Thank you, Madam Chair. I am pleased to introduce Bill 14, Employment Standards Act. The purpose of this legislation is to modernize the statutory framework for employment standards in the Northwest Territories. To that end, this bill proposes to replace the Labour Standards Act, the Employment Agencies Act and the Wages Recovery Act with comprehensive legislation for employment standards.

This bill is based primarily on consultation that was conducted with the public in late 2004 by the Department of Justice. The department received feedback from different stakeholders, including GNWT departments, employers and employer organizations, labour organizations and individual stakeholders. The general consensus of stakeholders was that the regulatory framework for employment standards in the Northwest Territories was in need of change.

The proposed bill is substantively similar to existing legislation with regard to the regulation of employment standards and employment agencies. In addition, the bill:

• • exempts certain employers and employees, or classes of employers and employees, from the general provisions of the act, by regulation;
• • incorporates provisions respecting the employment of young persons;
• • establishes new days of rest requirements;
• • allows employees to receive lieu time with pay instead of overtime where the employer agrees;
• • provides for the establishment of a minimum wage, by regulation;
• • requires that employees be granted an annual vacation with vacation pay within six months after the first year of employment;
• •
• • establishes the right of employees to unpaid compassionate leave, bereavement leave, sick leave and court leave;
• • requires that employers give advance notice of termination to affected employees and their trade union where large numbers of employees are to be terminated at one time;
• • establishes a new complaints process and provides for the resolution of complaints by an employment standards officer;
• • establishes a new appeal process by which individual adjudicators hear appeals of decisions made by the employment standards officer;
• • establishes the priority of employee wages over other claims against an employer to a maximum amount of $7,500 per employee; and
• • restricts access to information provided under the act that could identify the parties to a complaint or appeal.

Madam Chair, I would like to thank the members of the Standing Committee on Social Programs for their assistance and constructive suggestions to improve the bill. I trust that the members of the committee will agree that a new Employment Standards Act is necessary to provide a modern, clear and coherent regulatory framework for employment standards in the Northwest Territories.

I will be pleased to answer any questions the members of this committee may have.