Thank you, Madam Chairperson. Bill 19 provides the Northwest Territories minimum wage will be the baseline in calculating the overtime and holiday pay for commissioned workers. Previously, the act dictated the Labour Standards Board to calculate overtime in a manner that could be seen to be unfair to employers. This act will change that. The act will also have the effect of ensuring that all commissioned workers receive at least minimum wage for hours worked. The Standing Committee on Social Programs held a public hearing on Bill 19, An Act to Amend the Labour Standards Act, on June 28, 1999. In addition to the public hearing, the standing committee also solicited written responses from identified stakeholders.
Organized labour has responded that they have no major concerns with Bill 19. The standing committee did identify one concern with the original amendments contained in Bill 19. Under the current Labour Standards Act, pay for statutory public holiday is calculated by taking an average of the commissioned workers' daily pay for the previous four weeks. The proposed amendments contained in Bill 19 would base pay on whatever the current minimum wage is in the Northwest Territories. This would have the effect of analyzing commissioned workers who earn more than minimum wage to their commissions. The committee has proposed that the government prepare an amendment to continue the practise of basing statutory holiday pay on the daily average for the commissioned worker over the last four weeks. The average would not be less than the minimum wage for the Northwest Territories.
During the review of Bill 19, committee Members did note that it would be necessary to make major amendments to the Labour Standards Act in the near future as the act is old and out of date with practices in other Canadian jurisdictions. The Members of the Standing Committee on Social Programs had no other concerns with Bill 19. Individual Members may have questions or concerns as we proceed. Thank you, Madam Chairperson.