The NWT’s justice minister has set out the timeline for three pieces of legislation that some MLAs hope will introduce new tools to improve public safety in the North.
Premier RJ Simpson has said Safer Communities and Neighbourhoods legislation, known as Scan, can improve community safety by allowing neighbours to make complaints to provincial and territorial authorities. Those authorities can then target and shut down properties where activities like drug trafficking may be occurring.
That legislation would be separate from existing criminal law and police enforcement, which requires a higher standard of proof.
The other two pieces of legislation are a Civil Forfeiture Act – allowing property connected to crime to be frozen or taken away from someone – and a Trespass Act, which the NWT currently lacks.
Jay Macdonald, who recently took over from Simpson as justice minister, said the Scan and civil forfeiture pieces of work are “a lot more complex” than the trespass legislation and will need more consultation before bills are brought forward.
Advertisement.
Advertisement.
Speaking in the legislature this week, Macdonald said bills reflecting those measures are currently expected to arrive in the House “in the winter sitting of 2026,” early next year.
The NWT’s Scan legislation will, for example, need to account for a Yukon Supreme Court ruling that found a section of that territory’s own Scan law to be unconstitutional.
A Trespass Act will be easier to bring forward and should be introduced in the House later in 2025, Macdonald said.
Macdonald provided the update on timelines in response to questions from Inuvik Boot Lake MLA Denny Rodgers.
Advertisement.
Advertisement.
Rodgers is also interested in updating the Residential Tenancies Act, which governs relations between landlords and tenants, “to give that some strength to help us with this drug crisis.”
Macdonald said his department is reviewing that act this summer and a legislative proposal will follow.
“Moving those first three pieces forward has been the priority direction that we’ve given to the department right now,” the minister added.
Bringing bills to the House is one stage in a much bigger process.
Each bill will need time for MLAs to evaluate the legislation, refer it to committee and take it to public consultation before any of the proposals can become law.
