Mr. Chairman, on my right is Debbie DeLancey, deputy minister of Municipal and Community Affairs, and on my left is Mark Aitken, director of legislation, Department of Justice.

Yes, Mr. Chairman, I would.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Yes, I do. Mr. Chairman, it gives me great pleasure to begin Committee of the Whole review of Bill 25, Municipal Statutes Replacement Act, an act that will fundamentally change and improve the way municipal governments in the Northwest Territories govern. This bill modernizes the Cities, Towns and Villages Act, the Hamlets Act and the Charter Communities Act. As many Members are aware, this bill has been under development for several years, time that was used to consult closely with community leaders and representatives, and ensure that this bill meets the needs of municipal governments across the Northwest Territories.

Mr. Chairman, the overall intent of this bill is to provide municipal governments with a legislative framework that describes in broad strokes their roles and responsibilities. We wanted to move away from the current prescriptive list of duties and powers in order to provide municipal governments with the tools they need to effectively address current issues and plan for the ongoing evolution of government in the Northwest Territories. These amendments respond to request for change from Northwest Territories municipal governments and will put into place modern municipal governance legislation that is consistent with that in other jurisdictions across Canada.

Some highlights of this bill include:

• • a new section setting out the purpose of municipal corporations;
• • broader bylaw-making powers by using "spheres of jurisdiction;"
• • limitations on municipal liability for certain matters and activities, such as public utilities and roads;
• • simpler requirements for financial statements; and,
• • increased accountabilities to residents.

Mr. Chairman, the Charter Communities Act, the Hamlets Act and the Cities, Towns and Villages Act are very similar to each other. People have noted that the three settlements in the Northwest Territories are not included as the legislation governing them, the Settlements Act, is not in this package. Mr. Chairman, the Settlements Act is a very different piece of legislation. For example, settlements do not have bylaw-making powers, unlike other municipal governments. Because of this difference, combined with the shortness of time and the limited resources available, it was decided to complete the Settlements Act after the other three acts had been drafted. Mr. Chairman, I want to take this opportunity to assure the Members that work is well underway, but because the Settlements Act is based on a fundamentally different system of governance, drafting on it began after the work on the legislation for cities, towns and villages, hamlets and charter communities, which are all very similar. However, Mr. Chairman, I am confident that comprehensive amendments to the Settlements Act will be ready for consideration by Members of the 15th Legislative Assembly as they determine their legislative agenda.

Mr. Chairman, we consulted regularly on this legislation, particularly with municipal governments, the Northwest Territories Association of Communities and the Local Government Administrators of the Northwest Territories, the organization which represents senior administrative officers. Throughout these consultations, one theme came out very clearly: municipal governments want this legislation because it provides them with the tools they need to face the opportunities and challenges coming in our future. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

Mr. Chairman, I don't recognize a quorum.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I wish to table the following document entitled Northwest Territories Search and Rescue Prevention Strategic Plan. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the department is already funding the municipality for operations and maintenance of the equipment. We've estimated that the amount of money that they're receiving from us right now through the normal funding process is more than what it was costing Public Works and Services to maintain the equipment when they operated it. It will be part of the discussions we will have with the community, the future cost and how we could assist them to have mechanics on staff. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the department is of the opinion that the community has the equipment that is normally supplied to a community of that size. They don't normally supply backup equipment for the communities. However, in the case of Gameti, they just recently took over the municipal services from Public Works and Services, so at this point in time they're just experiencing a lot of the difficulties that Public Works and Services had originally while supplying services to the community through operating the facilities on behalf of the community and the department. We have no plans at this point to bring in more equipment to them, but we would like to meet with them to discuss their plans for maintaining this equipment. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my officials did have a scheduled meeting with the municipality for October 2nd. However, the municipality cancelled the meeting. My department is open to a new date from them. That's what we're waiting for right now. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my officials have been to the community on a number of occasions recently to meet with the municipality on their municipal infrastructure, in particular in relation to water trucks and fire trucks. We had some discussions with them, as well as we reviewed their equipment to see whether or not they could in fact have the repairs done to them that they were concerned about. I believe that there's yet another meeting coming up whereby we will have further discussions with them on this. Thank you.