I am pleased to introduce Bill 1, Tlicho Statutes Amendment Act.

In 2005, when the Tlicho Agreement came into effect, the community governments of Behchoko, Gameti, Whati and Wekweeti became Tlicho community governments with municipal authorities pursuant to the Tlicho Community Government Act.

Since 2005, the four Tlicho community governments have identified a number of needs that the Tlicho Community Government Act does not address and have expressed a desire to amend the act to reflect these needs, most of which relate to Tlicho community government elections. For example:

• Currently, a defeated council member holds on

to their seat for six weeks after their defeat. One of the proposed amendments is to change the beginning and end dates of terms, so the new term can begin as early as the day after the election.

• Originally

it

was

thought

that the amount of debt

a person could have and still hold a seat on council would need to be $5,000 due to the potential high cost of property leases. Experience has shown us that most leases are less than $600 and so $2,000 is a manageable amount of debt.

• Controversy between the four Tlicho community

governments regarding whether a council member would be ineligible if they owed property tax arrears has resulted in making this criteria a local option. Councils would be empowered to pass bylaws to make the lack of property tax arrears part of the criteria for being on council.

• The current act only allows for a vacancy on

council to be filled by a by-election. There have been occasions where no candidates have come forward and proposed amendment that would provide communities where this happens an alternative way to fill vacant seats when this occurs. This alternative would allow councils to appoint eligible persons in a way that mirrors what other municipalities can do.

In addition, the Government of the Northwest Territories has made amendments to other NWT municipal legislation to reflect the changing needs and realities in the Northwest Territories, but has not made similar amendments to the Tlicho Community Government Act. For example:

• Clarifying the requirements for voter petitions for

or against a bylaw.

• Allow debts to the municipality to become

property tax arrears. In tax-based situations municipalities can take bad debts due to the provision of municipal services and other charges and apply those debts to their tax account. This allows municipalities more significant ability to collect bad debts.

• It also clarifies the amount of grants that can be

provided from municipal funds, just like in other municipalities.

For the past three years, the Government of the Northwest Territories worked closely with the Tlicho community governments and the Tlicho Government to ensure the amendments proposed in the act meet Tlicho needs. Our work together also allowed us to fulfill our obligation under the Tlicho Agreement to consult the Tlicho Government and receive their consent to any changes to this act.

As this is a unique act, it required a unique process. This unique process was developed by the Government of the Northwest Territories and the Tlicho Government to ensure that there was significant consultation with the public. A key feature of this process was the creation of a working group consisting of representatives from the Tlicho community governments and the Government of the Northwest Territories. These working group meetings, both formal and informal, developed a preliminary set of amendments. This evolved into broader consultations with larger groups of community representatives and directly with community councils.

Community residents and councils reviewed these suggested amendments at regional workshops and in meetings between Municipal and Community Affairs and individual councils. A final set of recommended amendments was then advanced to the Tlicho Government for approval and consent.

I am proud of the positive, hard work of all involved in this process. The Chief’s Council of the Tlicho Government has reviewed and consented to this bill and I am confident that it will meet the needs of the people it will directly affect. This type of collaborative approach to working with community governments in the Northwest Territories is helping create a strong and independent North built on partnerships as envisioned by this Assembly.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank the staff at Municipal and Community Affairs. I would also like to acknowledge and recognize, we have four of them in the gallery with us today, Mr. Tom Williams, deputy minister of MACA, Eleanor Young is the assistant deputy minister of MACA, Amy Simpson is the manager of policy and planning at MACA, and Yvonne Doolittle, regional superintendent for the North Slave region. We thank them for the work that they put into the working group.

I’d also like thank the Tlicho Government for the concerted effort put forward while working on this bill. I would also like to thank the staff at the Department of Justice who worked extremely hard to ensure the bill was drafted in a timely manner.

I would be pleased to answer any questions that Members may have. Thank you.