Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, in April 2004, soon after the beginning of the 15th Legislative Assembly's term of office, the Standing Committee on Accountability and Oversight set its priorities and objectives. These plans were shared with our colleagues and the public in our first Report on Priorities and Objectives on June 1, 2004. The committee followed with progress reports in June 2005 and June 2006.
This will be our final progress report. It is our intention to also present a transition report later this year in order to highlight those areas we believe will require the continued attention of our successor committee in the 16th Assembly.
Background
Mr. Speaker, the Standing Committee on Accountability and Oversight includes all 11 Regular Members. Its mandate as set out in the rules of the Legislative Assembly is to:
- review issues which have government-wide implications, including the overview of the budget and fiscal framework;
- review multi-year business plans, budgets and bills of the Department of the Executive, including the executive offices, the Financial Management Board Secretariat, the Ministry of Aboriginal Affairs and Intergovernmental Relations, and the Department of
- Human Resources, as well as the Department of Finance;
- consider the budgets and financial management of any other boards and agencies that are outside the responsibility of any standing committee;
- examine the reports on the annual financial statements and public accounts of the Government of the Northwest Territories and the report of the Auditor General;
- review government reports on financial and performance results on program and policy evaluations to ensure anticipated outcomes are being achieved and accountability is maximized;
- review, as necessary or appropriate, the annual and other reports of statutory offices of the Legislative Assembly, including the
- Commissioner of Official Languages, the Conflict of Interest Commissioner, the Information and Privacy Commissioner, the Equal Pay Commissioner and the Human Rights Commissioner;
- coordinate House business, scheduling and planning in cooperation with appropriate Cabinet representatives; and,
- consider any other matters referred by the House.
Mr. Speaker, the vision adopted by the committee in April 2004 is:
a strong, effective consensus government that has the confidence of the people of the NWT.
Our mission is:
to take purposeful and unified action, where appropriate, to support, question or oppose government initiatives and to hold government accountable. We will also use our collective power to influence government to take action and/or to change its policies when in the public interest.
Progress On Committee Priorities
As we stated in our June 2004 Report on Priorities and Objectives, our key priority is:
holding government accountable to our collective 15th Assembly vision and goals.
The standing committee accomplishes this through a number of regular activities, and in particular the annual review of the government's draft business plans. In the fall of 2005, the committee implemented the first ever pre-budget consultations, which added a new aspect to the committee's role and allowed it to exercise its mandate in a way the public could see and participate in. The committee held a second round of pre-budget consultations in the fall of 2006, bringing the total number of communities visited to 16 in the Northwest Territories.
The committee also holds government accountable through its input on policy, program and legislative initiatives, by organizing theme days on various topics and formal motions in the Assembly directing the government to take specific actions.
The committee continues to see our constitutional evolution and the negotiation of a fair devolution and resource revenue sharing deal for our territory, as key to achieving our collective vision that the people of the Northwest Territories should be the primary beneficiaries of the development of our resources.
In this context, the committee initiated a motion, carried on October 25, 2006, strongly recommending that the Government of Canada, the Government of the Northwest Territories, and Northwest Territories aboriginal governments reach a fair and equitable devolution and resource revenue sharing agreement-in-principle before the next federal budget. It further called on all northern leaders to set aside their differences and work together for the sake of future generations to achieve an agreement that will stop the flood of resource revenues leaving the Northwest Territories.
Mr. Speaker, at this time I'll pass it on to Mr. Braden. Mahsi.