Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Yes, this bill is part of the family law reform initiative which has been under way for a number of years now, beginning with the work of the Family Law Review Committee. It is one of the four proposed bills currently before the Assembly to update family law in the NWT. The main subject areas covered by the bill are the legal status of children, the parentage of children, custody of and access to children, guardianship of the estates of children and child support. The focus of this bill is on children, recognizing their importance in our lives and in the future of our territories. It recognizes that children have important rights, including the right to be treated equally, whether or not their parents are married. It also recognizes children's rights to be cared for and supported by their parents. The bill stresses that the most important consideration in court decisions on the custody of and access to a child are the best interests of the child with the recognition that differing cultural values and practices must be respected in those decisions.

The Standing Committee on Social Programs conducted a public review of the family law bills this spring and summer. There was a significant response from the public and interested organizations at the public hearings. The standing committee then made recommendations for improvements to the bill resulting in a number of amendments during their clause by clause review in September. One set of amendments replaced part 4 on child support with a number of sections which allow either the use of the recent federal child support guidelines made under the Divorce Act or alternatively allow the territorial government to develop its own guidelines for determining child support. At the request of the standing committee, further proposed amendments have been developed to improve the bill. These will be discussed later today. I would like to thank the Members of the standing committee and their staff for their thorough work on the family law reform package. I also want to thank all those who were involved in this initiative, including members of the public and members of the Family Law Review Committee. I look forward to further discussion on the bill later today, Mr. Chairman. Thank you.