Committees?have become an essential part of modern legislatures. They make the NWT Legislative Assembly more effective by allowing Members to look at issues in a detailed way.?Committees?occasionally travel to various parts of the Northwest Territories to take the Legislature to the people.?Committees?can meet during Sessions or between Sessions. The Legislative Assembly has three types of?committees?-?Committee?of the Whole, Standing?Committees, and Special?Committees.
18th Legislative Assembly of the NWT List of?Standing Committees
Committee?of the Whole
This?committee?consists of all the Members of the Assembly. It is the Assembly itself - but the proceedings are not as formal and have more flexible rules. The Deputy Speaker chairs?Committee?of the Whole in place of the Speaker. There are also two Deputy Chairpersons who assist the Chair of?Committee?of the Whole.
The Legislative Assembly refers many matters to the?Committee?of the Whole. For instance, all bills are brought to the?committee?after Second Reading where they are looked at very carefully and possibly changed.
All business discussed in?Committee?of the Whole is reported to the Assembly by the chair. The Assembly then decides whether to accept the?committee’s report and whether to adopt the decisions made in?Committee?of the Whole.
Standing?Committees
Standing (or permanent)?committees?carry out much of the work of the Assembly, saving Members a considerable amount of time during sessions. They also help to ensure that all Members have the opportunity to voice their opinions on each issue.
The 18th Legislative Assembly has five standing?committees?and the Board of Management.
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The?Committees?are:
Special?Committees
Special?committees?are created as needed by the Assembly. For example, the Eleventh Assembly established three special?committees?to deal with each of the following matters: the northern economy; constitutional reform; and aboriginal languages. The Special?Committee?on Health and Social Services, Special?Committee?on Housing and the Special?Committee?on Division were set up during the Twelfth Assembly. The Thirteenth Assembly established a Special?Committee?on National Unity to co-ordinate consultations with Northerners on national constitutional matters. As well, the Special?Committee?on Western Identity was established to consider official symbols, heraldry, and other matters of identity as a result of the creation of the new Northwest Territories after division. The 14th Assembly established Special?Committees?on the review of the Official Languages Act; the Implementation of Self-government and the Sunset Clause; non tax-based Community Affairs; and the Conflict Process. The 15th and 16th Assemblies did not establish any special?committees. The 18th Assembly has not established any special?committees?thus far.
The Legislative Assembly determines the specific responsibilities of each special?committee?and identifies a specific time frame for the completion of their mandate.
The Special Committee on Transition Matters' completed report consists of four parts: State of the NWT Economy and its Implications for GNWT Revenues, The Decision-Making Environment, Recommendations on Transition Process and Consensus Government, and Recommendations on Priorities for the 18th Legislative Assembly.?
Report?of?the Special Committee On Transition Matters