Thank you, Mr. Bromley. Item 15, notices of motion. Item 16, notices of motion for first reading of bills. Item 17, motions. Item 18, first reading of bills. Mr. Lafferty.

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. I move, seconded by the honourable Member for Kam Lake, that Bill 24, An Act to Amend the Student Financial Assistance Act, be read for the first time.

Bill 24, An Act to Amend the Student Financial Assistance Act, has had first reading.

---Carried

Mr. Lafferty.

Mr. Speaker, I move, seconded by the honourable Member for Inuvik Twin Lakes, that Bill 25, An Act to Amend the Education Act, be read for the first time. Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.

Bill 25, An Act to Amend the Education Act, has had first reading.

---Carried

Item 19, second reading of bills. Item 20, consideration in Committee of the Whole of bills and other matters, with Mrs. Groenewegen in the chair.

By the authority given to me as Speaker by Motion 10-17(5), I hereby authorize the House to sit beyond the daily hour of adjournment to consider House business. Thank you.

I would like to call Committee of the Whole to order. What is the wish of the committee today? Ms. Bisaro.

Thank you, Madam Chair. We would like to consider Tabled Document 4-17(5) and Bill 18. Thank you.

Thank you, Ms. Bisaro. Does committee agree?

Thank you. We will commence with that after a brief break. Thank you.

---SHORT RECESS

I’ll call the Committee of the Whole to order. We are dealing with Bill 18, An Act to Amend the Legislative Assembly and Executive Council Act. I would like to ask Member Blake if he would please like to make opening comments on this bill. Mr. Blake.

I am pleased to provide opening comments for Bill 18 on behalf of the Legislative Assembly Board of Management. Bill 18 will amend the Legislative Assembly and Executive Council Act to revise the electoral districts of the Northwest Territories. In keeping with direction provided by Committee of the Whole of this Assembly on November 5, 2013, the bill proposes changes to the electoral boundaries within the communities of Hay River, Inuvik and Yellowknife, and moves the areas of Lutselk’e, Fort Resolution, Detah and Ndilo to a new Tu Nedhe and Weledeh electoral district. The status quo is maintained in the remaining seven constituencies. Bill 18 does not propose any increase to the number of MLAs in the Legislative Assembly.

On May 29, 2013, the report of the Electoral Boundaries Commission, 2012-2013, was tabled in this House. On behalf of the Board of Management and, indeed, all Members, I would like to thank the commission, consisting of the Honourable Justice Shannon Smallwood, Mr. Charles Furlong and Mr. Ian McCrea, for their hard work and thoughtful recommendations.

Once the commission’s report was tabled, the Legislative Assembly and all Members individually spent considerable time analyzing its recommendations. On November 5, 2013, a lengthy debate took place in Committee of the Whole. A motion was carried for the Board of Management to bring forward legislation to implement the 19 electoral districts recommendation of the Electoral Boundaries Commission, with an adjustment to the Kam Lake and Yellowknife South electoral district boundaries to more evenly distribute the

populations between those two districts. Bill 18 implements this direction.

That concludes my opening comments on Bill 18.

Thank you, Mr. Blake. I’d like to ask Mr. Blake if he would like to bring witnesses into the Chamber.

Yes, Madam Chair.

Thank you, Mr. Blake. Does committee agree?

Agreed. Thank you. I will ask the Sergeant-at-Arms to bring the witnesses to the table.

Mr. Blake, I’ll ask you to introduce your witness.

Thank you, Madam Chair. I’d like to introduce Mr. Ken Chutskoff, legislative counsel, Department of Justice. Thank you, Madam Chair.

Thank you, Mr. Blake. Bill 18, An Act to Amend the Legislative Assembly and Executive Council Act. General comments.

Detail, okay. Does committee agree that we are ready for detail? We have said we are. Are we agreed that we stand down the clause and consider the schedule, page 2, Schedule A. Committee agreed?

Page 2, Schedule A. Mr. Bromley.

I have a motion, Madam Chair. I move that Bill 18 be amended

(a) in item 11 of the Appendix, by striking out the

heading “TU NEDHE – WELEDEH” and substituting “TU NEDHE – WIILIDEH”; and

(b) in item 13 of the Appendix, by striking out “the

electoral district of Tu Nedhe – Weledeh” and substituting “the electoral district of Tu Nedhe – Wiilideh”.

Mahsi.