Thank you, Member for Monfwi. Members' statements. Recognition of visitors in the gallery. Reports of committees on the review of bills. Member for Yellowknife North.

Mr. Speaker, Your Standing Committee on Government Operations is pleased to provide its report on Bill 63, An Act to Amend the Official Languages Act, and commends it to the House.

Bill 63, An Act to Amend the Official Languages Act, received second reading on November 2, 2022 and was referred to the Standing Committee on Government Operations for review. The Official Languages Act recognizes the "official" status of eleven languages in the NWT. The Act sets out the rights, rules, and responsibilities for using these languages in different parts of government.

Bill 63 updates the Act for the first time in twenty years. Many of the proposed changes were recommended by committee in early 2022. Specifically, Bill 63:

• Clarifies and strengthens the role of the Languages Commissioner;
• Merges the two languages boards; and
• Updates the preamble to recognize:
• The impact of colonialism;
• The relevance of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples; and
• The government's commitment to fair access to services for residents who speak Indigenous languages.

This report describes how committee engaged with the Minister before Bill 63 was introduced. It also summarizes how different stakeholders responded to the proposed changes and what committee decided on key issues.

This report is separate from committee's upcoming report on our statutory review of the Official Languages Act. That second report will touch on some of the larger changes committee wants to see. Committee will present this report before the end of the February/March 2023 sitting.

Committee Welcomes Changes During the 19^th Assembly

The Official Languages Act needs to be reviewed about every five years - with the last review happening in 2014. Committee started a new review in early 2020, but it was delayed because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Committee was unable to travel to communities and consult the public because of public health orders, local outbreaks, and the Members' desire to avoid spreading the virus. As a result, many plans had to be postponed.

In December 2021, committee decided that the review of the Official Languages Act could not be finished in time to make changes to the law before the 19th Assembly's term ended. However, it had been almost twenty years since the Act was last updated and, during that time, many important and straightforward amendments had been suggested. Therefore, committee urged the Minister to work with us to create and propose new legislation before the Assembly's term ended. The Minister agreed and welcomed Committee's input for a bill.

I will now pass the reading over to the Member for Kam Lake.

One second, please. Okay, colleagues, let's try this again. Reports of committees on the review of bills. Member for Yellowknife North.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Your committee would like to report on its consideration of Bill 63, An Act to Amend the Official Languages Act, as ready for consideration in Committee of the Whole as amended and reprinted. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Member for Yellowknife North. Reports of committees on the review of bills. Member for Yellowknife North.

Thank you, Member for Yellowknife North. Reports of committees on the review of bills. Reports of standing and special committees. Member for Yellowknife North.

Right from the start? Here we go again.

Mr. Speaker, Your Standing Committee on Government Operations is pleased to provide its report on Bill 63, An Act to Amend the Official Languages Act, and commends it to the House.

Bill 63, An Act to Amend the Official Languages Act, received second reading on November 2, 2022 and was referred to the Standing Committee on Government Operations for review. The Official Languages Act recognizes the "official" status of eleven languages in the NWT. The Act sets out the rights, rules, and responsibilities for using these languages in different parts of government.

Bill 63 updates the Act for the first time in twenty years. Many of the proposed changes were recommended by committee in early 2022. Specifically, Bill 63:

• Clarifies and strengthens the role of the Languages Commissioner;
• Merges the two languages boards; and
• Updates the preamble to recognize:
• The impact of colonialism;
• The relevance of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples; and
• The government's commitment to fair access to services for residents who speak Indigenous languages.

This report describes how committee engaged with the Minister before Bill 63 was introduced. It also summarizes how different stakeholders responded to the proposed changes and what committee decided on key issues.

This report is separate from committee's upcoming report on our statutory review of the Official Languages Act. That second report will touch on some of the larger changes committee wishes to see. Committee will present this report before the end of the February/March 2023 sitting.

COMMITTEE WELCOMES CHANGES DURING 19th ASSEMBLY

The Official Languages Act needs to be reviewed about every five years - with the last review happening in 2014. Committee started a new review in early 2020, but it was delayed because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Committee was unable to travel to communities and consult the public because of public health orders, local outbreaks, and the Members' desire to avoid spreading the virus. As a result, many plans had to be postponed.

