Thank you, Mr. Chairman. The Standing Committee on Accountability and Oversight reviewed Bill 6, National Aboriginal Day Act at its meetings on September 10 and October 22, 2001. The committee would like to thank the Honourable Roger Allen, who appeared before the committee on October 22, 2001 on behalf of the Minister of Justice. The committee would also like to thank officials from the Department of Justice and FMBS for presenting the bill and responding to issues raised by the committee.

Mr. Chairman, the proposed legislation will designate June 21st as National Aboriginal Day. This statutory holiday will recognize the contribution of aboriginal people in the Northwest Territories and will celebrate and honour aboriginal culture. The committee was unanimous in its support for designating National Aboriginal Day as a statutory holiday.

The committee received a copy of a letter dated July 20, 2001 to Minister Antoine, written by the Yellowknife Chamber of Commerce. This letter outlined a concern centered around the cost of both private and public sectors of adding a further paid holiday to the annual calendar.

Mr. Chairman, the committee supported the initiative to designate June 21st as a day to celebrate and honour aboriginal culture. In order to address concerns raised before the committee, a motion to amend the bill, which would have removed one existing statutory holiday, namely the first Monday in August, was proposed. In this fashion, it was thought the bills objectives could be achieved.

The motion to amend was not supported by the Minister and the bill was therefore presented in its original form for consideration. Members look forward to a discussion on these issues during a clause-by-clause consideration of the bill. This concludes the committee's comments on Bill 6, National Aboriginal Day Act. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.