Debates of March 11th, 2014

This is page numbers 4327 – 4378 of the Hansard for the 17th Assembly, 5th Session. The original version can be accessed on the Legislative Assembly's website or by contacting the Legislative Assembly Library. The word of the day was health.

Topics

Oral Questions
Prayer
Point Of Order
On-Line Services Update
Speaker’s Ruling
Employment And Advancement Of Aboriginal Employees In The GNWT
Opportunities To Reduce The Cost Of Living
Medevac Services And Med-Response
Support For Northern Trucking Industry
Beaufort-Delta Education Council E-Learning Program
Junk Food Tax
Repatriation Of Northern Residents From Southern Placements
Hiking The Canol Trail
Expansion Of French-Language Schools In Yellowknife And Hay River
Supporting Northern Employment
2014 Wise Woman Award Recipient Patricia Modeste
Repatriating Northerners From Southern Placements
Status Of Med-Response Program
Issues Related To The Trucking Industry
Junk Food Tax
Regional Recruitment Program
Employment Opportunities For Northerners
Court Order Regarding French-Language Schools
Greenhouse Gas Strategy
Canol Heritage Trail
Upgrades To Highway No. 8
Growing Forward Program
Bill 4: Health Information Act
Motion To Move Bill 4, Health Information Act, Into Committee Of The Whole
Committee Report 4-17(5): Report On The Review Of Bill 4, Health Information Act
Motion To Receive And Adopt Committee Report 4-17(5)
Tabled Document 68-17(5): NWT Anti-Poverty Roundtable Final Report, November 28-29, 2013, Detah, Northwest Territories
Extended Adjournment Of The House To May 28, 2014
Interim Measures For The Commercial Harvest Of Wild Mushrooms
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters
Amendment To Clause 1 Of Bill 11
Report of Committee of the Whole
Orders of the Day

Committee Motion 40-17(5): Amendment To Clause 1 Of Bill 11, Carried
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters

Fulford

Madam Chair, the intention there was with devolution and the mirroring process, there are a number of environmental statutes and other statutes that authorize people to do things. For example, if under the Waters Act someone is legally doing something right now under the Northwest Territories Waters Act, which is federal legislation, we don’t want, after April 1st , for that

person to be doing something under the mirror Waters Act and all of a sudden they’re in violation of the law. So the intention there is to create continuity and to continue to make sure that people who are authorized to do those things under the law aren’t now in contravention of the law. Thank you, Madam Chair.

Committee Motion 40-17(5): Amendment To Clause 1 Of Bill 11, Carried
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters

March 10th, 2014

Bob Bromley

Bob Bromley Weledeh

That’s fine for a legal person to say, Madam Chair, but we’re talking here in this

House about what’s right and what’s wrong, I think. How will that be handled if there’s an improper contaminant being released legally, that would, I assume in some court of appeal I could argue is a real thing and that’s what’s meant to be dealt with by the Environmental Rights Act. By now negating the Environmental Rights Act, you’re leaving our public hanging when injustices are, in fact, happening. How do we deal with that?

Committee Motion 40-17(5): Amendment To Clause 1 Of Bill 11, Carried
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters

Fulford

Madam Chair, if someone is doing something that’s in contravention of the law or is not authorized by the law, then the Environmental Rights Act would continue to apply and the process there would continue to apply. Thank you, Madam Chair.

Committee Motion 40-17(5): Amendment To Clause 1 Of Bill 11, Carried
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters

Bob Bromley

Bob Bromley Weledeh

I note that the bill also amends the Boilers and Pressure Vessels Act so that it doesn’t apply to work or activity governed by the Oil and Gas Operations Act. I’m wondering why that is. The reason I ask is our communities now are governed by that, and as a result, they’re not able to have biomass boilers that produce electricity, for example. It would be great to get them an exemption if that’s in fact what this is, but perhaps it just means that this is covered under a different act. Thank you, Madam Chair.

Committee Motion 40-17(5): Amendment To Clause 1 Of Bill 11, Carried
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters

Fulford

Madam Chair, the Member is correct; it is something that’s dealt with somewhere else. Now, under the Safety Act there’s a set of regulations that will be adopted that apply solely to oil and gas occupational safety and health, so they are a complete code to occupational safety and health in the oil and gas industry and they apply to things like boilers and pressure vessels. You will notice that there are two other acts that have also been made inapplicable to those operations. Thank you, Madam Chair.

Committee Motion 40-17(5): Amendment To Clause 1 Of Bill 11, Carried
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters

The Chair

The Chair Jane Groenewegen

Thank you, Mr. Fulford. Mr. Bromley, I will come back to you if need be for general comments. Ms. Bisaro.

Committee Motion 40-17(5): Amendment To Clause 1 Of Bill 11, Carried
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters

Wendy Bisaro

Wendy Bisaro Frame Lake

Thanks, Madam Chair. I have a few questions here. I have to echo Mr. Bromley’s comments that without having seen these bills ahead of time, it’s difficult for us to understand them in the short period of time that we’ve seen them. The Premier mentioned that Bills 16 and 17 weren’t available until a couple of weeks ago. Well, even two weeks ago it would have been really helpful for us to get them at committee to at least look at them ahead of time.

I did want to ask a question with regards to the Premier’s comments on the bottom of page 1, this act “…makes legislative amendments that have been identified as being legally necessary to implement the Devolution Agreement.” Can I get an example of what sorts of amendments those are that are legally necessary? That doesn’t tell me what kind of amendments we’re making. Thank you.

