Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Thank you, Mr. Yakeleya.
Additional Considerations
A number of other matters were raised by stakeholders. First, a community advocate asked the committee to ensure that amendments align with human rights legislation. Specifically, he sought to ensure that Aurora College students have the right to receive a copy of their tenancy
agreement. Some students have been denied this request in the past, which prevented them from voting. He further recommended ensuring that landlords do not have the right to enter student premises without notice or a police warrant. The committee noted that the act exempts student accommodations which do not have a self-contained bathroom and kitchen facilities.
Second, a Hay River constituent provided a written submission and gave an oral presentation at the public hearing. He outlined his concerns regarding the rental officer and recommended that Bill 42 be tabled until his case has been heard by the Supreme Court of the Northwest Territories. The committee did not consider this request reasonable. The gentleman further opposed the bill because he believes it will give the rental officer power to overturn decisions of the Supreme Court of Northwest Territories and give the rental officer the same powers as the Supreme Court of Northwest Territories. The committee noted that this is not the case. An order may be registered, and as such is fully enforceable as an order of the court. However, the order may still be challenged by application to the Supreme Court. The committee regretted that many of this individual’s concerns were outside the scope of its review.
Finally, at the Minister’s request, the committee passed a motion to address a technical concern that had been identified during the drafting process. The change will ensure that no one can file an order or decision of the rental officer, with the exception of an eviction order, with the Supreme Court until the 14-day appeal period has expired. This will allow all parties to exercise their right to appeal.
Recommended Actions
The Standing Committee on Social Programs recommends the following courses of action:
1) That the Department of Justice develop a
communication campaign to ensure that stakeholders are aware of new statutory requirements;
2) That the Department of Justice establish a
definition for transitional housing in the regulations;
3) That the Department of Justice provide a
definition for transitional housing in the next round of statutory amendments and clarify its position on an exemption for this type of housing;
4) That the Department of Justice provide better
protection for transitional housing tenants against unreasonable restrictions on personal freedom and arbitrary evictions;
5) That the Department of Justice ensure that fees
are reasonable and align with fee amounts in other jurisdictions;
6) That the Department of Justice increase its
support for the rental office to ensure that applications are handled in a timely manner;
7) That the Department of Justice allow police
reports or convictions to qualify as evidence for an application for early termination due to domestic violence;
8) That the Department of Justice address the
potential for increased costs of filing with the Supreme Court of the Northwest Territories by creating a separate fee schedule specific to enforcement of rental officer orders and by ensuring that Supreme Court fees are in line with existing Territorial Court fees; and
9) That the Department of Justice work with the
Department
of
Education,
Culture
and
Employment to ensure that any students who reside at Aurora College are provided with a copy of their tenancy agreement on request and therefore not unduly prevented from voting.
Recommendations
Recommendation 1
That the Government of the Northwest Territories provide a comprehensive response to this report within 120 days.
Mr. Speaker, I’d like to pass the reading of the report for the conclusion to the chair of our committee, Mr. Moses. Thank you.