Thank you, Madam Chair. The Standing Committee on Government Operations reviewed Bill 3, Legal Registries Division Measures Act, 1999, at its meetings on March 17 and 19, 1999. The committee would like to thank the Honourable Goo Arlooktoo and his officials for presenting the bill and responding to issues raised by the committee.

This bill would amend four acts dealing with legal registries in preparation for division. The Business Corporations Act is amended to add sections dealing with the registration of corporate mortgages. These new sections are taken from the Companies Act, which will be repealed on March 31, 1999. The new sections will also be repealed when the Personal Property Security Act comes into force as that act will create a new registry system for personal property security interests.

Amendments to the Document Registry Act in this bill and corresponding amendments in the Nunavut Statutes Amendment Act, 1999, will allow a single document registry to be used by both territories until the new personal property registry system is put into place. Amendments to the Personal Property Security Act will be duplicated for both territories to reflect the arrangements being made for the new electronic registry systems.

Finally, the Securities Act will be amended to give both territories more flexibility to implement measures being taken in other jurisdictions and to allow companies to be exempt from filing requirements in Nunavut until the electronic filing system is updated for Nunavut.

This concludes the standing committee's comments on Bill 3, Legal Registries Division Measures Act, 1999. Thank you, Madam Chair.