Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I want, Mr. Speaker, to make Members aware that tomorrow, April 28th, is the National Day of Mourning for Workers Killed and Injured on the Job. This year across Canada, workers and their families, as well as representatives of government, agencies and corporations, will join to remember those workers who were injured or killed in the performance of their duties.

In the Northwest Territories last year, 15 workers died while on the job. A total of 11 of those 15 were harvesters, one was a mechanic, one was a dental assistant, one was a construction worker, and one was a miner. It is clear that there are occupational hazards associated with virtually every field of endeavour and we must do all we can to eliminate or minimize those hazards.

Mr. Speaker, work-related injuries and fatalities are occurrences which can be prevented. As legislators, we, in this House, must do all we can to ensure we have occupational health and safety systems that protect the lives and well-being of working people. As elected representatives of our various constituencies, we know the devastating effects that serious injuries and deaths have on the closely-knit communities of the north and recognize the need to create an environment which emphasizes workplace safety to prevent the upheavals which occur in families and communities when workers are injured and cannot continue to be breadwinners.

Mr. Speaker, as the Member who is elected by the Premier to be responsible for the Department of Safety and Public Services, I want to assure Members of this House and the general public that I and my staff are doing all we can with available resources to ensure the regulatory systems concerned with occupational health and safety that we administer are as up to date and reasonable as possible.

Mr. Speaker, I want to say that, as Members, we should remember individuals who have been killed and injured on the job and the effects on their families, friends and communities.

We should also remember that the day of mourning is an opportunity for all of us to renew our commitment to regulate workplace safety fairly and to ensure that workers and employers...

Speaker's Ruling