Madam Speaker, at the end of January, the Honourable Lloyd Axworthy, the federal Minister of Human Resource Development, made an announcement on income security reform in the House of Commons. He highlighted the need to restructure the unemployment insurance program and the Canada assistance plan. He also stated the importance of enhancing child care, ensuring basic income security for those in need and improving education and training opportunities for social assistance recipients.

Our government has already begun developing a new approach to income security so that we can use social assistance dollars to invest in people. Many people on social assistance are capable of working and need counselling, upgrading, training and work experience to help them access jobs and become more self-sufficient. We are developing pilot projects with communities and the federal government which we hope will begin in the next fiscal year.

The reform process will take a great deal of commitment if it is to be meaningful. However, the current system was designed in the mid-1940s and is no longer relevant for Canadians. It must be changed, and we will have to devote the needed resources to this project to ensure that the reforms satisfy the unique needs of the Northwest Territories. Following this announcement, a joint meeting of federal/provincial/territorial Labour Market and Social Services Ministers was held in Ottawa, of which I attended, to plan the reform process.

I have just returned from the meeting and was extremely pleased with the outcome. All jurisdictions are committed to the process of national income security reform, and are actively involved in the process of change. Pilot projects have already started in Quebec and New Brunswick to test innovative new approaches to income security and job creation. We have a lot to learn from the work that is going on across the country, but I am confident the approach we have undertaken is consistent with those of other jurisdictions and will allow us to continue existing cost-sharing arrangements with the federal government.

The joint Ministers' meeting resulted in a consensus on the need for reform. An agreement was reached on a cooperative approach to changing the structure of the national safety net. A wide range of activities are planned over the course of the next few months. A steering committee of all federal/provincial/territorial deputy ministers has been established to develop the scope, the principles and the time frame for the reform process. Their work will be done in the next month.

The federal budget scheduled for next week is expected to propose changes to regulations to allow for flexibility in developing and testing innovative cost-shared pilot projects between the different levels of government.

Further, a series of ministerial meetings have been scheduled. The first will be a meeting of education and labour market Ministers held at the end of February to explore the school-to-work transition, to discuss the national apprenticeship program, and to consider additional training initiatives for our workforce.

A second meeting will be held at the end of April to review the work of the deputy ministers' steering committee and to consider recommendations from a task force of eminent Canadians established by Mr. Axworthy. A half-day consultation session has been scheduled to deal specifically with aboriginal issues related to income security. The meeting will result in a plan of action for public input and consultation prior to making legislative and policy changes.

A third meeting will occur in the fall of 1994 and will follow a series of public forums and consultations on a range of potential options. At that point, the federal Minister will involve the provincial/territorial Ministers in making decisions on the development and implementation of new employment and social security legislation to take effect in 1995-96.

Madam Speaker, discussions also have to take place with the federal government over the next few months to work out a suitable process for public participation in all jurisdictions. I am pleased to advise that Mr. Axworthy has agreed to negotiate bilaterally to eliminate overlap and duplication between all levels of government. We will be proposing the idea of co-locating the administrative staff of the federal and territorial governments to more appropriately serve the people of the Northwest Territories.

Madam Speaker, we must be involved in this change and I am confident that we will be able to influence it. My colleague, the Honourable Rebecca Mike, and I will be tabling a discussion paper later this session to outline our approach and the process of income security reform for the Northwest Territories. We would like to again extend the offer to brief the legislative Caucus on the proposed initiative, and we are committed to further involve MLAs and the public in determining the new direction for income support.

Madam Speaker, I intend to continue to participate in the national discussions as they develop, and I will keep the House informed of progress made at the territorial and federal levels. Thank you, Madam Speaker.

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