Nunavut Act (S.C. 1993, c. 28)

Marginal note:Agreements

• 73 (1) The Interim Commissioner may, with the approval of the Governor in Council, enter into agreements

  • (a) with the Government of Canada in respect of federal government programs or other federal responsibilities in relation to Nunavut, including the supply of goods or services;

  • (a.1) with the Government of Canada, the Government of the Northwest Territories, the government of a province or any person in respect of programs or other responsibilities of the Government of Nunavut, including the supply of goods or services;

  • (b) with the Government of Canada or the Northwest Territories for funding in respect of Nunavut;

  • (c) with the Government of the Northwest Territories for the division of its assets and liabilities between Nunavut and the Northwest Territories, including rights and obligations arising under a contract entered into by the Government of the Northwest Territories; and

  • (d) with the Government of the Northwest Territories for the transfer, despite any law or any contractual restriction, of information in its possession to the Government of Nunavut.

• Marginal note:Tabling of agreement

  (1.1) The Commissioner shall cause to be laid before the Legislative Assembly of Nunavut any agreement entered into under subsection (1).

• Marginal note:Agreements binding

  (2) Subject to subsections (3) and (4), agreements entered into pursuant to this section are binding on the Government of Nunavut.

• Marginal note:Exemption — no approval

  (2.1) The approval of the Governor in Council is not required for the Interim Commissioner to enter into an agreement under paragraph (1)(a) or (a.1) if the maximum total amount that the Government of Nunavut must pay under the agreement, including any renewal of the agreement under its terms to which the other party is entitled, is less than the greater of

  • (a) $400,000, and

  • (b) any other amount that the Governor in Council may, by order, prescribe for those agreements or any category of them.

• Marginal note:Termination of agreements

  (3) The Government of Nunavut may, by giving notice in writing, terminate any agreement entered into with a government under paragraph (1)(a) or (a.1) at the end of the fiscal year following that in which the notice is given.

• Marginal note:Idem

  (4) An agreement entered into pursuant to paragraph (1)(b) terminates two years after the coming into force of section 3, unless the agreement provides for an earlier termination.

• Marginal note:Consent of affected third party

  (5) An agreement entered into under paragraph (1)(c) may affect the rights or obligations of a party that has entered into a contract with the Government of the Northwest Territories only if, before the agreement is entered into, the party consents to being so affected.

• Marginal note:Exception — assignment

  (6) Despite subsection (5), an agreement entered into under paragraph (1)(c) may assign to the Government of Nunavut any right or obligation of the Government of the Northwest Territories arising under a contract entered into by it with a party that is not a government even if the contract does not allow for, or the party does not consent to, the assignment. The assignment binds the party but, unless the contract allows for the assignment or the party consents to it, the agreement must provide for compensation to the party for costs or losses, if any, arising from the assignment.

• Marginal note:Transfer of Information

  (7) The possession and use, by the Government of Nunavut, of information transferred under an agreement entered into under paragraph (1)(d) shall be subject to

  • (a) the conditions contained in any contract entered into by the Government of the Northwest Territories that apply to the possession and use of the information, as if the Government of Nunavut were a party to the contract;

  • (b) the conditions contained in any federal law that apply to the possession and use, by the Government of the Northwest Territories, of the information; and

  • (c) all laws of the Legislature that apply to the possession and use of the information.

Marginal note:Powers of Governor in Council

• 73.1 (1) In the absence of an agreement on a matter under paragraph 73(1)(c), the Governor in Council may, on the recommendation of the Minister, by order,

  • (a) in the case of any property, other than property referred to in section 44 of the Northwest Territories Act, transfer ownership of the property to the Government of Nunavut from the Government of the Northwest Territories; or

  • (b) in the case of a contract entered into between the Governments of Canada and the Northwest Territories giving rise to rights or obligations of the Government of the Northwest Territories, terminate the contract.

• Marginal note:Consultation and notice

  (2) The Minister shall, before making the recommendation, consult with the Government of the Northwest Territories and the Interim Commissioner and shall, after that consultation, notify that Government and the Interim Commissioner of the contents of the recommendation.

• Marginal note:Effective date

  (3) An order under subsection (1) may be made only on or before the day that section 3 comes into force, but it takes effect on that day.

Marginal note:Carrying out of programs

74 The Government of Canada or the Northwest Territories may carry out any programs in accordance with any agreement entered into under paragraph 73(1)(a.1).

Marginal note:Staff

• 75 (1) The Interim Commissioner may employ such employees as the Interim Commissioner considers necessary for the proper conduct of the Interim Commissioner’s work and may prescribe their duties and the conditions of their employment consistent with the conditions of employment established by the Government of the Northwest Territories for its employees.

• Marginal note:Termination of employment

  (2) The employment of persons by the Interim Commissioner terminates not later than the day on which the first Commissioner is appointed.

• Marginal note:Severance pay

  (3) An employee to whom this section applies who becomes employed by a department or portion of government that is a part of the Public Service as defined in subsection 3(1) of the Public Service Superannuation Act within three months after the day that the employment with the Interim Commissioner terminates is not entitled to severance pay for the termination of that employment.

