Legislation Act

Summary#

Bill 22 creates a new Legislation Act for the Northwest Territories. It replaces older laws about how laws and regulations are written, approved, published, and kept up to date. The goal is to make the law more accessible, accurate, and transparent, including recognizing official online versions.

Key changes:

• Creates clear rules for when Acts and regulations take effect, how they are certified, corrected, and published (including online).
• Establishes the Chief Legislative Counsel and the Registrar of Regulations, and sets their duties for drafting, examining, registering, and publishing legislation.
• Requires most regulations to be bilingual, examined before made, registered to be valid, and published in the Northwest Territories Gazette (online), with limited exceptions.
• Requires the Registrar to check proposed regulations against their legal authority and for consistency with the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) and section 35 Indigenous rights; the UNDRIP review results must be made public.
• Makes the official website versions of Acts and regulations recognized as “official law.”
• Introduces an annual report of Acts not yet in force; any listed Act (or part) older than 10 years and still not in force is automatically repealed the next March 31 unless brought into force or saved by a Legislative Assembly resolution.
• Replaces many “orders” across other laws with “regulations,” bringing them under registration/publication rules; repeals and replaces older statutes (Statutory Instruments Act, Statute Revision Act, Public Printing Act), and enacts a new Territorial Printer Act for the online Gazette.

What it means for you#

• Residents and businesses

  • You can rely on the Northwest Territories Laws website as an official source for Acts and regulations. Certified online copies count as accurate statements of the law.
  • Regulations are easier to find: most must be registered and then published online in the Gazette within three months.
  • You cannot be convicted under a regulation that was required to be published but wasn’t, unless reasonable steps were taken to notify affected people or you had actual notice.

• Indigenous governments and communities

  • Before a regulation is made, the Registrar must consider consistency with UNDRIP (as implemented) and section 35 Indigenous rights. The results of this UNDRIP review must be posted publicly.
  • This could lead to earlier identification of issues that may affect Indigenous rights.

• Public servants and regulators

  • Proposed regulations must be submitted to the Registrar for examination. The Registrar looks at legal authority, unusual use of power, Charter and Bill of Rights consistency, UNDRIP/section 35 considerations, and drafting standards.
  • A regulation has no effect unless it is registered. It must be filed for registration within 60 days after being made and be in both English and French. The Registrar can refuse registration if these rules aren’t met.
  • Publishing in the Gazette is required (with limited, practical exceptions and notices about how to access any omitted maps/diagrams).
  • Many actions that were previously done by “order” in other laws must now be done by “regulation,” which brings them under these filing and publication requirements.

• Courts and legal community

  • Court and tribunal rules must be made available to the public (e.g., on court websites).
  • Official certified copies and online consolidations are recognized for evidentiary purposes.

• Municipalities and local bodies (including Tåîchô community government)

  • Various decisions (e.g., boundary changes, exemptions, dissolutions) now require regulations rather than simple orders. These will be registered and publicly accessible.
  • Local elections and plebiscite steps in the Liquor and Cannabis laws must be set by regulation, improving clarity and notice.

• General public

  • Consolidated and revised versions of laws will be published, with clear rules for corrections. Consolidations and revisions do not change the legal effect unless the Assembly approves a revised Act or an authority approves a revised regulation as set out.

Expenses#

The bill may increase administrative costs, but no estimate is available.

• Possible added costs to:
  • staff the Registrar’s examination, registration, and publication functions;
  • maintain and update the Northwest Territories Laws website and the online Gazette;
  • prepare consolidations and revisions, and publish correction notices.
• Departments, boards, and agencies may face added compliance work (bilingual drafting, timely filing, and examination steps).
• Municipalities and boards whose actions now proceed by regulation may need extra drafting and processing time.

No publicly available information.

Proponents' View#

• The bill appears intended to modernize how laws and regulations are created, kept, and shared, making the law easier to find and trust (official online versions).
• Requiring registration and timely publication of regulations improves transparency and legal certainty.
• Public UNDRIP/section 35 screening of regulations could be seen as strengthening attention to Indigenous rights at the regulation stage.
• Moving many decisions from “orders” to “regulations” brings consistent notice, bilingual access, and public records.
• Annual reporting and automatic repeal of very old, still‑inactive Acts likely cleans up the statute book.
• Clear correction powers and consolidations help reduce errors and confusion without changing the law’s substance.

Opponents' View#

• One concern is added time and red tape: pre‑examination, bilingual drafting, filing within 60 days, and Gazette publication could slow urgent actions, especially for small bodies. The bill does allow some publication exemptions, but timelines still apply.
• The Registrar’s examination is advisory; a regulation not examined can still be valid if registered. This may raise questions about how strong the screening function is in practice.
• Automatic repeal of Acts not yet in force may remove laws that some still intend to use; although the Legislative Assembly can pass a resolution to save them, this requires active tracking.
• Greater reliance on online publication may pose access issues for people with limited internet, though inspection rights and notice requirements are included.
• Switching many “orders” to “regulations” could increase workload for municipalities and territorial departments, with potential delays in service or decision-making.