Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker.

I MOVE, seconded by the honourable Member for Yellowknife Centre, that Bill 7, Powers of Attorney Act, be read for the second time.

Mr. Speaker, this bill extends the legal scope of powers of attorney to provide a person with greater ability to plan for the management of his or her financial affairs in the event of certain contingencies, such as his or her mental incapacity, and to avoid the possibility of legal proceedings relating to trusteeship orders.

Some of the key provisions of this bill are concerned with:

• • Permitting a power of attorney to come into force or to continue in force on the mental incapacity of the person who made it;
• • Determining whether the specified contingency on which a power of attorney is to come into force has occurred;
• • Clarifying the powers and duties of an attorney;
• • Setting out the formal requirements for making a power of attorney; and
• • Providing the person who wished to make a power of attorney with information about the implications of doing so.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.