All those abstaining, please rise. In favour, two; opposed, 14; abstentions, zero. The motion is defeated.

---Defeated

Mr. Nadli.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I seek unanimous consent to deal with a motion I gave notice of earlier today.

---Unanimous consent granted

WHEREAS nine Canadian provinces and Yukon have parliamentary ombudsman offices;

AND WHEREAS Yukon, a smaller jurisdiction than the Northwest Territories, has combined the offices of the Information and Privacy Commissioner with that of an ombudsman;

AND WHEREAS the Government of Yukon recently commissioned a report on the operations of Yukon's combined ombudsman/Information and Privacy Commissioner, which in February 2013 recommended that the office be made a full-time position, citing pending health privacy and whistleblower legislation which are expected to increase the workload in the position;

AND WHEREAS the Northwest Territories' current Information and Privacy Commissioner has also noted that her workload will expand should new health privacy legislation and whistleblower legislation be enacted;

AND WHEREAS the Government of the Northwest Territories has undertaken a review of current practices which identified more than two dozen pieces of territorial legislation which establish statutory appeal mechanisms;

AND WHEREAS Members of the NWT Legislative Assembly have frequently raised the need for a territorial ombudsman in debate in this House, most recently in Motion 9-17(3), carried on June 8, 2012;

AND WHEREAS the Standing Committee on Government Operations wrote to the Premier on November 7, 2012, to state the committee's interest in the concept of an ombudsman's office for the NWT, combined with that of another statutory officer or officers such as the Information and Privacy Commissioner;

AND WHEREAS such an office could assist the Legislative Assembly and standing committees in their role in upholding standards of government accountability;

AND WHEREAS further research, analysis and review are required in order to determine the potential need for an NWT ombudsman, whether stand-alone or combined with another office;

NOW THEREFORE I MOVE, seconded by the honourable Member for Frame Lake, that the potential role of an NWT ombudsman, whether stand-alone or combined with another statutory office, and options for implementing such an office, be referred to the Standing Committee on Government Operations for research, review and analysis, and that the committee report its findings back to this House at the earliest opportunity;

AND FURTHER, that the Standing Committee on Government Operations shall be provided, through appropriations of the Legislative Assembly of the Northwest Territories, with the necessary financial support to carry out its assigned responsibilities as they relate to this review.

Thank you, Mr. Nadli. To the motion. Mr. Nadli.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As the chair of the Assembly's Standing Committee on Government Operations, I'm pleased to move this motion. Committee members have a keen interest in any measures that could improve government accountability, administrative fairness and responsiveness. The matter of a territorial ombudsman, which could be just such a measure, has often been discussed in this House. There is support from this Assembly for the concept, as shown by the passage of Motion 9-17(3) last June.

The Standing Committee on Government Operations took the initiative to write to the Premier to state our interest in the possibility of an ombudsman combined with one or more of the existing part-time statutory officers. I would like to thank the government for reviewing our concerns and cataloguing the current statutory appeals processes. This is a hopeful start, but more information is, clearly, needed. The present motion will authorize the Standing Committee on Government Operations to conduct independent research and analysis to explore the need for a territorial ombudsman and the potential role of such an officer.

From my own point of view, as an MLA representing small communities, I will want to make sure that such an office can benefit all of our residents. Practical, cost-effective options for implementation should also breed research. The standing committee will be very pleased to undertake this work on referral by the Assembly, and report back to the House at an early date.

I'd like to thank the deputy chair of the Standing Committee on Government Operations, Ms. Wendy Bisaro, for seconding this motion and for her long-standing leadership on this issue. Finally, thank you, colleagues. I hope you will support this motion in the interest in full and fair consideration of the need for a territorial ombudsman.

Thank you, Mr. Nadli. To the motion. Ms. Bisaro.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As the seconder of the motion and deputy chair of the Standing Committee on Government Operations, I would like to speak briefly about committee's reason for bringing this forward. As my colleague Mr. Nadli has mentioned, the need for a territorial ombudsman has been discussed in this House for many years and I have been pushing it over the last few years that I've been here.

I'm sure that all of us believe in commonly accepted principles of administrative fairness, and these include:

• the right to be treated with respect and dignity;
• the right to speak on your own behalf or to have an advocate speak for you or with you;
• the right to be heard;
• the right to participate in decisions that affect you;
• the right to receive clear, complete and appropriate reasons for a decision;
• the right to obtain all information that led to the initial decision or that is being considered in an appeal;
• the right to an impartial review of a decision that affects you, a review that is accessible, flexible, timely and easy to use; and
• the right to an appeal procedure that has a built-in mechanism to protect against retribution.

The Northwest Territories has numerous appeals and complaints processes set up through both policy and legislation, processes which help protect our citizens' rights to administrative fairness. In many jurisdictions, however, there is an ombudsman who generally oversees the administrative actions of government and determines their administrative fairness. An ombudsman may investigate complaints from the public or, in some cases, conduct investigations on his or her own initiative or by referral from a committee or a Minister. An ombudsman may consult with authorities and make recommendations to resolve issues of unfairness and improve administrative practices. The ombudsman can be a source of information and advice about administrative fairness.

In the Northwest Territories, an ombudsman could do many things. He or she could provide an information and referral service or recommend efficiencies in our processes or identify gaps in existing complaint and appeal processes, as well as dealing directly with any complaints and concerns that do not fall under an existing process. These are only some of the possibilities that could be investigated.

This motion will allow the Standing Committee on Government Operations to conduct research and analysis and thoroughly review all the options, including combining the ombudsman's office with that of an existing statutory officer, such as the Information and Privacy Commissioner or the Language Commissioner.

The committee would be pleased to undertake this study with a focus on the efficiency, effectiveness and usefulness of an ombudsman in the context of northern realities. I urge all my colleagues to support this motion and let the committee get to work.

Thank you, Ms. Bisaro. To the motion.

Question has been called.

---Carried

Item 18, first reading of bills. Mr. Miltenberger.

Bill 5, Supplementary Appropriation Act (Infrastructure Expenditures), No. 3, 2012-2013, has had first reading.

---Carried

Mr. Miltenberger.

I move, seconded by the honourable Member for Great Slave, that Bill 6, Supplementary Appropriation Act (Infrastructure Expenditures), No. 1, 2013-2014, be read for the first time. Thank you.

Bill 6, Supplementary Appropriation Act (Infrastructure Expenditures), No. 1, 2013-2014, has had first reading.

---Carried

Mr. Miltenberger.

I move, seconded by the honourable Member for Yellowknife South, that Bill 7, Supplementary Appropriation Act (Infrastructure Expenditures), No. 4, 2011-2012, be read for the first time.

Bill 7, Supplementary Appropriation Act (Infrastructure Expenditures), No. 4, 2011-2012, has had first reading.

---Carried

Mr. Miltenberger.

Mr. Speaker, I move, seconded by the honourable Member for Monfwi, that Bill 8, Supplementary Appropriation Act (Operations Expenditures), No. 4, 2011-2012, be read for the first time.

Bill 8, Supplementary Appropriation Act (Operations Expenditures), No. 4, 2011-2012, has had first reading.

---Carried