In accordance with section 42(2) of the Legislative Assembly and Executive Council Act, I wish to table the Policies of the Board of Management in Respect to the Indemnities and Allowances payable to Members.

And further, in accordance with Section 42(3) of the act, I wish to table all the other policies of the Board of Management. I would like to indicate that these policies are also available to the public on the Legislative Assembly's web site. Thank you.

Item 13, tabling of documents. Item 14, notices of motion. Item 15, notices of motion for the first reading of bills. Item 16, motions. The honourable Member for Frame Lake, Mr. Dent.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker,

WHEREAS the closure of Giant Mine has had a devastating effect on former employees and the City of Yellowknife;

AND WHEREAS Royal Oak Mines made no effort to be a responsible employer, and ensure that severance for all employees and pension entitlements for hourly employees were in place;

AND WHEREAS Royal Oak Mines under funded the workers' pension funds, which will result in a 25 percent cut to the retirees' pensions as of April 1, 2000;

AND WHEREAS this corporate pension under funding is permitted under the federal Pension Benefits Act;

AND WHEREAS a negotiated arrangement, in which a federal government department played a role by allowing these circumstances to continue;

AND WHEREAS the cuts to the pensions and severance payments for former Giant Mine workers will adversely affect these individuals, their families and the community as a whole;

AND WHEREAS federal legislation provides little or no relief for protection to the former employees of Giant Mine, or any other Canadian workers who are adversely affected by corporate closures and bankruptcies;

NOW THEREFORE I MOVE, seconded by the honourable Member for Yellowknife South, that this Legislative Assembly urges the Government of Canada to take immediate action to provide the full earned pension entitlement and severance due former employees and pensioners of Royal Oak Giant Mine, as of the date of the mine's closure.

AND FURTHER, that this Legislature request the Government of Canada to amend the Pension Benefits Act and the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act to protect the rights and interest of all Canadian workers, so that this unfair and unacceptable situation does not occur again. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Dent. The motion is in order. To the motion. The honourable Member for Frame Lake, Mr. Dent.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I would like to urge all Members of this House to vote in favour of this motion. Mr. Speaker, former workers at Giant Mine were notified in mid-February that the pension fund for hourly workers was under funded. That means that as of April 1, 2000, former workers will lose approximately 25 percent of their pension.

Mr. Speaker, this affects 59 workers immediately, and many more who will be affected as they retire. These pension cutbacks will also impact on widows who are beneficiaries of their late husbands' pensions. Mr. Speaker, as this was a non-contributory pension fund, the union had no control over it and no information on the status of the fund.

As well as the pension, Mr. Speaker, there is the issue of the 250 workers who were laid off in October of 1999, who have not yet received a severance package. Mr. Speaker, the way these people have been treated by their former employers is absolutely disgraceful. I think the federal government should be ashamed that their legislation continues and sanctions this treatment.

Mr. Speaker, I hope that with this motion, the federal government will consider the importance of changing federal bankruptcy, labour, and pension laws to ensure that this does not happen to other workers in Canada. There is another issue that brings this even further into focus. I recently became aware, Mr. Speaker, that in 1997, Royal Oak Pension Committee invested funds in Royal Oak shares even though the company was already in trouble at the time. The workers had no idea that this was happening. I think that this indicates that we really do need the Government of Canada to have another look at pension fund legislation.

Mr. Speaker, there is broad public support for the action requested by this motion. Recently, a petition bearing more than 1700 signatures was delivered by the Citizens Support Group to Ethel Blondin-Andrew, and to NDP labour critic Pat Martin.

Mr. Speaker, as you know, Members for Yellowknife, at their constituents meeting, heard from a number of former workers at Giant Mine, how this is going to affect them personally. I think we were all moved by Mary Kosta's action in support of the workers with her hunger strike.

Mr. Speaker, because DIAND facilitated the sale of Giant Mine to Miramar Mine, and knew that the pension fund was under-funded, I believe that the federal government should take some responsibility as requested in this motion, in making up the shortfall. Mr. Speaker, I would urge all Members of this House to vote in favour of this motion. If we can demonstrate unanimous support, perhaps the Ministers responsible, Jim Peterson, who is Secretary of State for Financial Institutions, and Robert Nault, who is the Minister responsible for the Department of Indian Affairs and Northern Development, will do the right thing and provide the members of this association, the former workers at Royal Oak Giant Mine, with the support that they deserve. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Dent. To the motion. The honourable Member for Yellowknife South, Mr. Bell.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I, too, would like to urge all Members to vote in favour of this motion here today. I think that we have all seen the federal government drag their feet on this issue for too long. I think sometimes governments get caught up in being too worried about setting precedent, and how this will affect other bankruptcies in the future, and I do not think that we can look to that. I think that we have to take some action now.

