Community Government Toolkit
SUMMARY OF COMMUNITY GOVERNMENT BYLAW AUTHORITY
MACA has prepared the following tables as a quick reference for community government leaders and staff members on the bylaw authorities found in the Charter Communities Act, the Cities, Towns and Villages Act, the Hamlets Act and the Tåîchô Community Government Act. The bylaw authorities have been divided into the following categories:
- General Bylaw Powers – the general legislative powers of community governments, including information on enforcement.
- Mandatory Bylaws – the bylaws that community governments are required to pass.
- Requisite Bylaws – the bylaws that a community government must pass in certain circumstances.
- Discretionary Bylaws – the bylaws that a community government may choose to pass, but are not required to do so.
- Other Acts Providing Bylaw Authority – the bylaws community governments can pass under other NWT legislation.
- Bylaw-making Procedures – the procedures that community governments must follow when preparing and approving a bylaw.
All of the tables include direct quotes from the noted legislation, except where indicated with “[ ]”. In order to simplify the document, all references to ‘charter community’, ‘hamlet’ and ‘municipal corporation’ have been replaced by the more generic term ‘community government’. Where section numbers are referenced in the quoted sections, the referenced sections have been listed in the following order: Charter Communities Act; Cities, Towns and Villages Act; Hamlets Act or Tåîchô Community Government Act.
Please note, this summary has been prepared for convenience of reference only, and is not a complete representation of the legislation. Users are encouraged to refer to the complete legislation which can be found on the Department of Justice website.