Thank you, Madam Chair. I am pleased to appear today on Bill 76, An Act to Amend the Electoral Boundaries Commission Act.
The amendments proposed in this Act are in response to Motion 70-19(2). Members passed that motion on November 3rd, 2023.
Madam Chair, this bill amends the Electoral Boundaries Commission Act to establish a commission within two years of the 2023 general election. Normally a commission would not be required until after the 2027 general election. However after this House rejected the recommendations from the most recent commission, it was decided to require a commission after the 2023 general election.
The Act requires a commission to be set up every second Assembly. If passed, commissions will now be created after the 2023 and 2031 general elections.
Madam Chair, the legislation already required a commission to be created within the first two years of an Assembly. The Act was left this way as part of the transition report and we recommended to the next Assembly to create the commission earlier within the first 18 months.
Bill 76 also expands the size of the commission. The commission has been three people - a current or retired judge and two public members. Members were concerned this did not provide enough room for a broader range of views on the commission.
If passed, Bill 76 expands the members from three to five people.
Bill 76 also changes who can serve as chairperson of the commission. The Act currently provides that a current or retired judge of the Supreme Court of the Northwest Territories chair the commission. Given limited judicial resources, this can be a challenge. Bill 76 allows for a current or sitting judge but also allows for an appointment of a person who is qualified to serve as a judge. This means a lawyer with more than ten years' experience will be eligible to serve as chair. This ensures that the commission has legal knowledge at their disposal. This is important as the commission's recommendations could ultimately affect someone's constitutionally-protected voting rights.
Finally, in recognition of concerns raised by members in the public about riding names, Bill 76 has geographic and place names as to what the commission needs to consider when electoral boundaries and names of ridings.
Finally, the bill makes minor amendments to modernize language used in the Act. This includes moving to gender-neutral language. Thank you, Madam Chair.