Folks in the NWT are wondering which NWT MLAs what to run in both the federal and territorial elections.
News Release
Legislative Assembly to Debate Term Extension
“(YELLOWKNIFE) Thursday, March 6,2014 – The Legislative Assembly is planning to debate a request to Canada to extend the maximum term of the current Assembly to five years.
A motion was introduced today in the Legislative Assembly by the Member for Hay River South and seconded by the Government House Leader to request that Canada amend the Northwest Territories Act to increase the maximum term of the current Legislative Assembly from 4 to 5 years. Bill C-15, the Northwest Territories Devolution Act, extends the maximum term of future Legislative Assemblies to 5 years, but does not apply to the current Assembly.
The reason for the request is concern about overlap of federal, territorial and municipal elections in October 2015. It is anticipated that the overlap could lead to communication and administrative problems, as well as reducing voter participation in all 3 elections.
The motion also calls for the Legislative Assembly’s Board of Management to introduce a Bill to defer the next election to October 2016. This Bill cannot proceed unless Parliament first makes the requested amendment to the Northwest Territories Act.
The motion will be debated on Monday, March 10th.
For more information, please contact:
Jane Groenewegen, ML A for Hay River South
Legislative Assembly of the NWT
Phone: 867-669-2292
E-mail: [email protected]
J. Michael Miltenberger, Government House Leader
Legislative Assembly of the NWT
Phone: 867-669-2355
E-mail: [email protected]
Legislative Assembly of the Northwest Territories P.O. Box 1320, Yellowknife, NT X1A 2L9
14-04 Telephone: 867-669-2200 Fax 867-920-4735 www.assembly.gov.nt.ca
Background Information on Motion to Request the Government of Canada to Extend the
Maximum Term of the 17th Assembly
What changes are in Bill C-15?
Bill C-15, the Northwest Territories Devolution Act, is federal legislation that includes a new Northwest Territories Act. One of its provisions makes the maximum term of the Legislative Assembly 5 years instead of 4, beginning with the 18* Legislative Assembly.
What is the motion requesting?
The motion is requesting that Canada make a further amendment so that the maximum 5-year term will apply to the current NWT Legislative Assembly as well as future Assemblies. This would give the NWT the same flexibility with respect to its election dates as the other two territories. The Nunavut Legislative Assembly has had a maximum 5 year term since 1999. The Yukon Legislative Assembly has had a maximum 5 year term since 2003.
Does this mean the 17th Assembly will continue for another year?
No, not automatically. To make the 17* Assembly continue past October 2015, changes to the Tegislative Assembly and Executive Council Act would have to be made. The means the NWT Legislative Assembly would have to publicly debate and pass a Bill to change the election date.
Why should the 17th Assembly continue longer than 4 years?
There is concern that a number of NWT municipal elections, the territorial election and the next federal election are all scheduled within a few weeks of each other in October 2015. This could lead to confusion and frustration for candidates and voters as each election has different rules, and campaign messages and other communications regarding the three elections could become mixed. It might also reduce voter turnout in all the elections.
The overlap also raises administrative problems, such as finding suitable office space and recruiting election workers, since in many communities the same people often work federal, territorial and/or municipal elections.
For these same reasons, Manitoba and Saskatchewan, which were scheduled to have elections in the fall of 2015, have already passed legislation to defer their elections to the spring of 2016 unless the federal election date changes. The Premier of Prince Edward Island has publicly announced that they plan to do the same.
Why not just extend the 17th Assembly to the spring of 2016?
The Assembly had a lot of discussion about the best time to hold elections when the fixed election date was set in 2006. It was agreed that October was the best time to hold elections when the timing of school holidays, traditional harvesting activities, the budget cycle, and the coldest weather were taken into account.
Are there any other reasons the 17th Assembly should continue longer than 4 years?
The 17* Assembly is unusual in that devolution of lands and resources responsibilities to the GNWT is taking place during our term. This is a major undertaking and the implementation process is very complex. A potential benefit of continuing the Assembly for another year is that it would provide stability during the critical period for devolution implementation.
Legislative Assembly of the Northwest Territories P.O. Box 1320, Yellowknife, NT X1A 2L9 14-04 Telephone: 867-669-2200 Fax 867-920-4735 www.assembly.gov.nt.ca “
My MLA, Ms Bisaro askes…
“… Should We Extend 2015 Election Date? by Wendy Bisaro – MLA Frame Lake
To all NWT residents and particularly constituents of Frame Lake:
On Monday afternoon March 10th the NWT Legislative Assembly will debate a motion to
1) ask the Federal government to amend the NWT Act to allow the Assembly term to be up to five years and,
2) extend the term of the 17th Assembly by a year – changing the date of the next election to October 2016 from October 2015.
