Mr. Evaloarjuk had indicated earlier that he was not getting the interpretation. Mr. Todd, please start again from line one.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I am pleased to be here today to introduce the Division Measures Act. This bill, Mr. Chairman, and its companion bills, the Nunavut Statutes Replacement Act, and the Nunavut Statutes Amendment Act, are essential legislative initiatives to allow for a smooth transition to division.

Part 1 of this bill can be divided into two main types of amendments. The first deals primarily with Northwest Territories professional associations that have expressed a desire for their associations to maintain a relationship between their Northwest Territories and Nunavut members after division. These amendments have resulted after extensive consultation with professional organizations to review their post-division options.

The result was that nurses, chartered accountants, certified general accountants, management accountants and NAPEGG, the association representing engineers, geologist and geophysicists, all expressed a desire for their associations to maintain a regulatory role in Nunavut.

Mr. Chairperson, these amendments will allow these associations to continue to regulate their professions in both territories until there are sufficient numbers in Nunavut to warrant the creation of a separate professional organization.

Once this has occurred, Mr. Chairperson, these amendments provide for the assets and liabilities of the current association to be divided on a pro rata basis or, in most cases, any alternate formula that is agreed upon. This bill will ensure that the regulation of professions designed to protect the interests of the public and the professions themselves continue without interruption in both territories.

Mr. Chairperson, the second section of Part 1 deals generally with the consequences that arise with the division of the NWT on April 1, 1999. I want to go briefly through these amendments.

Amendments to the Legislative Assembly Retiring Allowances Act and the Supplementary Retiring Allowances Act will provide for the establishment of an advisory body to make recommendations to the Management and Services Boards of both territories respecting the administration of the Legislative Assembly Retiring Allowances Funds.

Changes to the Payroll Tax Act are designed to ensure that employees are not subject to double taxation by the two territories after division.

The Charter Communities Act has been amended to provide that the act will not apply in Nunavut; this will prevent the duplication of the act in Nunavut.

The Interpretation Act has been amended through the addition of definitions of 'province' and 'territory' for the sake of greater clarity.

The Statute Revision Act has amendments which will allow statute revisions prepared for the NWT to include statutory material enacted before March 31, 1999, in order that it can coincide with the deadline for the completion of the consolidated Statutes of Nunavut, 1999.

Finally, the Education Act has been changed to enable one conseil scolaire francophone to ask the Minister to establish a commission scolaire francophone de division.

In closing, Mr. Chairperson, I want to commend the work that has been done by the GNWT's Department of Justice and professional associations in the development of this legislation. As well, I would like to point out the important role of the Office of the Interim Commissioner and the Nunavut Tunngavik in the companion bills. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

Thank you, Mr. Todd. I would like to recognize now the Member of the Standing Committee on Government Operations, which reviewed the bill, Mr. O'Brien, for their reply.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, the Standing Committee on Government Operations reviewed Bill 17, Division Measures Act, at its meetings on November 16 and 17, 1998. The committee would like to thank the Honourable John Todd and his officials for presenting the bill and responding to the issues raised by the committee.

Bill 17 would amend several acts and regulations so they may be duplicated in effect for both the Northwest Territories and Nunavut after division. The bill also amends some acts that will not be duplicated. Instead, a new act for Nunavut, corresponding to the NWT act, is included in Bill 16, Nunavut Statutes Replacement Act, together with the amendments in the two bills allowing several existing professional associations to continue to regulate their professions in both the Northwest Territories and Nunavut after division. The associations may choose to divide at any time. Any assets and liabilities at that time will be divided as set out in the act, unless the Nunavut members and the NWT members agree otherwise. Generally, the divisions of assets and liabilities will be based on the ratio of members in each territory. As well, this bill would amend the Legislative Assembly Retiring Allowances Act to allow Nunavut and the future Northwest Territories to establish an advisory body to make recommendations to the management and services board of each territory with respect to the administration of the Retiring Allowances Funds. That act and the Supplementary Retiring Allowances Act will be amended to clarify that Nunavut members have the same entitlements to pensions as the western members.

As well, under the proposed amendments to the Statute Revision Act, the Statute Revision Act will be moved back to include all acts enacted up to March 31, 1999, rather than those up to July 1, 1998. Mr. Chairman, some technical amendments were made to the bill in the committee. Otherwise, Members of the standing committee were satisfied that the amendments proposed in this bill are appropriate to be made in preparation for division. This concludes the Standing Committee's comments on Bill 17, Division Measures Act. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

Thank you, Mr. O'Brien. Following the process, I would like to ask the honourable Minister Todd if he would like to bring in witnesses before we get into general comments. Mr. Todd.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

Thank you. Do we have concurrence of the Membership to allow Mr. Todd to bring in the witnesses. Agreed?

Agreed.

Proceed please. Thank you. Mr. Todd is obliged by the rules to introduce the witnesses to the committee. Mr. Todd.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. On my immediate right is Mr. Mark Aitken from the Legislative Division of the Justice Department. To my immediate left is Mr. Richard Bargery, who is in charge of the Division Secretariat. Thank you.

Welcome to the committee. We are reviewing Bill 17, Division Measures Act, and the floor is now open for general comments. Detail, according to procedure, we will stand down clauses one to 12 and return to those once the schedules have been considered and agreed to. We will start with page four, schedule A of Bill 17, part 1, Amendments to Legislative Assembly Retiring Allowances Act, item 1. Agreed?

Agreed.

Item 2. Agreed?

Agreed.

Item 3. Agreed?

Agreed.

Thank you. Item 4. Agreed?

Agreed.

Item 5. Agreed?

Agreed.

Thank you. Part 2, Amendments to Supplementary Retiring Allowances Act, item 6. Agreed?

Agreed.

Thank you. Page 6, item 7. Agreed?

Agreed.