Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, the Special Committee on Nunavut Legislation's review of Bill 26, the Nunavut Workers' Compensation Statutes Amendment Act, had its meeting on December 4, 1998. The committee would like thank the Honourable Goo Arlooktoo and the Honourable John Todd and their officials for presenting the bill and responding to issues raised by the committee.
Mr. Chairman, Bill 26 amends the Nunavut version of the Workers' Compensation Act. The NWT has the legislative authority to amend laws for Nunavut under section 76.05 of the Nunavut Act. As required by that act, the Interim Commissioner has recommended this bill to the Northwest Territories Legislative Assembly and NTI has confirmed that it was consulted with respect to the bill and the bill is appropriate for Nunavut.
The amendments will allow the NWT Workers' Compensation Board and appeals tribunal to function as the board and appeals tribunal for Nunavut during the transition period from April 1, 1999 to December 31, 2002. Corresponding amendments will be made to the Northwest Territories Workers' Compensation Act by Bill 25, the Workers' Compensation Division Measures Act.
Bill 26 authorizes the Minister to enter into a transitional service agreement with the Northwest Territories. The agreement will set terms and conditions under which the Northwest Territories Workers' Compensation Board and appeal tribunal will carry out their duties in Nunavut. Mr. Chairman, the agreement must also set out how the assets and liabilities of the board will be determined when the agreement has ended and how the assets and liabilities will be divided between the NWT and Nunavut. When the agreement ends, the assets and liabilities must be divided as set out in the agreement. The transitional service agreement will last until at least December 31, 2002. As long as the transitional service agreement provides for it, the board may administer the Northwest Territories and Nunavut accident funds as if they were a single accident fund.
Over the transitional period, the assessments, costs, and payments paid into and out of the fund will be tracked for each territory. Bill 26 also makes consequential amendments to the Nunavut Public Service Act to ensure that employees of the board are not considered to be members of the Nunavut public service. The employees will continue to be members of the NWT Public Service until the transitional agreement ends. At that time, the transitional agreement provides that employees in Nunavut will be transferred to the Nunavut board, with their seniority and benefits protected.
Mr. Chairman, the special committee recognizes that the arrangement is the result of the extensive negotiations between the Interim Commissioner, NTI, GNWT and the Western Coalition. The transitional agreement is clearly necessary to ensure stability while two new governments continue their discussions to allow for a fair division of assets and liabilities and to enable Nunavut to establish its own Workers' Compensation Board. The special committee supports this bill Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, Members of the committee may have additional comments on the bill as we proceed.
This concludes the special committee's comments on Bill 26 and Nunavut Workers' Compensation Statutes Amendment Act. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
