Mahsi, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, the purpose of Bill 15, the Miscellaneous Statute Law Amendment Act, 2009, is to amend various statutes of the Northwest Territories for which minor changes are proposed or errors or inconsistencies have been identified.
Each amendment included in the bill had to meet the following criteria:
a)
it must not be controversial;
b)
it must not involve the spending of public funds;
c)
it must not prejudicially affect rights;
d)
it must create a new offence or subject a new class of persons to an existing offence.
Departments responsible for the various statutes being amended have reviewed and approved the changes. Most amendments proposed in Bill 15 are minor in nature and many consist of technical corrections to a statute. Other changes have the effect of repealing certain statutory provisions that have expired or have otherwise ceased to have effect. The amendments are of such a nature that the preparation and legislative consideration of individual bills to correct each statute would be time consuming for the government and the Legislative Assembly.
Mr. Chair, I would like to thank members of the Standing Committee on Social Programs for their review and comments on the bill and would be pleased to respond to any question the committee members may have on Bill 15. Mahsi, Mr. Chair.