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Municipalities will be included in new version of ATIPP Act: Minister

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Louis Sebert, minister responsible for public engagement and transparency, said communities will eventually be brought under the Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act.

The minister responsible for public engagement and transparency says the government plans to apply new access to information laws to municipalities.

Louis Sebert, minister responsible for public engagement and transparency, said communities will eventually be brought under the Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act.

The territorial Access to Information and Protection of Privacy (ATIPP) Act is currently under review.

Louis Sebert confirmed Tuesday afternoon communities will be brought under ATIPP, but could not say when it will happen.

“(The communities) have asked that it be done in a staged manner, so that's what we're looking at,” said Sebert.

A new version is expected to be tabled in the legislature this fall, where it will be debated and voted on by MLAs.

Sebert said the six communities that collect their own municipal taxes will likely be the first to come under the act.

These communities are: Yellowknife, Inuvik, Norman Wells, Fort Simpson, Hay River and Fort Smith.

“We looked at some other jurisdictions and determined that the municipalities, particularly the larger ones, will have the capacity to respond to the questions and inquiries they're likely to receive,” said Sebert.

He said the new access to information law will not apply to Aboriginal governments.

The Northwest Territories Association of Communities has stated most communities don't have the resources to carry out an effective access to information program.

The group that represents the interests of the 33 NWT communities says any plan to apply ATIPP laws to municipalities must come with the necessary resources and training.

The ATIPP Act gives people a legal right to obtain information held by the territorial government.

It also outlines how governments may use personal information and provides for independent oversight by the information and privacy commissioner.

The Northwest Territories is one of four jurisdictions in Canada where municipalities are not bound by provincial or territorial ATIPP laws.

Elaine Keenan Bengts, the NWT's information and privacy commissioner, has been calling on the territorial government to expand territorial ATIPP legislation to the communities for close to 20 years.

Sebert said it's the duty of government to grant its citizens access to information held by public bodies.

“There is so much information out there and it is the responsibility of government to respond to citizens' needs – to have open, accessible and accountable government – and part of that is access to information,” he said.

Sebert said it is too early to say whether the territory would provide additional funding to the communities to help them implement formal access to information systems.