Thank you. The motion is in order. To the motion?

Question has been called. All those in favour? All those opposed? The motion is carried.

---Carried

Tabled Document 561-19(2) will be reported as ready for consideration in formal session through the form of an appropriation bill.

Thank you. And thank you, Minister. Committee, we'll move on to the next item.

Committee, we have agreed to consider Bill 39: An Act to Amend the Post-Secondary Education Act. I will ask the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment to introduce the bill.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I'm here today to present Bill 39: An Act to Amend the Post-Secondary Education Act.

The Post-Secondary Education Act received assent on August 21st, 2019, and is not yet in force. The act creates a structure for recognizing post-secondary institutions within the Northwest Territories and will enable the transformation of Aurora College into a polytechnic university.

The bill seeks to amend the Post-Secondary Education Act to address gaps or inconsistencies in the act that were identified during the ongoing drafting of the related regulations. As well, an opportunity was identified to amend the section on Indigenous institutions to ensure it is more closely aligned with the 19th Legislative Assembly priority to implement the articles of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.

Bill 39 will first remove an extra barrier for the recognition of Indigenous institutions by removing the requirement that Indigenous institutions first become recognized as post-secondary institutions through a separate process. The recognition process for Indigenous institutions will be determined through engagement with post-secondary and Indigenous government partners and will be set out in the regulations.

Bill 39 will also establish authority for fees and charges to be collected for certain services, such as quality assurance reviews or applications to ensure consistency and clarity within the act.

I wish to thank the Standing Committee for its thoughtful review and collaboration in helping to strengthen this bill through their motions to amend.

This concludes my opening remarks, and I would be pleased to answer any questions that Members may have regarding Bill 39. Thank you.

Thank you. Thank you, Minister. Minister, would you like to bring witnesses into the Chamber?

Yes, I would.

Sergeant-at-Arms, please escort the witnesses into the Chamber.

Minister, please introduce your witnesses.

Thank you. With us today we have Andrea Giesbrecht, director of labour, development, and standards with the Department of Education, Culture and Employment; and Ian Rennie, legislative counsel with the Department of Justice. Thank you.

Thank you, Minister. I will now turn to the chair of the Standing Committee on Social Development, the committee that reviewed the bill, for any opening comment on Bill 39. Ms. Cleveland.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, Bill 39: An Act to Amend the Post-Secondary Education Act received second reading in the Legislative Assembly on November 25th, 2021, and was referred to the Standing Committee on Social Development for review.

On March 24th, 2022, the standing committee held a public hearing with the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment and completed its clause-by-clause review of the bill.

Committee passed two motions with concurrence from the Minister. Committee has read its report into the record and did not make -- this is -- and did not make recommendations. I thank the committee for their efforts in reviewing this legislation. Individual Members may have additional comments or questions.

I'm going to go back on this one and say we had two motions, and we passed two motions. One of them was not passed but concurred with with the Minister. Thank you very much, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Ms. Cleveland. I will now open the floor to general comments on Bill 39.

Is the committee agreed that there are no general comments? Can we proceed to a clause-by-clause review of the bill?

Thank you. Committee, we will defer the bill number and title until after consideration of the clauses. I will call the clauses in groups. Does committee agree?

Please turn to page 1 of the bill. Clauses 1 to 5, does the committee agree?

Clauses 6 to 10, does the committee agree?

Clauses 11 to 15, does the committee agree.

Clauses 16 to 20, does the committee agree?

Clauses 21 to 25, does committee agree?

Clauses 26 to 29, does the committee agree?

Committee, to the bill as a whole, does the committee agree that Bill 39: An Act to Amend the Post-Secondary Education Act is now ready for third reading?

Thank you, committee. Does the committee agree that this concludes our consideration of Bill 39: An Act to Amend the Post-Secondary Education Act?

Thank you, Minister, and thanks to your witnesses. Sergeant-at-Arms, please escort the witnesses from the Chamber.

Committee, we have agreed to consider Bill 41: Justice Administration Statutes Amendment Act. I will ask the Minister of Justice to introduce the bill. Minister.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I am here today to present Bill 41: The Justice Administration Statutes Amendment Act.

Bill 41 is an omnibus bill -- and yes, we do have omnibus bills in this Assembly -- that advances amendments to three pieces of legislation:

• The Jury Act;
• The Summary Conviction Procedures Act; and
• The Partnership and Business Names Act.

