Legislative Updates In The Northwest Territories And Nunavut

NWT Legislative Beat

The first session of the 19^th Legislative Assembly convened on October 25, 2019. The 19^th Assembly is a historic Assembly, with the NWT having gone from having the lowest percentage of elected female MLAs to the highest in the country at 48% with the general election of October 1, 2019. Given that most new assemblies take some time to develop legislative priorities, it is not surprising that the legislative output was modest. The following bill was considered, and passed, during the first session of the 19^th Assembly:

• Bill 1(19-1) – An Act to Amend the Legislative Assembly and Executive Council Act. This Act amends the Legislative Assembly and Executive Council Act to extend benefits to Members of the Assembly, most notably, a child care expense and the ability to regulate the child care expenses. It implements recommendations from the Special Committee to Increase the Representation of Women in the Legislative Assembly which had earlier