Public Input Invited on Proposed Changes to Three Yukon Acts Important to Businesses, Societies & Cooperative Associations

Highlights of the proposed changes include updating business naming provisions, creating limited liability partnerships, adding registration procedures for societies incorporated outside of Yukon and clarifying registration procedures for cooperatives incorporated outside of Yukon.

Together with the Securities Transfer Act and proposed changes to the Business Corporations Act, these proposed amendments will provide Yukon with modern legislation that will better serve Yukon citizens and the organizations governed by business-related legislation.

To view the existing acts, plain language guides and the draft legislation, please see below.

1. The Partnership and Business Names Act governs partnerships and regulates the use of business names in Yukon.

Plain Language Guide to the Proposed Changes

Draft Act to Amend the Partnership and Business Names Act

2. The Societies Act governs “not for profit” organizations in Yukon.

Plain Language Guide to the Proposed Changes

Draft Act to Amend the Societies Act

3. The Cooperative Associations Act governs cooperative associations in Yukon.

Plain Language Guide to the Proposed Changes

Draft Act to Amend the Cooperative Associations Act

To submit comments, please contact Fred Pretorius, Director of Corporate Affairs at Community Services by email: corporateaffairs@gov.yk.ca, Fax: 867-393-6251 or phone: 667-5223, or toll free in Yukon at 1-800-661-0408 ext. 5223

Written comments are invited until August 13, 2010

The NCE Steering Committee invites Letters of Intent (LOI) for the 2011 Competition for new NCE-KM networks that will address critical issues of scientific, intellectual, social, economic and/or cultural significance in areas of strategic importance for Canada. Approximately $1.2 million per year will be available to support NCE-KM networks. Successful networks will be awarded up to $400,000 per year for four years, with a possible three-year extension.

The LOI submission must be received by the NCE Secretariat by September 15, 2010, 4:30 p.m., Eastern Daylight Time (EDT). Based on a review of all LOIs, selected applicants will be invited to submit a Full Application in April 2011.

Documents

• Letter of Intent (LOI) Guide
• Letter of Intent (LOI) Application Form (Excel – 144 KB)

Should you have any questions or inquiries regarding the NCE-KM competition, please contact:

Sara Esam
Senior Program Manager
Tel.: 613-996-2335
E-mail: Sara.Esam@nce-rce.gc.ca

The Provincial Government is inviting input from current students and graduates of private training institutions on the Private Training Institutions Act and Regulations, with a series of public sessions scheduled for July. The Honourable Darin King, Minister of Education, provided details on the consultations today, as part of a review to ensure that the legislation is current, relevant and effective. In addition to consultations with students and graduates, consultations are occurring through meetings with other stakeholders including private training institutions, funding agencies and professionals licensing bodies.

“We want to ensure that the legislation for the private college sector allows for progress in the industry, while supporting quality programs and an appropriate level of protection for students’ investments,” said Minister King. “Our government is taking this proactive step in reviewing the legislation to ensure it meets these needs.”

As the review relies on the input of those who have experience with private training institutions, four consultation sessions will be held in regions of the province where private training institutions currently exist. The schedule is as follows:

• St. John’s (Capital Hotel): July 20, 5:30 – 7:30 p.m.
• Marystown (Marystown Hotel): July 21, 5:30 – 7:30 p.m.
• Grand Falls-Windsor (Mount Peyton Hotel): July 27, 5:30 – 7:30 p.m.
• Corner Brook (Greenwood Inn): July 28, 5:30 – 7:30 p.m.

Any current students or graduates of private training institutions are encouraged to attend a consultation session. To register for a session, individuals can contact the Department of Education at , toll-free at 1-877-771-3737, or via e-mail: jenniferlear@gov.nl.ca. Alternatively, input can be provided via e-mail by visiting www.gov.nl.ca/edu.

“Input from those who have been educated through private training institutions is vital to this review process,” said Minister King. “We encourage current and past students to provide input during the consultations to ensure an effective Act.”

The consultations will invite feedback on areas such as registration of new institutions, monitoring, student protection as well as program and instructor approvals.

The current Private Training Institutions Act and Regulations can be accessed via the following link: www.assembly.nl.ca/legislation/sr/statutes/p25.htm

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Media contact:
Tara Power
Director of Communications
Department of Education
709-729-0048, 727-5953
tarapower@gov.nl.ca

Review of Management of Property Tax Exemptions, Abatements, Discounts and Penalties in Relation to Education Property Tax

		Discussion Paper: Review of Management of Property Tax Exemptions, Abatements, Discounts and Penalties in Relation to Education Property Tax (PDF 153 KB)

Health and Community Services
June 18, 2010

New legislation passed through the House of Assembly this week will improve public protection and patient safety by providing for the regulation of a number of health professions, including many that are not currently regulated. The Health Professions Act will establish an umbrella model of governance that brings a number of professions together with shared accountability for professional regulation while maintaining their own identities.

