Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I am pleased to be here today to review the Workers' Compensation Division Measures Act with the committee of the whole.
Mr. Chairman, this bill, and its companion legislation, the Nunavut Workers' Compensation Division Measures Act, and the proposed Workers' Compensation Transitional Agreement between the Government of the Northwest Territories and the Interim Commissioner of Nunavut are the result of a long series of negotiations concerning the Workers' Compensation Board. These negotiations included the Government of the Northwest Territories, the Office of the Interim Commissioner, Nunavut Tunngavik Incorporated and the Western Coalition.
As with other Nunavut related bills that have been reviewed by this committee, the amendments being proposed in this bill are being proposed under the unique authority vested in this Legislative Assembly under section 76.05 of the Nunavut Act.
Similarly, these bills have been drafted in cooperation with the Office of the Interim Commissioner, and Nunavut Tunngavik Incorporated. This cooperative approach was formally confirmed with a reading of the Interim Commissioner's letter of recommendations, in this Assembly.
Formal notification of our consultation with NTI was confirmed with a letter from the president of that organization with I tabled in this Assembly.
Mr. Chairman, the specific elements of this bill, and the transitional elements with respect to transitional arrangements for the WCB are the same as Mr. Todd just provided for Bill 25. I will, however, provide similar comments on this bill for the record.
The result was the need to consider a transitional arrangement that would:
*ensure stability of workers' compensation services in both Nunavut and NWT in the short term:
*provide the opportunity for the two new governments to re-examine their relationship with respect to these services to determine if they wish to continue with a shared arrangement;
*set a clear termination date for the joint board;
*allow sufficient time to ensure a fair and equitable division of the assets and liabilities of the current WCB; and;
This agreement, Mr. Chairman, is designed to maintain the status quo in the short term. The transitional period set out in this arrangement will allow both Nunavut and NWT to consult with the stakeholders to determine how workers' compensation services are to be delivered in the future.
Mr. Chairman, the key elements of the transitional arrangement are intended:
*to provide the terms and conditions of how the WCB will operate in Nunavut and the NWT for a transitional period to December 31, 2002;
*to authorize the current Workers' Compensation Board to operate in Nunavut during the transition period;
*to allow the Nunavut Minister responsible for the WCB to nominate two (2) Members to the Board;
*to ensure consultation by the NWT Minister with the Nunavut Minister prior to filling any vacancies that occur on the Appeals Tribunal.
In addition, Mr. Chairman, there are specific provisions in this arrangement that:
*provides for meetings to take place between the Nunavut and NWT Ministers responsible for the WCB in order to complete administrative duties such as receiving the WCB's annual report and corporate plan for tabling in their respective Legislative Assemblies;
*ensures that each party only exercise its authority under the Workers' Compensation Acts with the consent and approval of the other party;
*allows the appointment of statutory officers to fulfil their responsibilities in both territories;
*ensures that WCB employees in Nunavut will remain members of the NWT public service through consequential amendments to the Nunavut Public Service Act;
*ensures that the transfer of WCB employees to the Nunavut agency after the transition period with full successor rights intact;
*provides for the continuation of the accident fund during the transition period as a singularly administered fund;
*authorizes the transfer of a portion of the accident fund to the Nunavut government on request to allow for the creation of a successor Nunavut agency. The amount of this transfer shall be $20 million or 20 per cent of the accident fund, whichever is less;
*that provides for the tracking and recording of individual claims in each new territory, which will serve as a basis for the division of claims and pension liabilities at the end of the transition period;
*that ensures the agreement of the Government of Nunavut to be bound by the terms of the hunters and trappers program with respect to claims arising from it;
*that sets out a formula to divide the assets and liabilities of the WCB in proportion to the benefits and liabilities attributable to each jurisdiction on the termination date; and finally,
*provides dispute resolution mechanism to address any disputes that may arise during the transition period.