Mr. Chairman, the bill before you today contains a proposed amendment to the Maintenance Act to allow common-law spouses to apply for support payments.

Under the Maintenance Act a judge may order one spouse to pay maintenance to the other spouse. In a decision of the Northwest Territories Supreme Court in October 1991, the word "spouse" was interpreted by the court to exclude a common-law spouse. The proposed amendment to the Maintenance Act would allow applications for support for common-law spouses to be brought during the relationship or within two years of the break-up of the relationship.

Although the Department of Justice is developing draft legislation on broad reforms to family law, there has been more urgency in the call for reform on this support issue. Under the proposed amendment to the Maintenance Act, a man or a woman who has been cohabiting with a partner for at least two years may apply for spousal support. If the partners have not been living together for a full two years, but have a child together and are living in a relationship of some permanence, then a partner may also apply for spousal support.

Under the bill, a common-law spouse would have two years from the date of separation to start an application for support. This is to provide a common-law spouse with enough time to decide whether support is necessary and also to provide some certainty for a spouse who may not know whether a former spouse will claim a right to support. The bill would also allow common-law spouses to enter into written agreements so that the new support obligations would not apply to them. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.