Merci, Monsieur le President. The Standing Committee on Rules and Procedures is pleased to provide its report on the review of Members' conduct guidelines entitled "You Are Standing for Your People."

Introduction

It is a priority of the 18th Legislative Assembly to promote and ensure, to the greatest extent possible, a high standard of personal and public conduct for current and future Members. To that end, Motion 6-18(1) was passed on December 17, 2015:

Whereas the Members of the 18th Legislative Assembly are mindful that it is an honour and a privilege to serve the people of the Northwest Territories as legislators;

And whereas the trust and confidence the people have placed in conferring this office upon us demands the highest standard of conduct, integrity and honour;

And whereas Members are resolved to do our utmost to hear the voices of all our people; preserve our traditions and bridge them with new ways to build our future; provide legislation, policies and services for the good of the people as individuals, families and communities; promote the equality of all our people; distribute resources fairly and justly; and respect and honour our land and all its inhabitants;

And whereas Members recognize that we owe to this legislature respect as well as dedication to ensuring the integrity of our government and to earning the confidence of the people;

And whereas Members recognize that we owe to our constituents our best efforts at effective representation as well as accountability, honesty, fairness and courtesy;

And whereas Members recognize that we owe to the public a responsibility to work for the well-being of all residents of the Northwest Territories;

And whereas Members recognize that we owe to our colleagues fairness and respect for differences, and the duty to work together with goodwill for the common good;

And whereas, Members are resolved not to act, nor condone others to act, in ways which are dishonest or which exploit, slander or discriminate against others;

And whereas Members acknowledge a vision and a responsibility to improve the lives of our people and to act in creative ways to overcome the hardships which destroy life and hope and the human frailties which fall upon us;

And whereas Members are resolved to respect and abide by the laws of Canada and the Northwest Territories and will not act in ways which will violate these laws;

And whereas paragraph 75(a) of the Legislative Assembly and Executive Council Act provides that each Member shall perform his or her duties of office and arrange his or her private affairs in such a manner as to maintain public confidence and trust in the integrity, objectivity and impartiality of the Member;

And whereas past Assemblies have seen fit to adopt principles to guide Members’ conduct;

Now therefore I move, seconded by the honourable Member for Nahendeh, that this 18th Legislative Assembly formally adopts the Members’ Conduct Guidelines as appended and which forms part of this resolution;

And further that each Member of the Legislative Assembly shall sign a copy of the Members’ Conduct Guidelines before the Clerk of the Legislative Assembly, who shall make all signed copies available to the public through the Legislative Library and by posting signed copies on the Assembly website;

And furthermore, that this Assembly refer the Members’ Conduct Guidelines to the Standing Committee on Rules and Procedures for a comprehensive and public review, including a thorough examination of conduct guidelines from other jurisdictions, both parliamentary and non-parliamentary organizations, all relevant legislation, and the Rules of the Legislative Assembly of the Northwest Territories, and that the Standing Committee report back to this Assembly during the fall sitting of 2016.

The committee notes that the referral motion directs a review of Members’ Conduct Guidelines as part of a broader framework governing Members’ behaviour. The purpose of this report is to recommend ways to strengthen that matrix, and through it, public confidence in the Legislative Assembly. The committee held public hearings in Inuvik on November 29, 2016; Hay River on December 1st; and Yellowknife on December 6th, preceded by an interim report presented on October 25, 2016. The committee also solicited written submissions. Eight were received and posted on the committee’s webpage. The committee heard repeatedly that Members of the Legislative Assembly must set and live up to the highest standards of conduct, and be accountable and available to their constituents.

Members’ conduct and eligibility for office are regulated by a matrix of laws and the Rules of the Legislative Assembly. These include Canada’s Charter of Rights and Freedoms and the Northwest Territories Elections and Plebiscites Act, as well as the Legislative Assembly and Executive Council Act, the Assembly’s Oath of Office, Members’ Conduct Guidelines, Rules of the Legislative Assembly, standards set by the Assembly’s Board of Management, and authorities established through parliamentary privilege. While this sounds complicated, the various rules apply through the linear course of candidacy, membership in the Assembly, and after a Member’s term ends. This report generally follows that chronology.