This approach was taken to streamline the process for advancing these three relatively minor amendments in a more efficient manner.

The changes being proposed for the Jury Act will ensure that territorial legislation regarding jury qualification standards match those of the Criminal Code as amended in 2019.

The changes proposed for the Summary Conviction Procedures Act will address three issues. They will ensure that forms of release referenced in the act coincide with the Criminal Code as amended in 2019; that appropriate language is included to fully authorize the prosecution and appeal of territorial offences on behalf of the Attorney General of the NWT; and

That the legislation allows for efficient payment and processing of specified penalties as set out in Summary Offence Ticket Informations.

Finally, the Partnership and Business Names Act will be amended by expanding the definition of "a person" to allow First Nations, or Indian Bands as defined in the federal Indian Act, to be limited partners in a limited partnership for the purposes of the Partnership and Business Names Act.

This concludes my opening remarks, and I would be pleased to answer any questions the Members may have regarding Bill 41. Thank you.

Thank you, Minister. Minister, would you like to bring witnesses into the Chamber?

Yes, I would.

Sergeant-at-Arms, please escort the witnesses into the Chamber.

Minister, please introduce your witnesses.

Thank you. With us, we once again have Mr. Ian Rennie, legislative counsel with the Department of Justice; and Mr. Brad Patzer, assistant deputy minister, Attorney General of the Department of Justice. Thank you.

I will now turn to the chair of the Standing Committee on Social Development, the committee that reviewed the bill, for any opening comments on Bill 41. Ms. Cleveland.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, Bill 41: Justice Administration Statutes Amendment Act, received second reading in the Legislative Assembly on December 7th, 2021, and was referred to the Standing Committee on Social Development for review.

On March 24th, 2022, the standing committee held a public hearing with the Minister of Justice and completed its clause-by-clause review of the bill. Committee received no submissions on this bill. I thank the committee for their efforts in reviewing this legislation. Individual Members may have comments or questions. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you. I will now open the floor to general comments on Bill 41.

Is the committee agreed that there are no general comments.

Can we proceed to a clause-by-clause review of the bill?

Committee, we will defer the bill number and title until after consideration of the clauses. Please turn to page 1 of the bill.

Clause 1, does the committee agree?.

Clause 2, does the committee agree?

Clause 3, does the committee agree?

Committee, to the bill as a whole, does the committee agree that Bill 41: Justice Administration Statutes Amendment Act, is now ready for third reading?

Thank you, committee. Does the committee agree that this concludes our consideration of Bill 41: Justice Administration Statutes Amendment Act?

Thank you, Minister, and thanks to your witnesses. Sergeant-at-Arms, please escort the witnesses from the Chamber.

Committee, we will move on.

Committee, we have agreed to consider Committee Report 26-19(2): Standing Committee on Social Development Report on the Child and Family Services Act - Lifting NWT Children, Youth and Families: An All of Territory Approach to Keeping Families Together.

I will go to the chair of the Standing Committee on Social Development for any opening comments. Ms. Cleveland.

Thank you very much, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, the committee's report was read into the record yesterday, Tuesday, March 29th, 2022.

For the past year, the Standing Committee on Social Development has been conducting our statutory review of the Child and Family Services Act. This has been very difficult, personal and emotional work, Mr. Chair, but it is also very important work, vital work, and work I am proud to have been a part of.

I want to thank all Members of the Standing Committee and all other Members who contributed to our work. We are stronger when we work together, and I believe we have achieved much more than any of us could have achieved working alone.

More importantly, Mr. Chair, I want to thank the residents who took the time and made the effort to share their raw-lived experience and insight with us. By listening to their stories, experiences and expertise, we, as a committee and as individuals, were able to better understand the impacts of our child and family services system on those who are most affected by it.

NWT children and youth are talented, unique, and powerful. It was important to committee that the voices of residents with lived-experience, especially children and youth, be center in this work. Their words, alongside committee recommendations, can be found throughout the final report. If, as a government, we want to do better, we must commit to hearing from and acting on behalf of those most affected by our decisions and actions.

Finally, and most importantly, Mr. Chair, I want to thank the children and youth in the territory who shared courageously with the committee. We hear you. We respect you. We value you. From you, we learn and take your lead. We hope you see your thoughts, insights, and brilliance reflected within the report and its recommendations.