You can read a press release and backgrounder here and can read the motion here.
I am looking for as much feedback as I can get – whether it be positive or negative – regarding this issue. I would like my vote on Monday to reflect the views/wishes of my constituents, so please let me know how you feel about the 17th Assembly extending the term to potentially, October 2016 prior to noon on Monday March 10th.
Wendy Bisaro – MLA Frame Lake | March 7, 2014 at 2:09 pm | Categories: Elections, Motion, NWT Legislative Assembly, Politics, Public consultations | URL: http://wp.me/p1Ccls-1qo …”
And consider this message from Daryl Dolynny, MLA Range Lake [email protected]
“I would like your input on today’s notice of motion about extending the term length of members of the 17th Assembly. I will tell you right now, I AM NOT IN FAVOR OF THIS MOTION, this motion trumps on the very foundation of democracy I hold true to our electoral process. Anything that would lengthen my term from the original mandate bestowed to me by the people of Range Lake, would in my humble opinion, be unethical and wrong. I have no problem doing changes that will affect future assemblies, as long as I don’t personally gain from that decision.
Legislative Assembly to Debate Term Extension
(YELLOWKNIFE) Thursday, March 6, 2014 – The Legislative Assembly is planning to debate a request to Canada to extend the maximum term of the current Assembly to five years.
A motion was introduced today in the Legislative Assembly by the Member for Hay River South and seconded by the Government House Leader to request that Canada amend the Northwest Territories Act to increase the maximum term of the current Legislative Assembly from 4 to 5 years. Bill C-15, the Northwest Territories Devolution Act, extends the maximum term of future Legislative Assemblies to 5 years, but does not apply to the current Assembly.
The reason for the request is concern about overlap of federal, territorial and municipal elections in October 2015. It is anticipated that the overlap could lead to communication and administrative problems, as well as reducing voter participation in all 3 elections.
The motion also calls for the Legislative Assembly’s Board of Management to introduce a Bill to defer the next election to October 2016. This Bill cannot proceed unless Parliament first makes the requested amendment to the Northwest Territories Act.
The motion will be debated on Monday, March 10th.”
And here is the take of Bob Bromley, MLA Weledeh on this move…
” Northwest Territories Legislative Assembly
MLA-Weledeh
News Release
Legislative Assembly Blind-sides Voters with Questionable Motion to Extend their own Mandate
(YELLOWKNIFE) Friday, March 7,2017 – Weledeh MLA Bob Bromley encourages all members of the public who have concerns to communicate them to all ML As in the narrow window of time available, which ends by 1:00 pm this Monday, March 10 , 2014.
‘This is unethical and embarrassing”, MLA Bromley says. “I had heard when I came into politics that politicians tend to look after themselves, but this re-defines the yardstick.”
A motion was introduced on Thursday, March 6* in the Legislative Assembly proposing that the politicians change federal and territorial legislation so they can extend their own mandate – by a year.
Proposed by MLA Jane Groenewegen and Minister Michael Miltenberger, the motion requests that Canada amend the Northwest Territories Act to increase the maximum term of the current Legislative Assembly from 4 to 5 years. Bill C-15, the Northwest Territories Devolution Act, extends the maximum term of future Legislative Assemblies to 5 years, but does not apply to the current Assembly.
“In my experience, it is unheard of for an Assembly to grant itself the new power to extend its own mandate,” says MLA Bromley. “As things currently stand, the Prime Minister has already provided for this capability beginning with the 18* Assembly, which would make the NWT consistent with other jurisdictions in Canada,” he added.
‘To give ourselves this authority without going to the people and with no public input shows a cavalier disdain for the voters of the Northwest Territories. One can only imagine that there has been some degree of secret communication between this government and the federal government, as this action will require changes to both federal and territorial legislation, something that normally would take years to achieve.”
The motion also includes a clause stating that the Assembly proposes a bill to defer the next NWT election until October 2016. “Setting the date in this motion is getting way ahead of ourselves,” says Mr. Bromley ‘Let’s go to the people on this – first of all whether they want to change the date at all and second, to when.”
Assuming this motion passes, and because an enabling amendment to the Legislative and Executive Council Act is, also required, there should be an opportunity to comment on the proposal to extend our mandate by a year when the required legislative amendment is brought forward.
For more information, please contact:
Bob Bromley, MLA Weledeh Legislative Assembly of the NWT
Phone: 867-669-2272 Email: [email protected]
P.O. Box 1320, Yellowknife, NT X1A 2L9
14-05 Telephone: 867-669-2272 Fax 867-873-0276
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