The Ombud described several ways the Act, as it is written now, prevents the public from making complaints and why this is problematic:

1. Housing Associations

The Act allows the Ombud to investigate housing authorities but not housing associations. In practice, this means the Ombud can investigate a public housing complaint from a tenant Yellowknife (Sombaa K'e) but not the same complaint from a tenant in Fort McPherson (Teetl'it Zheh) or in the other ten communities where the local housing organization is defined as an association. The jurisdictional restriction on investigating housing associations raises an equity of access issue. Residents in certain generally smaller communities are unable to request investigations and pursue remedies to matters related to their local housing association.

Committee wants to see this equity of access issue resolved as soon as possible.

2. NWT Rental Office

The Ombud reported that she has heard concerns about the NWT Rental Office but she cannot substantiate those concerns because the Act leaves out the NWT Rental Office from her jurisdiction. A number of other offices also fall outside of her jurisdiction: The Assessment Appeals Tribunal, the Social Assistance Appeal Board, and the Staffing Appeals Officer, among others.

The Ombud indicated that the NWT's Ombud Act "is an outlier, in terms of legislation, across Canada. Everyone else has a broader provision." This means that NWT residents have less scope to seek administrative fairness in government administration and services compared with other Canadians.

Committee wants to see Northerners' complaints treated the same way as they would be in other provinces and territories.

3. Temporal Jurisdiction.

The Act restricts the Ombud from investigating matters that occurred before January 1, 2016. This restriction has, in practice, prevented the Ombud from launching investigations into some complaints. The Ombud has reported that complainants found the cut-off "arbitrary and unfair" and "hard to accept." This means that complainants who may have experienced a historical unfairness cannot access a remedy through the Ombud's office. The committee wants to ensure that all substantiated complaints from Northerners are investigated regardless of when the matter occurred.

Recommendations

The committee finds that the Ombud's recommendations to amend the Ombud Act well researched and aligned with statutory standards elsewhere. The recommendations have merit and should be considered for implementation with the shortest delay. The Standing Committee on Government Operations therefore recommends:

Recommendation 1

That the Government of the Northwest Territories, in consultation with the Standing Committee on Government Operations and within the first two years of the 20th Assembly, review each of the Ombud's recommendations in her 2019-2020 Annual Report in the context of a holistic review of the Ombud Act and amend the Act accordingly. The committee also encourages the Ombud to convey the continued relevance of outstanding recommendations in each of the annual reports.

I will now pass it over to the Member for Yellowknife North. Thank you.