Eligibility for Office in the Northwest Territories Legislative Assembly

Canada’s Charter of Rights and Freedoms provides that every citizen has the right to vote in elections for members of the House of Commons or Legislative Assembly and to “be qualified for membership therein.” The right to run for office may only be limited in ways justifiable in a free and democratic society. Court decisions to date show that such restrictions, when challenged, are carefully scrutinized to determine if they are absolutely necessary to ensuring confidence in the electoral process.

Within those parameters, provinces and territories set qualifications for candidates running for election. In the Northwest Territories (NWT), the Elections and Plebiscites Act, and the Legislative Assembly and Executive Council Act define who is an eligible candidate for election and who may serve in the Legislative Assembly.

Generally, a person is eligible to be a candidate if he/she is a Canadian citizen, is at least 18 years old, and has been a resident of the Northwest Territories for at least 12 months.

Current legislation disqualifies candidates or Members convicted and imprisoned as a result of a criminal offence; the disqualification ends when the term of incarceration ends. The disqualification does not include offences that do not result in jail sentences. Such matters fall to the Legislative Assembly’s rules, conduct guidelines, and use of parliamentary privilege to discipline or expel its Members.

The Elections and Plebiscites Act also includes a five-year prohibition of anyone convicted of a major election offence from being elected or sitting as a Member, voting, or holding office appointed by the Commissioner or Legislative Assembly. These offences include such conduct as voting more than once, intentional miscounts, knowingly making false statements about a candidate’s character, attempting to intimidate or compel a person not to run for election, and others. This prohibition is consistent with other Canadian jurisdictions, including elections for Parliament. It is a very significant prohibition, as it is a mechanism to ensure both the integrity of elections and public confidence in them. The five-year prohibition takes into account the typical four-year election cycle and the seriousness of violations of the public trust in elections.

The majority of public submissions to the committee argued that these restrictions set too low a bar for candidates for the Legislative Assembly, too low a bar for leadership of our territory. People accurately pointed out that in our system of consensus government there is almost no screening of candidates as is carried out by parties in other jurisdictions. In the Northwest Territories, anyone who meets the basic qualifications for candidacy must also present a nomination paper signed by 15 elector residents of the district. Our minimal requirements for candidacy make our elections very open compared to other jurisdictions, but can also result in candidates who would likely be screened out as unsuitable by parties in other jurisdictions.

For example, the Liberal Party’s national rules for the selection of candidates require them to sign and comply with a code of conduct, to answer a lengthy questionnaire, provide a credit check, documentation of criminal record (if any), and consent to extensive background checks. All candidates are subject to party approval.

A potential solution for this deficit in the NWT was offered at the committee’s hearing in Hay River, where a recommendation was made for an independent special committee to screen candidates, using set guidelines. A complementary option is for Elections NWT to require potential candidates to file information similar to what Canadian political parties require for candidates.

Another practice used by political parties is to require candidates to endorse a code of conduct covering the election period to the day a successful candidate takes his or her oath of office. This gap was identified as problematic in submissions to the committee, and Members agree. Implementation of these ideas would require amendments to the Elections and Plebiscites Act.

Recommendation 1

The Standing Committee on Rules and Procedures recommends that the Elections and Plebiscites Act be amended to provide that, during the election period, candidates declare compliance with a code of conduct including the duties to abide by the laws of the Northwest Territories and Canada; to conduct his or herself with honesty, integrity, and respect for others; and to refrain from actions that would upon election create or be perceived to create a conflict of interest as set out in section 74 of the Legislative Assembly and Executive Council Act.

Mr. Speaker, the next part of the committee’s report will be read by the honourable Member for Yellowknife Centre.