Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, the Standing Committee on Legislation met to review Bill 6, An Act to Amend the Workers' Compensation Act, on February 26, 1993 -- is this 1993 or 1994, is it a typo, this is 1994, I'm sure, thanks to our researcher. The committee thanks the Minister and his officials from the Workers' Compensation Board and
the legislative council for presenting this bill and responding to the questions of the Members.
Mr. Chairman, I would also like to thank the committee Members since this was a public forum that we held on the weekend. It was on a Saturday and I appreciated the Members spending some of their time to deal with these bills. The bill amends the definition of the workers for the purpose of the act to include those individuals who are beneficiaries under the land claims agreement. It also sets the annual payment for traditional harvesters covered by the act to be $24,000. Finally, the bill amends the act to allow the Workers' Compensation Board to share information with the Government of the Northwest Territories.
During the public meetings on this bill, the Minister assured the committee that the board would apply a more liberal criteria in dealing with the "principally engaged" definition if this amendment is made. This would enable more harvesters to have more coverage and an increase in the number of claims accepted. The Minister also informed the committee that a memorandum of understanding has been developed between the Department of Renewable Resources and the Workers' Compensation Board which addresses the issue of harvesters coverage. The Minister advised the committee that the MOU is key to the harvesters program and that it governs the administration of the programs and sets out that the board will not arbitrarily change the definition of "principally engaged" in the future.
The committee feels that it is very important for the traditional harvesters to be recognized within the compensation terms. Based on the assurance of the Minister and the MOU between the Department of Renewable Resources and the Workers' Compensation Board, the committee feels that the approach by the Workers' Compensation Board to deal with this pragmatic area is very progressive in that it recognizes the importance of traditional lifestyles to the people of the north and recognizes the need to return to a definition of principally engaged that reflects the spirit of the act.
Further, the committee feels it is important that the improved communication between the board and the government be supported. This bill will amend the legislation to allow the board to share information with the Government of the Northwest Territories as well as with the Government of Canada, the provinces and the Yukon. The amendment promotes effective information sharing and removes barriers to effective team work. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.