Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Standing Committee on Government Operations is pleased to provide its report on transition matters and commends it to the House.

Introduction

Over the course of the 16th Assembly the Standing

Committee on Government Operations has conducted a number of reviews and made a

number of recommendations to government. In many instances the government has agreed with our recommendations and made commitments for which it has not yet fulfilled. The committee is also anticipating government responses to our most recent reports during the August 2011 sitting, which will be the final time that the Assembly meets before dissolution. The intent of this report on transition matters is to make the public, Members of the 17th Assembly, and our successor committee

aware of work in progress.

The Standing Committee on Government Operations’ mandate includes:

• consideration of the multi-year business plans

and budgets, bills, boards, and agencies, and departmental performance of the departments of Executive, Finance, Human Resources, and the Financial Management Board Secretariat;

• to review the official language issues;

• reviewing the reports of the statutory officers of

the Legislative Assembly, including the Languages Commissioner, the Information and Privacy Commissioner, the Equal Pay Commissioner, and the Human Rights Commission;

• examination of the reports on the annual

financial statements and public accounts of the Government of the Northwest Territories and reports of the Auditor General; and

• consideration of any matter referred by the

House.

Review of the Official Languages Act

On May 28, 2009, the committee provided its Final Report on the Review of the Official Languages Act 2008-2009, entitled Reality Check: Securing a Future for the Official Languages in the Northwest Territories. The report, which was the result of extensive research and public consultation, included 48 recommendations. The government has since provided a response to the committee’s report and released the NWT Aboriginal Languages Plan: A Shared Responsibility, in October 2010. As the plan is intended to unfold over 10 years, many of the actions are in progress and have not yet begun. Further, the committees Reality Check report recommends changes to legislation which the government has not yet brought forward.

I turn continued reading of the report over to my deputy chair, Mr. Robert Hawkins.