I think that we also have to see workers come to the front of the line in bankruptcy situations. There are serious flaws in our bankruptcy legislation, and we need to address them. The workers have poured their blood, sweat and tears into this community and into this country. They are about to receive a 25 percent reduction in their pensions. I think it is disgraceful.

I think we have to urge the federal government to take action and take action now. I would also like to ask for a recorded vote. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Bell. To the motion. The honourable Member for Range Lake, Ms. Lee.

Thank you, Ms. Lee. To the motion. The honourable Member for Great Slave, Mr. Braden.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I too support this motion and urge every Member of this Assembly to join in and send a signal to Ottawa, and support our Member of Parliament in her efforts. It is also apparent, Mr. Speaker, that the clock is ticking. The federal government has a year-end coming up in just four short days. My understanding is that is very significant to some actions that could be taken. I hope that once this Assembly does pass this motion, it is transmitted to Ottawa post-haste, and lends our voice to any action they can take.

I would also like to address, Mr. Speaker, along with this very disturbing issue, the other legacies of the Giant Mine that are left in the wake of the bankruptcy. Definitely the pension issue and the unfairness to those employees is number one on the list. There is another significant one that is still unresolved and that is the matter of layoff notice, as described not only in our own labour laws, but in contracts that the miners had, which are still unresolved.

Mr. Speaker, there are hundreds of creditors in Yellowknife, the Northwest Territories and Canada who were left holding the bag when Royal Oak was forced to close. Our own city has already dealt with the matter of a very large back-tax bill. Our own government has an exposure of about $1.7 million on bad debt to the Northwest Territories Power Corporation that will never be resolved.

Mr. Speaker, my colleague, Ms. Lee, has already addressed the yet unresolved legacy of the surface and the underground cleanup. We are still engaged with our own Workers' Compensation Board in action regarding the widows of the blast several years ago.

Mr. Speaker, the legacy of Giant Mine is something that will continue to haunt this community and this Assembly. Let us deal with it responsibly and compassionately. We will have more on our plate over the coming years. I am confident of that. We are doing the right thing today with our action on behalf of the pensioners. Once again, I speak in support of the motion. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Braden. To the motion. Question has been called. Mr. Dent.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I do not have a lot to add. I would like to thank the Members who have spoken in favour of this motion. Again, I would urge all Members to make this a unanimous motion. I would like to reiterate the call for a recorded vote, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Dent. Question has been called. The Member is requesting a recorded vote. Mr. Clerk. All those in favour, please rise.

All those opposed? Abstentions? The results of the vote are 17 in favour. There are no nays and no abstentions. The motion is carried unanimously.

-- Applause

Item 16, motions. The honourable Member for Frame Lake, Mr. Dent.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker,

I MOVE, seconded by the honourable Member for Weledeh, that the Speaker is authorized to set such sitting days and hours as the Speaker, after consultation, deems fit to assist with the business before the House. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Dent. There is a motion on the floor. The motion is in order. To the motion. Question has been called. All those in favour? All those opposed? The motion is carried. Item 16, motions. Item 17, first reading of bills. Item 18, second reading of bills.

Item 19, consideration in committee of the whole of bills and other matters. Minister's Statement 1-14(2), Sessional Statement; Tabled Document 14-14(2), our Communities, Our Decisions: Let's Get on With It!; Bill 1, An Act to Amend the Education Act; Bill 3, An Act to Amend the Financial Administration Act; Bill 6, Interim Appropriation Act, 2000-2001; Committee Report 2-14(2), Accountability and Oversight on the 2000-2001 Interim Appropriation; Committee Report 3-14(2), Governance and Economic Development on the 2000-2001 Interim Appropriation; and Committee Report 4-14(2), Social Programs on the 2000-2001 Interim Appropriation.

Prior to going into committee, by the authority given the Speaker by Motion 13-14(2), the committee of the whole may sit past adjournment until it is prepared to report. Item 19, consideration in committee of the whole of bills and other matters, with Mr. Krutko in the chair.

I would like to call the committee to order. We are reviewing a number of items in committee of the whole at this time, I would like to ask, what is the wish of the committee? Mr. Dent.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, I would like to recommend that we continue consideration of Bill 6, Committee Report 2-14(2), Committee Report 3-14(2), and Committee Report 4-14(2) concurrently, continuing with the consideration of the Department of Resources, Wildlife and Economic Development, as we had started on Friday. We will move on to Transportation, and Education next on the list, in that order.

Thank you, Mr. Dent. Is that the wish of the committee?

At this time, I would like to ask the Minister if wishes to bring in his witnesses?

Yes.

Does the committee agree the Minister can bring in his witnesses?