Thank you, Madam Chair. The year's maximum insurable remuneration, known as YMIR, is a fundamental element of workers' compensation. It is used to determine benefits payable to an injured worker, as well as the amount of payroll for which an employer will be assessed in any given year.

The YMIR is intended to balance the interest of workers and employers. It ensures that injured workers are adequately compensated and that undue burdens are not placed on the employers. The YMIR is currently set at $47,500.

When a worker becomes entitled to compensation in the NWT, he or she is paid 90 per cent of net earnings for as long as the disability continues. If a worker's net earnings exceed the YMIR, these calculations are based on $47,500.

Employers, meanwhile, are assessed according to their payroll. When a worker receives a salary greater than the YMIR, the employer is only assessed on payroll up to $47,500. Section 52 of the Workers' Compensation Act states that the board must review the YMIR each year. This review is completed according to board policy and a recommendation forwarded to my office.

The YMIR was last amended by the House in 1992. With this proposed increased, the NWT will have the fourth highest YMIR in Canada. Customarily, changes to the YMIR would become effective January 1st. However, with the consent of this House, we intend to increase the benefits to injured workers effective July 1, 1996. An increase to accessible payroll will be delayed until January 1, 1997. The proposed increase will have negligible financial impact on the 1997 assessment rates. Thank you, Madam Chair.