Clause 91 to 100, does committee agree?

Clause 101 to 110, does committee agree?

Clause 110 to 121, does committee agree?

Clause 121 to 125, does committee agree?

Committee, to a bill as a whole, does committee agree that Bill 77, Nursing Profession Act, is now ready for third reading?

Thank you, committee. Does committee agree that this conclude our consideration of Bill 77, the Nursing Profession Act?

Thank you. And thank you, Minister, and thank you to your witnesses. Sergeant-at-arms, please escort the witnesses from the Chamber.

Committee has agreed to consider Bill 82, Legal Professions Act. I will ask the Minister of Justice to introduce the bill.

Madam Chair, thank you. I am pleased to be here today to present Bill 82, Legal Profession Act.

Bill 82 proposes a repeal and replacement of the current Legal Profession Act, which was passed in 1976 and establishes the Law Society of the Northwest Territories as the body which regulates lawyers in the Northwest Territories. The department has worked in collaboration with the law society to bring forward these amendments and appreciates the time and effort contributed by law society membership both with their initial review of the existing act and with reviewing an engagement draft of the bill. This helped to ensure we were able to bring forward a fulsome new Act that will effectively regulate lawyers in the Northwest Territories.

In 2018, a revision committee was established by the executive of the Law Society of the Northwest Territories to consult on the recommended changes to the Act which had not been extensively reviewed since it was first enacted. The Act as currently written is prescriptive with many issues governed by the Act rather than the rules of the law society. Similar legislation in comparable jurisdictions is often less prescriptive allowing for greater flexibility in the rules and policies of their law societies. The proposed new Act would address contemporary developments in the legal profession in a manner similar to other Canadian jurisdictions.

In addition to addressing errors in consistencies and improving the overall clarity of the Act, proposed changes to the Act generally address the following areas: The purpose and administration of the society, membership, and enrolment; the definition of practice of law; discipline; the assurance fund; trust accounts and custodianship; and, other relevant matters.

This concludes my opening remarks. I'd be pleased to answer questions that Members may have. Thank you.

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

I would.

Thank you. Sergeant-at-arms, please escort the witnesses into the Chamber. Minister, would you please introduce your witnesses.

Thank you. To my right, I have Mr. Ian Rennie, legislative counsel with the Department of Justice, and on my left is Mr. Brad Patzer, assistant deputy minister Solicitor General.

I will now turn the floor -- or to the chair of the -- sorry, I will now turn to the chair of social development, the committee that reviewed the bill, for any opening comments on Bill 82. Member for Kam Lake.

Thank you, Madam Chair. Madam Chair, Bill 82, Legal Profession Act, received second reading in the Legislative Assembly on March 30th, 2023, and was referred to the Standing Committee on Social Development for review. The standing committee held a public hearing with the Minister of Justice in Yellowknife on May 10th, 2023. Through public engagement committee received submissions from the Law Society of the Northwest Territories, a private resident, the NWT Metis Nation, and Deline Gotine Government.

Committee was concerned around the topics of: Access to justice, cultural safety training, public access to legal materials, regulating paralegals, and pro bono legal services. Committee was ultimately satisfied, however, that the submissions provided from stakeholders adequately addressed these concerns. As such, committee did not forward any motions to amend the bill.

Standing committee held the clause-by-clause review of Bill 82 on May 31st, 2023. I would like to thank the public for their time to meet with committee and for committee's work on the review of this bill.

Individual Members may have additional comments or questions. Thank you, Madam Chair.

Thank you, Member for Kam Lake. I will now open the floor to general comments on Bill 82. Are there any general comments? Seeing none, does committee agree that there are no general comments?

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