and Electoral Districts Boundaries Commissions were held in 1978, 1983, 1989, 1993, 1997 (Nunavut only) and 1998 (western NWT only). This is more often than in most provinces or territories but reflects changes resulting from the closure of the Pine Point mine (1989 commission), correspondence of districts with the division boundary (1993) and the first post-division elections (1997 and 1998).