Thank you, Madam Chairperson. The main purpose of this bill and its companion, Bill 23, is to place corporations and limited partnerships that are more closely related to Nunavut than the successor Northwest Territories under the relevant legislation of Nunavut.
This is achieved by deeming business corporations, societies, co-operatives and limited partnerships be no longer incorporated, registered or formed under the NWT legislation on April 1, 1999, when their registered office, locality of operations, general partners or address of service, as the case may be, is in Nunavut. The Nunavut Legislation, as amended by Bill 23, will deem these corporations and limited partnerships to be incorporated, registered or formed under the corresponding Nunavut statutes.
The NWT legislation also provides that these deemed Nunavut entities may continue to operate in the NWT without registration as an extra-territorial corporation or limited partnership until March 31, 2001, during which time their existing rights and liabilities are preserved.
Similarly, the Nunavut legislation provides that the corporations and limited partnerships which remain in the NWT may continue to operate in Nunavut without registration until March 31, 2001. Again, their existing rights and liabilities are preserved during this period of time.
Finally, this bill also includes several more minor amendments to legal registries legislation in order to deal with the consequences of division. In closing, I would like to thank the Members of the standing committee for the review and support of this bill. I would be pleased to respond to any questions or comments which Members may have. Thank you, Madam Chairperson.