Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to provide a bit more clarification on how we are proceeding with this particular bill. Clearly the government has a legal and moral obligation to the widows since or after April 17, 1985. The purpose of this bill is to give to those widows what they rightfully deserve and what the Workers' Compensation Board owes to them. We intend to deal with that immediately.

With regard to the widows who re-married prior to the equality provisions in the Charter of Rights, there are many questions outstanding yet, in my mind, in terms of the precedent we may set in however we may choose to resolve this. Whether it is through a settlement as the Prairie Provinces have done, or whatever the route is that we choose.

The fact is that the widows who re-married after 1985 should not be asked to wait until all of the questions have been resolved. I think we can deal with that group of people. With regard to the widows who re-married before 1985, it is my intention to seek answers to the outstanding questions and then try to resolve this issue as expediently as possible.

I should also add the money we are dealing with here, paying out the widows, is not government or public money. This is money that will come from contributions that employers have made to the Workers' Compensation Board. It is really money that belongs to the workers. This is not an issue that we can deal with very lightly because it is not the public money we are dealing with in this case. We have to tread very carefully and be thorough in whatever direction we take. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.