Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As Members in this Assembly, we are expected to deal with issues which are of interest to all people of the Northwest Territories. Members' statements give us the opportunity to address specific constituency issues.
Mr. Speaker, a family law review was done in 1988, since it was clear that the Northwest Territories was lagging far behind other jurisdictions in creating modern up-to-date legislation. I know the Special Committee on Health and Social Services feels we cannot wait much longer for changes to legislation and will make recommendations for change.
My major concern, however, over the past five years, Mr. Speaker, has been on property rights for women. There seems to be no guidelines for judges in determining the division of property following divorce. One of my constituents, Mrs. Marie Ruman, who is now dead, came to see me regularly and was persuasive in her arguments that in the area of property rights, Northwest Territories women did not enjoy the same equality as women in other parts of Canada. Other women in recent months have urged me to pursue this issue with government in this Assembly. It is a major issue for women, which is sometimes overshadowed by the more dramatic abuses of women that appear in our newspapers every day. I shall introduce a motion in this Assembly next week urging the government to complete its family law review, and to propose legislation which is up-to-date and reflects modern reality. Thank you.