17th Northwest Territories Legislative Assembly

Last updated
17th Assembly
Type
Type
EstablishedOctober 3, 2011
Leadership
Premier
Seats19
Elections
Last election
 2011
Meeting place
Yellowknife

The 17th Northwest Territories Legislative Assembly was established by the results of the 2011 Northwest Territories general election on October 3, 2011. It was the 25th sitting of the Assembly in the territory's history. The Assembly was dissolved in 2015.

Contents

Term extension debate

Members voted on Motion 16-17(5) introduced by Hay River North MLA Jane Groenewegen to extend the term of the Assembly to five years starting with the 18th Legislature to match every other provincial and territorial jurisdiction in Canada. This change was approved by the federal government. In addition they voted to ask for permission of the federal government to extend the current mandate of the Assembly to postpone the 23rd general election and sit until October 2016. [1] The reason given was to avoid having an election during federal election and municipal elections in the territory scheduled at the same time, claiming voters will be fatigued. The decision by council prompted a petition calling for the Assembly to be dissolved early. [2]

The motion passed the legislature on a recorded vote with 11 members for and 7 against with one member absent

Motion 16-17(5) vote [3]
ForAgainstAbsent
Groenewegen, Yakeleya, Menicoche, Blake, Beaulieu, Abernethy, Miltenberger, McLeod –

Yellowknife South, Lafferty, Ramsay, McLeod – Inuvik Twin Lakes

Dolynny, Bouchard, Nadli, Hawkins, Bisaro, Moses, BromleyJacobson

Number of MLAs in the capital city

Currently, 7 of 19 of the Assembly's representatives are from the capital city of Yellowknife. The City of Yellowknife is launching a lawsuit to increase the number of Yellowknife-based MLAs to something more closely in line with the city's roughly 50 per cent of the NWT population. [4] However, some say increasing the number of Yellowknife-based MLAs would weaken the territories on the whole. [5]

Membership

A total of nineteen members were returned to council in the 2015 general election. Three members were acclaimed to office on September 9, 2011 with the rest in contested districts being returned on October 3, 2011.

[6] MemberDistrict
Michael Nadli Deh Cho
Wendy Bisaro Frame Lake
Glen Abernethy Great Slave
Robert Bouchard Hay River North
Jane Groenewegen Hay River South
Dave Ramsay Kam Lake
Robert McLeod Inuvik Twin Lakes
Frederick Blake, Jr. Mackenzie Delta
Jackson Lafferty Monfwi
Kevin Menicoche Nahendeh
Alfred Moses Inuvik Boot Lake
Jackie Jacobson Nunakput
Daryl Dolynny Range Lake
Norman Yakeleya Sahtu
Michael Miltenberger Thebacha
Tom Beaulieu Tu Nedhe
Bob Bromley Weledeh
Robert Hawkins Yellowknife Centre
Bob McLeod Yellowknife South

Standings and cabinet changes

Caucus2011
Sep. 9Oct. 3
Executive Council 0
Regular members319
Speaker 0
Vacant160
Total319
DateMemberDistrictReason
September 9, 2011 Tom Beaulieu Tu Nedhe Acclaimed in the general election
September 9, 2011 Bob McLeod Yellowknife South Acclaimed in the general election
September 9, 2011 Robert McLeod Inuvik Twin Lakes Acclaimed in the general election
October 3, 2011See List of MembersElection day of the 22nd general election

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References

  1. ↑ "Term Extension Debate". Elections NWT. March 10, 2014. Archived from the original on 2014-03-13. Retrieved 2014-03-13.
  2. ↑ "N.W.T. MLAs vote to ask for authority to postpone election". CBC News. March 11, 2014.
  3. ↑ "Hansard" (PDF). Legislative Assembly of the Northwest Territories. March 10, 2014. p. 58. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2014-03-13. Retrieved 2014-03-13.
  4. ↑ Rendell, Mark (November 4, 2014). "Mayor makes case for City's legal challenge over too few MLAs". Archived from the original on December 30, 2014. Retrieved 2014-12-29.
  5. ↑ Spitzer, Aaron (November 5, 2014). "Why giving YK more MLAs would be the opposite of fair".
  6. ↑ "Members Elect of the 17th Legislative Assembly of the Northwest Territories" (PDF). Northwest Territories Legislature. October 4, 2011. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2012-02-26. Retrieved October 14, 2011.
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