“Our government is committed to providing quality, reliable and safe access to health care throughout the province,” said the Honourable Jerome Kennedy, Minister of Health and Community Services. “The new legislation will provide professional regulation that will ensure protection of the public through the establishment of consistent licensing, quality assurance and discipline processes. Under this new legislation, medical laboratory technologists, acupuncturists, audiologists, dental hygienists, midwives, respiratory therapists, and speech language pathologists will now be regulated.”

Consultations with those professions seeking regulation, aboriginal groups, women’s organizations, other jurisdictions and the Regional Health Authorities were held between November 2009 and January 2010. These consultations guided the drafting of the act and there was significant support expressed for the model of regulation proposed.

Minister Kennedy noted that the regulation of medical laboratory technologists, one of the professions included under the legislation, is consistent with the recommendations contained within the Commission of Inquiry on Hormone Receptor Testing Report, written by Justice Margaret Cameron.

“Our government continues to look at health regulation from a new and different perspective – one that focuses on transparency of the professions, accountability to the public and development of quality assurance programs,” said Minister Kennedy. “This new legislation responds to the concerns of a variety of health disciplines with respect to regulation, as well as addresses the regulation of medical laboratory technologists as recommended by Justice Cameron.”

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Media contact:
Tansy Mundon
Director of Communications
Department of Health and Community Services
709-729-1377, 685-2646
TansyMundon@gov.nl.ca

Value assessment now online
Edmonton… A new report shows that building schools through a public-private partnership (P3) provided good value for Alberta taxpayers, with the schools being built sooner and at a lower cost than through traditional methods.

A value for money assessment and project report for the 18 new schools built in Calgary and Edmonton through a P3 is now available on the Alberta Education website.

The report shows that “the processes that the government uses to assess P3 opportunities demonstrate value for money,” as discussed in the April 2010 Report of the Auditor General on the &nbspAlberta Schools Alternative Procurement (ASAP I) project.

The Alberta government saved $97 million over 32 years, in today’s dollars, compared to a traditional approach by using a P3 to design, build, finance and maintain the 18 new schools. This amounts to a 13 per cent savings, or an investment of $634 million instead of $731 million.

The cost savings and earlier completion were due to:

On June 1 the Government of Alberta announced that the schools were delivered to school boards in under two years, one month sooner than contracted.

http://education.alberta.ca/media/1320820/asapip3valueformoneyassessmentandprojectreport.pdf

Although there are many great things happening in our Northwest Territories’ (NWT) schools we are always striving to be better. To ensure the NWT education system continues to improve the learning outcomes for all students, I have instituted this Directive to ensure we have a continual and relevant planning process, evidence-based and student-focussed, that will ensure our work is contributing to a better result.
The Ministerial School Improvement and Reporting Directive and Framework provides direction to support schools in this ongoing endeavour. It outlines a collaborative planning model with a strong focus on learning and ensuring quality teaching continues to occur in every classroom in the NWT. The directive and framework is building on current school success initiatives and is expected to generate ideas leading to more effective practice. It acknowledges the challenges faced by educators and relies on the leadership and professional competence they bring to the classroom. It also recognizes the pivotal role of parents and communities in improving learning outcomes. The School Improvement and Reporting Directive and Framework is designed to be used in ways which best meet the needs of schools and communities in identifying their planning priorities. As always our work is underpinned by the needs of our students in order to make them successful, contributing members of our Northern society.

June 11, 2010

FREDERICTON (CNB) – A discussion paper for public feedback has been released by the Department of Education in advance of the minister’s summit on bullying in schools.

More than 100 students, parents, and educators have been invited to meet in Fredericton on Thursday, June 17, for the summit.

“The discussion paper represents the starting point for the summit’s discussion on bullying,” said Education Minister Roland Haché. “Our response to bullying must go beyond the classroom. Preventing bullying is a shared responsibility between the school system, parents and the community.”

The goal of the summit is to have an open and informed discussion on bullying and how it is addressed in the school system. Issues for discussion include:

• what are the challenges facing students, teachers, parents, local law enforcement and the local community in addressing bullying?
• should the Department of Education define bullying or provide guidelines on what is considered bullying?
• how will we know that efforts to address bullying are effective?
• how can students, schools, parents, community organizations and local law enforcement work together to make schools safer?
• how can students, parents, community organizations and local law enforcement help schools address bullying that happens in the community outside the school and school hours, but impacts on the school environment?
• how can the Department of Education, school districts, and schools work collaboratively to better communicate with students, teachers, parents, other school personnel, and the local community about what is being done in our schools and what are our shared roles and responsibilities in addressing and preventing bullying in our schools?

The summit will be broken into a morning and afternoon sessions with two different panel discussions.

The discussion paper will remain on the Department of Education website for two weeks after the summit to allow enough time for people to submit comments. Panel presentations will also be videotaped and posted to the department’s website.

LINK:

• Department of Education: www.gnb.ca/education