Committee Motion 40-17(5): Amendment To Clause 1 Of Bill 11, Carried
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters

The Chair

The Chair Jane Groenewegen

Thank you, Ms. Bisaro. Premier McLeod.

Committee Motion 40-17(5): Amendment To Clause 1 Of Bill 11, Carried
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters

Bob McLeod

Bob McLeod Yellowknife South

Thank you, Madam Chair. What I said was those two agreements were just signed a couple weeks ago; I didn’t say that the legislation was prepared two weeks ago.

For the remainder of the question, through you, Madam Chair, I’ll ask Mr. Druyan to answer.

Committee Motion 40-17(5): Amendment To Clause 1 Of Bill 11, Carried
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters

The Chair

The Chair Jane Groenewegen

Thank you, Premier McLeod. Mr. Druyan.

Committee Motion 40-17(5): Amendment To Clause 1 Of Bill 11, Carried
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters

Druyan

Thank you, Madam Chair. Obviously, everything in this act is legally necessary: changing the reference numbers, changing the title of acts. One item that was mentioned by the Premier in his opening statements was to avoid a gap regarding the places of detention, which is in the current NWT Act but has not been copied in Bill 15. Other examples are the changes to the Public Service Act and the Human Rights Act. Amendments are being made to those statutes in order to void any conflict between the Devolution Agreement and those statutes. In order to have greater certainty, we’ve put in those provisions to ensure that there is no possible argument about conflict. Thank you, Madam Chair.

Committee Motion 40-17(5): Amendment To Clause 1 Of Bill 11, Carried
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters

The Chair

The Chair Jane Groenewegen

Thank you, Mr. Druyan. Ms. Bisaro.

Committee Motion 40-17(5): Amendment To Clause 1 Of Bill 11, Carried
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters

Wendy Bisaro

Wendy Bisaro Frame Lake

Thanks, Madam Chair. Thanks, Mr. Druyan. So it may be the way that I interpreted this statement. Maybe it means that all of the amendments that we’re dealing with here are legally necessary. It says, finally, it makes legislative amendments, so I assumed that there was some more.

I wanted to visit the amendments to both the Human Rights Act and the Public Service Act that Mr. Druyan has already mentioned. From what I understand, it references differences in pay between people who perform the same or substantially similar work, so it sounds to me like we are allowing for differences in pay between two people doing the same work.

Could I get an explanation of what these amendments are doing and why they’re necessary? Thank you.

Committee Motion 40-17(5): Amendment To Clause 1 Of Bill 11, Carried
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters

The Chair

The Chair Jane Groenewegen

Thank you, Ms. Bisaro. Mr. Fulford.

Committee Motion 40-17(5): Amendment To Clause 1 Of Bill 11, Carried
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters

Fulford

Madam Chair, under the Devolution Agreement there are provisions that create something called a devolution allowance, and it is something that is potentially paid to federal employees who are transferring to the employ of the Government of the Northwest Territories. The intention there is when they come over to the GNWT, they don’t suffer a loss in pay. So on a temporary basis, it, at least in theory, can result in those transferring employees making more money

than someone in the same job classification. It’s exceptional but it is possible. Here, we needed to make sure that that didn’t give rise to a potential pay equity complaint or something of that nature. Of course, we had a need and a desire to have as many of the federal employees to come over to the GNWT as possible. Thank you, Madam Chair.

Committee Motion 40-17(5): Amendment To Clause 1 Of Bill 11, Carried
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters

Wendy Bisaro

Wendy Bisaro Frame Lake

Thanks to Mr. Fulford. That makes sense. With regard to that, though, is this a provision that will exist forever, or is it time limited? If it is going to be on the books forever, is it quite restrictive in who it applies to? Thank you.

Committee Motion 40-17(5): Amendment To Clause 1 Of Bill 11, Carried
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters

Fulford

Madam Chair, the devolution allowance itself is time limited, so its maximum extent is, I believe, five years. After that period of time there will be no devolution allowance for this section to apply to. Thank you, Madam Chair.

Committee Motion 40-17(5): Amendment To Clause 1 Of Bill 11, Carried
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters

The Chair

The Chair Jane Groenewegen

Thank you, Mr. Fulford. Any further general comments?

Committee Motion 40-17(5): Amendment To Clause 1 Of Bill 11, Carried
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters

Some Hon. Members

Clause by clause.

Committee Motion 40-17(5): Amendment To Clause 1 Of Bill 11, Carried
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters

The Chair

The Chair Jane Groenewegen

Bill 13, Devolution Measures Act. Clauses 1 to 10.

---Clauses 1 through 10 inclusive approved

Committee Motion 40-17(5): Amendment To Clause 1 Of Bill 11, Carried
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters

The Chair

The Chair Jane Groenewegen

Clauses 11 to 20.

---Clauses 11 through 20 inclusive approved

Committee Motion 40-17(5): Amendment To Clause 1 Of Bill 11, Carried
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters

The Chair

The Chair Jane Groenewegen

Clauses 21 to 24.

---Clauses 21 through 24 inclusive approved

Committee Motion 40-17(5): Amendment To Clause 1 Of Bill 11, Carried
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters

The Chair

The Chair Jane Groenewegen

Bill as a whole.

Committee Motion 40-17(5): Amendment To Clause 1 Of Bill 11, Carried
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters

Some Hon. Members

Agreed.

Committee Motion 40-17(5): Amendment To Clause 1 Of Bill 11, Carried
Consideration in Committee of the Whole of Bills and Other Matters

The Chair

The Chair Jane Groenewegen

Does the committee agree that Bill 13, Devolution Measures Act, is ready for third reading?

---Bill 13 as a whole approved for third reading