• Marginal note:Supply of goods and services

  (4) For greater certainty, the Interim Commissioner may enter into contracts for the supply of goods or services considered necessary for the proper conduct of the Interim Commissioner’s work.

• Marginal note:Supply contracts — coming into force

  (5) Subsection (4) is deemed to have come into force on November 26, 1996 and any contract entered into by the Interim Commissioner before this section comes into force is deemed to have been entered into under this Act, to the extent that the Interim Commissioner could enter into the contract under this section.

Council of the Northwest Territories

Marginal note:Sitting members

• 76 (1) A member of the Council of the Northwest Territories whose electoral district does not include any of the communities listed in Schedule II ceases, on the coming into force of section 3, to be a member of the Council.

• Marginal note:Change of name

  (2) If the name of a community listed in Schedule II is changed, the reference in that Schedule to the name of the community shall be construed as a reference to the new name of the community.

First Elections

Marginal note:Number of members and electoral districts

• 76.01 (1) Despite section 14 and any law of the Legislature, for the first elections of members of the Legislative Assembly, the Governor in Council shall, by order, prescribe the number of members of the Assembly and describe and name the electoral districts in Nunavut, but in no event shall the number of members of the first Assembly be fewer than ten.

• Marginal note:Writs — when issued

  (2) Writs for the first elections of members of the Assembly shall, subject to the laws governing those elections, be issued no later than thirty days after the day that section 3 comes into force.

Marginal note:Laws for election

• 76.02 (1) Despite the laws of the Legislature, the laws governing the first elections of members of the Assembly are the laws that apply to the conduct of elections in the Northwest Territories on the day that this section comes into force, with any modifications that the Governor in Council may, by order, prescribe.

• Marginal note:Publication of order

  (2) A notice of a proposed order shall be published in the Canada Gazette at least thirty days before the order is made and an opportunity shall be given to interested persons to make representations to the Minister about the proposed order. The notice may be published before this section comes into force.

• Marginal note:Exception

  (3) Once a notice is published under subsection (2), no further notice is required to be published about any amendment to the proposed order that results from representations made by interested persons.

• Marginal note:Chief electoral officer

  (4) The chief electoral officer for the first elections of members of the Assembly is the Chief Electoral Officer of the Northwest Territories.

Marginal note:Writs — instructions and return

• 76.03 (1) Despite section 15, the Governor in Council may, before the day that section 3 comes into force, give the chief electoral officer instructions to issue the writs for the first elections of members of the Assembly.

• Marginal note:Return of writs

  (2) The day for the return of those writs must be set in accordance with the laws governing the elections and may be before or after the coming into force of section 3.

• Marginal note:Status of elected candidates

  (3) For greater certainty, a candidate who is elected, before the day that section 3 comes into force, is not, for any purpose, a member of the Assembly until the Assembly is established under section 13.

Marginal note:Qualifications of members of Council of NWT

76.04 Despite any other law, a member of the Council of the Northwest Territories may be a candidate, and be declared elected, in the first elections of members of the Assembly without affecting, before the day that section 3 comes into force, her or his qualifications to sit or vote as a member of the Council.

76.05 [Repealed, 2014, c. 2, s. 43]

Public Offices and Bodies

Marginal note:General rule — duplication

• 76.06 (1) Subject to this Part, on the day that section 3 comes into force, for every public office or public body established or continued by an ordinance of the Northwest Territories that has, immediately before that day, powers, duties or functions in relation to both a part of the Northwest Territories described in section 3 and a part of the rest of those Territories and for every office or body on a list made under subsection (3), there is established, with any modifications that the circumstances require, by the laws of the Legislature a duplicate and distinct office or body, with the same powers, duties or functions in relation to Nunavut.

• Marginal note:Courts excluded

  (2) Subsection (1) does not apply to courts of the Northwest Territories.

• Marginal note:Nunavut Court of Justice

  (2.1) For greater certainty, the Nunavut Court of Justice has and may exercise in relation to Nunavut the powers, duties and functions of any territorial court referred to in a law duplicated under subsection 29(1).

• Marginal note:List

  (3) Before the day that section 3 comes into force, the Governor in Council may, on the recommendation of the Minister of the Government of the Northwest Territories responsible for intergovernmental affairs and the Interim Commissioner, by order, make the list referred to in subsection (1).

• Marginal note:Assets and liabilities

  (4) To the extent that the assets and liabilities of an office or body referred to in subsection (1), or any funds that it administers, are not subject to paragraph 73(1)(c), they continue, on and after the day that section 3 comes into force, to be the assets and liabilities of the office or body of the Northwest Territories, or funds administered by it, until they are fairly divided between that office or body and the corresponding office or body of Nunavut.

• Marginal note:Mechanisms for division

  (5) The division may occur by

  • (a) an agreement between those offices or bodies; or

  • (b) in the absence of an agreement, an order of the Supreme Court of the Northwest Territories on an application by either office or body made on or after the day that is one year after the day that section 3 comes into force.

• Marginal note:Principles for division

  (6) A division made under paragraph (5)(b) must, to the extent possible, put each office or body into the position that it would have been in had a fair division of the assets and liabilities, and administered funds, occurred on the day that section 3 comes into force.