Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I move seconded by the honourable Member from Aivilik that Bill 3, Family Law be read for the second time. Mr. Speaker, this bill consolidates and reforms family law legislation in the Territories by:

- defining spouse to include both married and common law spouses;

- permitting spouses, by domestic contract, to establish rules, other than those set out in the Bill, governing their respective rights and obligations during the relationship and on its breakdown;

- permitting persons who are not spouses to enter into parental agreements, a form of domestic contract, governing their respective rights and obligations in respect of a child;

- setting out the formal requirements of domestic contracts and the circumstances in which such contracts or their provisions may be disregarded or set aside by a court;

- setting out a person's obligation to provide support for his or her spouse and parents;

- setting out the objectives and considerations to be taken into account by a court in determining the amount, form and duration of support;

- setting out the procedures to apply for, vary and enforce support orders;

- recognizing that each spouse is entitled to an equal share of the value of their family property on the breakdown of their relationship, unless the court is satisfied that an equal division would be unconscionable;

- providing for the calculation that must be paid to the spouse who owns the lease valuable family property in order to ensure an equal division of the value of such property;

- setting out the procedures to apply for, vary and enforce orders respecting a spouse's family property entitlement;

- recognizing that each spouse has an equal right to possession of the family home, regardless of the fact that only one spouse may have an interest in the home;

- protecting a spouse's possessory right in the family home from compromise by precluding the disposition or encumbrance of the home without that spouse's consent or permission of a court;

- providing for the making, variation and enforcement of a court order granting exclusive possession of a family home to one spouse in the appropriate circumstances;

- repealing the Matrimony Property Act.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.