Yes, I do, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, I am pleased to introduce Bill 2, An Act to Amend the Dental Auxiliaries Act. The proposed amendments to the act will ensure the legislation complies with national licensing standards. This will enable the Government of the Northwest Territories to better meet its obligations under the Labour Mobility chapter of the Agreement on Internal Trade.

The proposed amendment will require that all applicants for registration as a dental hygienist in the Northwest Territories must have graduated from an accredited program in dental hygiene and have successfully completed the National Dental

Hygiene Certification Examination set by the National Dental Hygiene Certification Board. The amendments will not affect dental hygienists already licensed in the Northwest Territories.

Other proposed minor amendments include increasing the fines for offences under the act and modernizing the language to be more consistent with other health profession legislation.

That concludes my opening comments. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

Thank you, Minister Lee. Mr. Beaulieu has chaired the Standing Committee on Social Programs who reviewed the bill. Would you like to make some opening comments on the bill?

Yes, Mr. Chairman. Bill 2, An Act to Amend the Dental Auxiliaries Act. The Standing Committee on Social Programs conducted its public review of Bill 2 on May 12, 2010, in Yellowknife. Committee members would like to thank the Minister and her staff for presenting the bill.

The bill amends the Dental Auxiliaries Act to provide that an applicant for registration in the dental hygienist register who is not already registered as a dental hygienist in a province or territory must have both graduated from a program in dental hygiene accredited by the Commission on Dental Accreditation of Canada and have successfully completed a national dental hygiene certification examination set by the National Dental Hygiene Certification Board. The bill also amends the provisions relating to fees to ensure consistency. Several small changes were made to some clauses so that the wording conforms to the prevailing practices. Following committee’s review, a motion was carried to report Bill 2 to the Legislative Assembly as ready for consideration in Committee of the Whole.

This concludes committee’s opening comments on Bill 2. Individuals may have additional questions or comments as we proceed. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

Thank you, Mr. Beaulieu. Minister Lee, do you have some witnesses that you would like to bring into the Chamber?

Yes, I do, Mr. Chairman. Thank you.

Thank you, Minister Lee. Does committee agree that we allow the witnesses into the Chamber?

Sergeant-at-Arms, if you could please escort the witnesses into the Chamber.

Thank you. Minister Lee, can I please get you to introduce your witnesses to Committee of the Whole.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. To my left is Mr. Mark Aiken, director of legislation, and to my right is Ms. Lisa Cardinal, director of policy and planning for the Department of Health and Social Services. Thank you.

Thank you, Minister Lee. They look familiar. Are there any general comments on Bill 2, An Act to Amend the Dental Auxiliaries Act? Does committee agree that there are no general comments on Bill 2, An Act to Amend the Dental Auxiliaries Act?

Detail. Does committee agree that we move to the clause by clause of Bill 2, An Act to Amend the Dental Auxiliaries Act?

Okay. It begins on page 1 of the bill. Bill 2, An Act to Amend the Dental Auxiliaries Act. Clause 1.

---Clauses 1 through 11 inclusive approved

To the bill as a whole.

Does committee agree that Bill 2, An Act to Amend the Dental Auxiliaries Act is ready for third reading?

---Bill 2 as a whole approved for third reading

Thank you, committee. Bill 2 is now ready for third reading. Thank you, Minister Lee. I would like to thank your witnesses. Sergeant-at-Arms, could you please get the witnesses escorted from the Chamber.

Does committee agree that we proceed with Bill 3, Miscellaneous Statute Law Amendment Act, 2010?

Can I get the Minister responsible for the bill, the Minister of Justice, to please introduce Bill 3, Miscellaneous Statute Law Amendment Act, 2010.

Mahsi, Mr. Chairman. The purpose of Bill 3, Miscellaneous Statute Law Amendment Act, 2010, 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 not 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 3 are minor in nature and many consist of technical corrections to a statute. Other changes have the effect of repealing certain enactments or 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.

This bill is structured differently than the miscellaneous statute law amendments bills Members have reviewed in previous years, in that it is divided into two schedules.

Schedule A resembles a “conventional” miscellaneous statute law amendment bill, making a variety of minor amendments to the statutes. Schedule B is a new device, listing transitional provisions that are obsolete or expired, and providing for their repeal. This schedule will likely only make an appearance in a bill this once, as it results from a comprehensive review of all acts that have come into force since the December 31, 1988, cut-off date of the last statute revision.

I would like to thank the Standing Committee on Social Programs for its review of this bill. I will be pleased to answer the committee’s questions on Bill 3. Mahsi.

Thank you, Minister Lafferty. Mr. Beaulieu is the chairman of the Standing Committee on Social Programs that reviewed the bill. Do you have any comments on the bill?

Yes, Mr. Chairman. Bill 3, Miscellaneous Statute Law Amendment Act, 2010. The Standing Committee on Social Programs conducted a public review of Bill 3 on March 24, 2010, in Yellowknife. Committee members thank the Minister and his staff for presenting the bill.

The bill amends 39 NWT laws to correct inconsistencies and errors. It also formally repeals provisions which are no longer in effect in 31 additional laws. The amendments only respond to matters of minor non-controversial and non-complicated nature of these laws. Following the committee’s review, a motion was carried to report Bill 3 to the Legislative Assembly as ready for consideration in Committee of the Whole.

This concludes committee’s opening comments on Bill 3. Individual Members may have additional questions and comments after we proceed. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

Thank you, Mr. Beaulieu. Minister Lafferty, do you have any witnesses you would like to bring into the Chamber?