In December 2021, committee decided that the review of the Official Languages Act could not be finished in time to make changes to the law before the 19th Assembly's term ended. However, it had been almost twenty years since the Act was last updated and, during that time, many important and straightforward amendments had been suggested. Therefore, committee urged the Minister to work with us to create and propose new legislation before the Assembly's term ended. The Minister agreed and welcomed Committee's input for a bill.

I will now pass it over to the Member for Kam Lake.

Thank you, Member for Yellowknife North. Member for Kam Lake.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

HALF OF COMMITTEE'S PRIORITIES ADDED TO THE BILL.

Committee set out to provide its priorities for changes to the Official Languages Act. To do that, committee looked at all recommendations made since the law was last changed, in 2003. Committee looked only at recommendations that were legislative in nature that came from:

• The Languages Commissioner's annual reports;
• Committee's previous two reviews of the Act; and
• Public meetings held in Inuvik in June 2021 and virtually in January 2022.

Committee identified close to 50 past recommendations in total, which are documented in an appendix to this report. While most of these recommendations had merit and continued relevance, they could not all be put forward due to the limited time available. Committee therefore provided the Minister with the 12 changes that we thought were most important. Those changes were to:

1. Update the preamble to acknowledge the impact of residential schools and colonial policies on official language communities, and affirm Indigenous Peoples' language rights according to UNDRIP;
2. Strengthen the Languages Commissioner's ability to get information from public bodies;
3. Impose response requirements on public bodies for recommendations from the Languages Commissioner;
4. Empower the Languages Commissioner with alternative dispute resolution mechanisms;
5. Require the Languages Commissioner to reside in the territory;
6. Ensure housing authorities are bound by Official Languages Act;
7. Make the Act flexible and open to creative solutions from communities;
8. Recognize Michif as an official language;
9. Broaden concepts of "significant demand" and "nature of the office" and work toward accessibility of services in all official languages in all areas;
10. Establish a mechanism to address violations of the Act;
11. Provide a bilingual bonus to all government employees who speak an Indigenous official language; and
12. Clarify the role of the Languages Commissioner in raising concerns and making recommendations to the Minister.

The Minister of Education, Culture and Employment included about half of these changes in Bill 63. Changes number 1 through 5 were accepted and included in the bill, while change 6 can be pursued through a change to the government institution regulations. In correspondence with committee, the Minister committed to making this change in the regulations. Unfortunately, changes 7 through 12 were not included in the bill.

Committee is pleased with the changes that ECE included in the bill and commends the Minister for working together with committee to introduce changes to the Act.

However, committee is disappointed that Bill 63 did not include more changes and was not more ambitious. Other governments in Canada have recently implemented more significant changes to bolster official and Indigenous languages. Committee hopes that the government will introduce additional legislation to protect, promote, and revitalize official languages with the same level of ambition in the 20th Assembly.

The Standing Committee on Government Operations therefore recommends:

Recommendation 1: That the Government of the Northwest Territories commit to a second phase of legislative changes to protect, promote, and revitalize official and Indigenous languages in the 20th Assembly. This new legislation should be based on past recommendations, suggestions arising during the review of Bill 63, and the advice in the committee's upcoming report on its statutory review of the Official Languages Act.

The new legislation should also seek to implement Articles 13 and 14 of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. Indigenous governments should be invited to co-develop the legislation.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I wish to pass the reading of the report over to the MLA for Inuvik Twin Lakes.

Thank you, Member for Kam Lake. Member for Inuvik Twin Lakes.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

STAKEHOLDERS OFFERED THOUGHTFUL SUGGESTIONS TO STRENGTHEN LANGUAGE RIGHTS AND COMMUNITIES

Committee sought public feedback on Bill 63 with a public notice and targeted engagement letters to those who may have had an interest in the bill. Committee received written submissions from:

• Collège Nordique;
• La Fédération franco-ténoise;
• The Languages Commissioner; and
• The Northwest Territory Metis Nation.

All written submissions are included in an appendix to this report.

Committee also held a public review of Bill 63 on January 18, 2023. At that meeting, committee received oral comments from the Minister, Collège Nordique, the FFT, and a member of the public. Committee also met with the Metis Nation to hear their input on January 30, 2023.

Committee appreciates everyone who offered their feedback and ideas for the review of Bill 63. Their participation demonstrates a passion to protect, maintain, and enhance the vitality of official language communities in the territory.

