Thank you, Madam Chair. I am pleased to be here today to discuss Bill 56, Miscellaneous State Law Amendment Act, 2015.
The purpose of Bill 56 is to amend various statutes of the Northwest Territories for which minor changes are proposed or errors or inconsistencies have been identified.
Each amendment included in the bill had to meet the following criteria:
1. It must not be controversial.
2. It must not involve the spending of public funds.
3. It must not prejudicially affect rights.
4. It must not create a new offence or subject a new class of persons to an existing offence.
Departments responsible for the various statutes being amended have reviewed and approved the changes.
The amendments proposed in Bill 56 are minor or non-substantive, and many consist of technical corrections to a statute. The amendments are of such a nature that the preparation and legislative consideration of individual bills to correct each statute would be time consuming for the Government of the Legislative Assembly.
I would like to thank the Standing Committee on Social Programs for its review of Bill 56 and would be pleased to answer any questions Members may have regarding the bill. Thank you, Madam Chair.