Mr. Speaker, retirement planning is key to all of our residents’ personal financial health. Our government is committed to helping them make the choices that are right for them to build their own strong, sustainable future.

About 1,000 Northwest Territories residents are members of the Northern Employee Benefits Services Pension Plan. This is a defined-benefit pension plan, similar to the one Government of the Northwest Territories employees have, but for public sector and non-profit employees working throughout the Northwest Territories and Nunavut. There are 38 NWT employers now active in the plan, supporting their staff to make retirement plans that will meet their needs.

These NWT residents deserve to have a modern, viable and financially stable pension plan capable of meeting their retirement needs.

Later today I will introduce legislation to establish this pension plan in NWT law, giving it certainty and permanence. The board of directors and pension committee will have a sound regulatory framework that will guide the administration of the pension plan for many years to come.

This legislation is the result of a unique collaboration between officials from this government, the Government of Nunavut and the Northern Employee Benefits Services Pension Plan. It represents the latest developments in pension plan design and administration and it sets the standard for other jurisdictions to follow. The Nunavut government intends to pass mirror legislation that will provide the same degree of certainty in that jurisdiction.

At this time I wanted to acknowledge and thank my Nunavut counterpart, the Honourable Tom Sammurtok, Minister of Community and Government Services, for the excellent contribution

that his staff made to this project. I also wish to recognize that the development of this legislation could not have been accomplished without timely input and sound practical advice received from the plan’s officials.

The pension plan, supported by this new legislation, will continue to provide many of our constituents with increased comfort and financial security for their retirement planning. As legislators, we will be proud to say that the 17th Legislative Assembly was

able to make a contribution towards those important goals by supporting and enacting this pension legislation. At the appropriate time today, I will introduce Bill 12, Northern Employee Benefits Services Pension Plan Act. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.