Updating the preamble

All participants agree that it was a good idea to add language about colonialism, UNDRIP, and fair access to services for residents who speak an Indigenous official language into the preamble. However, the Metis Nation thought that this change should not just be in the preamble of the Act but throughout the whole Act so that the GNWT is fully committed to UNDRIP and the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada's Calls to Action. Committee agrees with the Metis Nation and hopes that the GNWT will make bigger and more transformative changes to the Official Languages Act in the 20th Assembly to reflect these commitments.

Clarifying and strengthening the Languages Commissioner's role

Eligibility requirements

Bill 63 would require the Languages Commissioner to live in the NWT and forbid them from being a member of the public service. Participants agreed with these changes. Committee agrees that the Commissioner must be connected to the people they serve.

Alternative dispute resolution

Bill 63 would also allow the Languages Commissioner to refer matters to alternative dispute resolution. Participants supported this change but wanted to see the bill provide more tools to deal with complaints. The FFT suggested setting up a language rights tribunal to adjudicate on language rights violations. Committee thought this could be a good idea but was outside of the scope of the bill. A future review should study how this idea could work. The Languages Commissioner wanted to have the option to resolve a complaint without doing a full investigation. Committee found that the Act does not currently provide her that power. Committee thinks it might be good for the Languages Commissioner to have a way to solve problems informally, but there are important policy questions to think about first. Committee encourages the Languages Commissioner to explain more about her recommendation for informal resolutions, perhaps in an annual report. Committee also wants to see how alternative dispute resolution works before adding another mechanism.

Deadlines for information requests

Bill 63 would require public bodies to answer information requests from the Languages Commissioner within 60 days. Participants agreed with this change but thought more could be done to ensure the Commissioner gets the information she needs. The Languages Commissioner wanted to be able to set the deadline herself, based on each situation. Committee was worried this power would give too much discretion to the Commissioner and too little predictability to the public bodies. Fixed timelines written into law is also the approach taken for other statutory officers, like the Ombud and the Information and Privacy Commissioner. The Languages Commissioner was also concerned that the part of the Act dealing with information requests, section 22, stops her from requesting information without doing a formal investigation. Committee asked the law clerk for advice and believes the Commissioner can ask for and receive information without doing a formal investigation. Given this information, committee does not think the Act needs to be changed. The FFT wanted to give the Languages Commissioner the power to force anyone to answer a complaint. This change would significantly expand the authority of the Commissioner, who right now has very specific powers in investigations. A future study should review this suggestion.

Supreme Court orders

Bill 63 would allow the Languages Commissioner to go to court and get an order when a public body has not acted on a recommendation. Participants agreed with this change, but the FFT wanted to see some additional changes. The FFT wanted to place a three-month time limit for public bodies to act on a recommendation, failing which the Commissioner could get a court order. Committee was concerned that more complex language rights cases could take more than three months, so we preferred the more flexible approach in the current bill. The FFT also suggested that the law enable the Languages Commissioner to collect damages and costs from the public body in question at the Supreme Court. Committee notes that the Court can already award damages and costs, so this change is not needed.

Merging the Languages Boards

Bill 63 would combine two Boards: the Official Languages Board and the Aboriginal Languages Revitalization Board. Most participants agreed with this change but suggested some improvements. The Metis Nation questioned the name of the merged board, suggesting that the name should explicitly include the word "Indigenous" to reflect Indigenous participation on the board. The FFT suggested that the government delay the merger and was worried whether the combined board could focus on French and Indigenous languages at the same time. Collège Nordique supported the change and thought the government could go farther to ensure greater transparency from the merged board.

Committee notes that this change has already been delayed, as it was first recommended in 2009. Committee has heard that the two boards already mostly function as a single entity though it is not yet reflected in the Act. The Boards themselves would prefer to be a combined entity to improve efficiency. Committee is confident the new board will fulfill its mandate with respect to each official language and their distinct needs.

Committee agrees that the public should know more about what the board does. Separately, committee has heard that, in practice, the current boards are organized by the Indigenous Languages and Education Secretariat, which might make them less independent. Since the combined board will give advice and recommendations to the Minister and evaluate language programs, the board independence is important.

The Standing Committee on Government Operations therefore recommends:

Recommendation 2: That the Department of Education, Culture and Employment ensure independence and transparency at the merged languages board. The department should provide a proper framework and resources for the board to fulfill its mandate, including timely appointments when vacancies arise. The board should disclose meeting agendas, minutes, and other documents of public interest. The board should also release an annual report that summarizes recommendations to the Minister, the Minister's response, progress on implementation, and the findings of program and initiative evaluations.