Mr. Chair, when the committee began its review of the Child and Family Services Act, we focused the scope of our review on prevention strategies. This is only a small part of the overall child and family services system. And even though many of our recommendations are rooted in programs and services, we felt prevention was the strongest route for change to keep NWT families together.

The recommendations of the report, which we will have the opportunity to discuss today, focus on prevention, early intervention and targeted supports, and are informed by feedback provided to committee through our engagement process.

Mr. Chair, all children are sacred. Over 98 percent of children and youth in care in the NWT are Indigenous, even though just 57 percent of the population of children and youth are Indigenous in the territory.

The committee dedicated a significant portion of its discussions to cultural continuity and the vital role culture plays in individual and community wellness in every one of our 33 communities.

As a committee, we recognize that true change is dependent on more than one government department. So we call on champions at all levels of governments, Indigenous governments and groups, non-governmental organizations and allies, to work together to provide a broader continuum of care, including supports and resources for all children and youth across the NWT.

Individual Members may have comments on the report, and I would like to thank the committee for their intimate and passionate work on this report. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Ms. Cleveland. I will now open the floor to general comments on Committee Report 26-19(2): Standing Committee on Social Development Report on the Child and Family Services Act - Lifting NWT Children, Youth and Families: An All of Territory Approach to Keeping Families Together.

Ms. Nokleby.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I won't be able to express myself as eloquently as my colleague did and I appreciate her words, and I think they very much capture the spirit of the work and how we progressed.

I think for myself, when I moved to this side of the House and I joined the social development committee, it was one that I felt was outside of my wheelhouse and has definitely been my steepest learning curve on this side of the House.

As a person without children myself, it was a whole new area to me, and I also wanted to express my thanks to those that shared with me and shared their experiences. I recognize the place of privilege that I come from and that I really cannot even imagine the depths of the trauma that people have felt as their families have been ripped apart. I can touch a bit on that as not having had time with my own father growing up so I do have some understanding of that parental alienation.

And so I just wish to reiterate what the chair said, that this was very moving work, it's very important work, and that I just want to say thank you to everybody that participated from the bottom of my heart. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Ms. Nokleby. Are there any further general comments? Mr. Johnson.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I have been critical about statutory reviews in the past but I think if there was one that was, you know, an obvious contender for this committee to choose, even though they had to do it, would be the Child and Family Services Act.

We've had two rather damning Auditor General reports in this area. And those reports speak to how the department is implementing policies. They don't necessarily speak to whether those are the correct policies and the Auditor General is not in and of itself there to focus on prevention. And I think this committee made the right choice in focusing on prevention.

I really do think this is the gold standard of committee reports, both in its end result and its process. I'm not a member of this committee but I participated in a number of the hearings. They used a wide variety of engagement tools. This committee was working harder than any other to engage with people during COVID to complete this work. They had very frank and honest conversations with a number of people involved in the system, and I think it has resulted in truly amazing work, that when you read it alongside the two Auditor General's reports it's clear we have a path forward working with Canada and working with our Indigenous governments, and all those in the system, to improve this area.

I will have further comments on the motions and going forward in this Assembly. I think there's some big questions about how we fund it. It's another one of those, you know. We should make this a priority, though, Mr. Chair, because prevention is the path forward and this report really sets out some -- some admirable recommendations and goals.

So I just want to thank the committee for this great work and everyone who presented to committee. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Mr. Johnson. Ms. Semmler.

(Audio)

Ms. Semmler, can you hear us; we cannot hear you.

Ms. Semmler, can you hear me; we cannot hear you.

Ms. Semmler? Yes, I can hear you now.

[audio unavailable]

---SHORT RECESS

Thank you, Ms. Semmler. Are there any further general comments?

Seeing no further comments, Ms. Cleveland.

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Mr. Chair, I move that this committee recommends that the Government of the Northwest Territories declare the overrepresentation of Indigenous children and youth in child and family services a crisis and develop a whole of government response in partnership with Indigenous governments. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Mr. O'Reilly.

Thanks, Mr. Chair. As I understand, we're having a few technical issues so I move that the chair rise and report progress.

There is a motion on the floor to report progress. The motion is in order and non-debatable. All those in favour? All those opposed? The motion is carried. I will now rise and report progress.

---Carried

I will now rise and report progress. Thank you.

May I please have the Report of Committee of the Whole. Member for Hay River South.