Assembly Vote
19th Assembly, 2nd SessionFebruary 14, 2023
Motion Sponsor
Topic
Motion Text
Investigating matters within mandates of other statutory officers
Section 23 of the current Act prevents the Ombud from investigating complaints that are within the mandate of certain statutory officers, unless that officer agrees. The current Act applies this restriction to six (6) offices:
- The Languages Commissioner;
- The Information and Privacy Commissioner;
- The Integrity Commissioner;
- The chief electoral officer;
- The director of Human Rights; and
- The Equal Pay Commissioner
Clause 6 of Bill 61, as originally drafted, would have continued to exclude these three statutory officers of the Ombud's jurisdiction: The Information and Privacy Commissioner, the Integrity Commissioner, and the chief electoral officer. But the bill would have added the three other officers to the Ombud's jurisdiction: The Languages Commissioner, the Human Rights Commission, and the Equal Pay Commissioner.
All three statutory officers affected by the potential change expressed concern about overlapping jurisdiction with undesirable implications. The Minister of Justice voiced similar concerns and recommended more consultation with all three affected statutory officers.
Committee reviewed and sought to resolve these concerns. Committee wanted to ensure guardrails to ensure that the Ombud cannot override decisions of the Human Rights Commission or the Adjudication Panel.
Committee consulted the Law Clerk on a couple of approaches to amend clause 6. Committee ultimately settled on the cautious approach that would maintain the exclusion of all six statutory officers covered in the existing Act. Committee also decided to expressly exclude the Human Rights Commission and the Adjudication Panel from the Ombud's jurisdiction.
Committee agreed to and passed a motion with such an amendment at the clause-by-clause review. The Member for Yellowknife North concurred.
Committee Considered Three Recommendations From The Ombud
In a written submission, the Ombud offered three suggestions to further amend Bill 61:
- Clarify and make more inclusive the definition of "administrative head";
- Remove the phrase "the implementation of a policy" from the Ombud's mandate; and
- Remove the phrase "and any administrative policies of the Clerk" from subsection 42(2).
Committee agreed to and passed an amendment that addresses the Ombud's second suggestion. Committee did not consider the Ombud's first and third suggestions, as these were out of scope for Bill 61. Committee believes there's merit to reviewing both outstanding suggestions in the context of a fuller review of the Ombud Act. Committee has previously recommended that the Government of the Northwest Territories conduct a holistic review of the Ombud Act within the first two years of the 20th Assembly.
Committee Recommends Broader Review Of The Statutory Bodies' Jurisdiction
Committee believes the issue whether, how, and to what extent the Ombud can investigate other statutory officers of the Assembly merits further study, as part of a broader review. Committee notes that inconsistencies may exist between these statutory officers' jurisdiction - for example, while the Languages Commissioner may investigate a complaint against the Ombud, the converse is not allowed, at least not without the agreement of the Languages Commissioner.
The Standing Committee on Government Operations therefore recommends:
Recommendation 1
That the Government of the Northwest Territories, in consultation with the Board of Management, lead a holistic review to examine and clarify the jurisdiction of each statutory officer of the Assembly to investigate:
- Other statutory officers of the Assembly;
- Public bodies that exercise statutory authority on behalf of the Executive; and
- Public bodies that provide statutory advisory services to the Executive.
The review should identify areas of over- and under-lapping jurisdiction and make recommendations to address discrepancies based on best practices.
Recommendation 2
The Standing Committee on Government Operations recommends that the Government of the Northwest Territories provide a response to this report within 120 days.
Conclusion
On January 25, 2023, committee held a clause-by-clause review. Committee passed a motion to report Bill 61, as amended, to the Legislative Assembly as ready for consideration in Committee of the Whole.
This concludes the Standing Committee on Government Operations' review of Bill 61.
Mr. Speaker, I move, second by the Member for Kam Lake, that Committee Report 40-19(2) Standing Committee on Government Operations Report on Bill 61, An Act to Amend the Ombud Act, be received by the Assembly and referred to the Committee of the Whole. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.