I will now ask, Mr. Speaker, to turn it over to the Member for Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh. Thank you.

Thank you, Member for Inuvik Twin Lakes. Member for Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Scheduling statutory reviews

Bill 63 would match the timing of statutory reviews of the Act with the schedule of the Legislative Assembly. This means a review would happen within the first two years of every other Assembly rather than every five years.

Several stakeholders were worried about the change. The FFT believed it could delay a review indefinitely if the Assembly sat indefinitely. However, the territory's Legislative Assembly and Executive Council Act says the Assembly can only last for four years so a review would still happen regularly, about every eight years.

The Languages Commissioner was concerned that waiting so long between the reviews might not give enough chances to improve the law. But committee believes that doing the review in the first two years of an Assembly will help make sure any changes suggested during the review can become law in the remaining two years of the Assembly. Committee does not want to repeat the experience of the last two reviews, neither of which led to legislative changes.

Other suggestions to support official languages

Committee heard several other ideas to improve the Official Languages Act including:

1. Ensuring the Languages Commissioner, the Minister, and the Languages Board develop policies collaboratively;
2. Requiring government to take steps to support official languages communities;
3. Requiring each public body to have performance measures on how well they are following the Act; and
4. Making the Premier, rather than the Minister of Education, Culture, and Employment, responsible for the Official Languages Act.

Committee also received a suggestion that would not necessarily require legislative change. A member of the public recommended that the government to set up a language resource center in the large communities. These centers would document and preserve each Indigenous official language, and such resources for future generations to revitalize the language.

While these suggestions were out of scope for the review of Bill 63, committee hopes they will be studied the next time the Act is reviewed.

Committee Amended one Clause

Clause 10 of Bill 63 requires the Languages Commissioner to provide more information on her annual report. The goal of the clause is to ensure useful information is available to the public. One subclause, as originally drafted, would have required the annual report to disclose "what recommendations, requests and applications were made by the Languages Commissioner respecting each complaint."

The Languages Commissioner was concerned that this wording could cause a complainant to be identified in an annual report and, if so, discourage residents from making formal complaints. Committee was also worried that the Languages Commissioner could be led to make her recommendations more broadly worded to protect the complainants' privacy. Committee felt this was not a desirable outcome, potentially undermining the effectiveness of the recommendations.

Committee therefore agreed to and passed a motion to amend the subclause. The amendment required a summary of recommendations, requests, and applications, rather than the exact text respecting each complaint. Committee believes this change will allow the Commissioner to make specific recommendations but then summarize those in the annual report, reducing the possibility that a complainant might be identified.

Mr. Speaker, I'd like to hand this over to the MLA for Yellowknife North. Mahsi.

Thank you, Member for Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh. Member for Yellowknife North.

Conclusion

On February 15th, 2023, committee held a clause-by-clause review. Committee passed a motion to report Bill 63, as amended, to the Legislative Assembly for consideration in Committee of the Whole.

This concludes the Standing Committee on Government Operations' review of Bill 63.

Recommendation 3: The Standing Committee on Government Operations recommends that the Government of the Northwest Territories provide a response to this report within 120 days. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Member for Yellowknife North. Reports of standing and special committees. Member for Yellowknife North. Member for Inuvik Twin Lakes.

Mr. Speaker --

Did he read his motion? I didn't catch him.

The motion is in order. To the motion?

Question has been called. All those in favour? All those opposed? Any abstentions? The motion is carried. Committee Report 43-19(2) has been received and will be moved into Committee of the Whole for further consideration.

Reports of standing and special committees. Member for Inuvik Twin Lakes.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, your Special Committee on Reconciliation and Indigenous Affairs is pleased to provide its Final Report: A Northwest Territories Approach to the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and Negotiating Agreements, and commends it to the House.

Mr. Speaker, The Special Committee on Reconciliation and Indigenous Affairs committee was created on October 29, 2020 after the Northwest Territories Legislative Assembly unanimously passed Motion 21-19(2). The Assembly tasked the special committee to seek and encourage discussion and recommendations on opportunities and challenges in meeting the Assembly's priorities. Implementing the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples is a commitment in the Government of the Northwest Territories 2019-2023 Mandate.

