Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Since this Legislative Assembly was first elected, it has worked hard to foster the development of social and economic life in the Northwest Territories, particularly in the area of human rights.
Once human rights were identified as a priority, our government embarked on a progressive human rights agenda. The first phase of this agenda was to enact the NWT Human Rights Act. As a result, the NWT now has a human rights code in place that is second to none in Canada.
The second phase was to propose amendments to the NWT Public Service Act to provide equal pay for work of equal value to the GNWT public service through Bill 14. This bill will ensure that once the Canadian Human Rights Act no longer applies to the GNWT, that our public servants will continue to maintain equivalent coverage.
Equal pay for work of equal value was designated to prevent systemic discrimination in compensation for work done for an employer by men and women.
I wish to thank the Standing Committee on Accountability and Oversight for their contributions to this bill. Thank you.