Much has happened since. At the same time, when committee began its work in December 2020, Canada released a proposal for legislation to implement the UNDRIP. When in June 2021, Canada's United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act was passed into law, committee was in the midst of hearing from witnesses to learn about the different perspectives on UNDRIP and land negotiations and self-government agreements in the Northwest Territories.

Committee acknowledges the policies driving Canada's new approach to recognizing and implementing Indigenous rights. Following British Columbia's Recognition and Reconciliation of Rights Policy for Treaty Negotiations in British Columbia, Canada replaced the Comprehensive Land Claims Policy with the paradigm of co-development for Crown-Indigenous dialogue.

Canada aims to increase flexibility in negotiations and respond to Indigenous nations' unique rights, needs and interests. The federal government indicates it is removing final settlement language and replacing rights extinguishment clauses with flexible agreements. The process for negotiation is agreed upon in advance in co-developed memoranda of understanding and framework agreements.

Committee acknowledges the actions taken by the Government of the Northwest Territories and Indigenous leaders in creating new meeting tables and working on advancing work on implementing UNDRIP. The NWT Council of Leaders forum formed an officials' working group to advance UNDRIP in the NWT. This working group has prepared a Memorandum of Understanding to collaboratively move forward with legislative framework discussions (NWT UNDRIP MOU).

The committee is pleased to present this final report, which was developed following the committee's mandate as determined by the terms of reference. This final report recommends actions to the Assembly and the GNWT based on submissions and recommendations the committee received from witnesses.

I'll now ask, Mr. Speaker, if we could turn it over to the Member for Hay River North. Thank you.

Thank you, Member for Inuvik Twin Lakes. Member for Hay River North.

HON. R.J. SIMPSON: Background

The special committee began work on December 4, 2020 and heard from legal experts, scholars, researchers, Indigenous governments and nations, and the GNWT. On March 30, 2022, the committee published the interim report: "what we heard" about the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and Negotiating Agreements, summarizing the comments, issues and outlooks expressed by experts, scholars, Indigenous governments and organizations, and the GNWT. Throughout the process, we respected the confidentiality requirements of ongoing negotiations and the confidentiality commitments of the Indigenous governments and nations. The interim report is attached to this report as Appendix A. Public presentations were recorded and are available on the Northwest Territories Legislative Assembly YouTube Channel.

This Report

As a result of the committee's deliberations during the past two years, committee is making a series of recommendations aimed at:

• Ensuring informed governance.
• Enabling an NWT constitutional framework.
• Monitoring UNDRIP implementation.
• Making GNWT policies consistent with UNDRIP, and
• Moving land agreements to a conclusion.

ENSURING INFORMED GOVERNANCE

Most legislatures, including the Northwest Territories Legislative Assembly, provide orientation programs to new Members. The information generally focuses on the functioning of the NWT legislature, consensus government principles and process conventions, rules and procedures, Caucus, Cabinet and committees, budget process, legislature services and issue briefings.

In Caucus, all Members develop the priorities at the beginning of the term for a Legislative Assembly. The committee heard that educating Members in Caucus on Indigenous negotiation tables and current mechanisms for collaboration would be an excellent opportunity to share the perspectives of Indigenous governments. In addition, presentations to Caucus would show the different ways to view UNDRIP.

Committee agrees that it is an excellent opportunity to inform Members at the beginning of a new Assembly on the jurisdictions of all governments and the mechanisms for discussion and finding solutions.

Committee impresses on the Assembly and the GNWT not to underestimate the significance of existing mechanisms in their role of moving reconciliation forward and preparing the implementation of UNDRIP.

Consequently, committee makes the following recommendation:

Recommendation 1: The Special Committee on Reconciliation and Indigenous Affairs recommends that

1. the Office of the Clerk of the Legislative Assembly includes in all transition and orientation material for all MLAs post-election, and
2. the Office of the Secretary to Cabinet of the Government of the Northwest Territories includes in post-election materials specific to Cabinet

an introduction to the history and role of each of the following:

1. NWT Council of Leaders
2. Modern Treaty and Self-Government Partners Forum
3. Intergovernmental Council and Intergovernmental Council Secretariat
4. The jurisdictions of public government, exclusive and inclusive Indigenous governments
5. NWT Council of Leaders UNDRIP Memorandum of Understanding.

I would like to pass the reading on to the MLA for Yellowknife South. Thank you.

Thank you, Member for Hay River North. Member for Yellowknife South.