Thank you, Mr. Hawkins. We’ll turn it over to the Minister if he has witnesses to bring into the House. Minister Beaulieu.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I do have witnesses.

Thank you, Minister Beaulieu. Does committee agree?

Thank you, committee. Sergeant-at-Arms, if you could please escort the witnesses into the Chamber.

Minister Beaulieu, if you’d be kind enough to introduce your witnesses to the House this evening.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. To my immediate right is deputy minister of Transportation, Russell Neudorf. To my far right is director of airports, Delia Chesworth; and to my left, legislative counsel, Thomas Druyan.

Thank you, Minister Beaulieu. Mr. Druyan, Mr. Neudorf and Ms. Chesworth, thank you for joining us this evening in the House. Committee, we’ll open up Bill 61 to general comments. Is committee prepared to go to detail?

Committee, we’ve got 13 clauses here, so we’ll do them one at a time and then we’ll defer the Bill title to the end. Clause 1.

---Clauses 1 through 13 inclusive agreed

To the bill as a whole.

Is committee agreed that Bill 61, An Act to Amend the Public Airports Act, is ready for third reading?

Thank you, committee. Bill 61 is now ready for third reading. I’d like to thank the Minister this evening here, and Mr. Druyan, Mr. Neudorf and Ms. Chesworth for joining us. Sergeant-at-Arms, if you could please escort the witnesses out.

Thank you, committee. Does committee agree we’re starting Bill 65, An Act to Amend the Safety Act? First I’ll go to the Minister responsible, Mr. Lafferty.

Mahsi, Mr. Chair. I’m pleased to introduce Bill 65, An Act to Amend the Safety Act. Bill 65 proposes several amendments to the Safety Act. The objective of those consultations and this bill is to improve occupational health and safety.

The reasons for the amendments set out in Bill 65 are generally new occupational health and safety regulations have been developed jointly by the Northwest Territories and Nunavut for recommendation to their respective Commissioners where there are insufficient authority in the Safety Act for a small portion of proposed new regulations.

As well, Canada has enacted new Workplace Hazardous Information System legislation, called WHMIS, and amendments to the Safety Act are needed to allow harmonization with the federal legislation.

The treatment of the subject matter in this bill was the focus of extensive consultation over a period of September 2010 to March 2011 between representatives of industry; labour and public in the Northwest Territories and Nunavut were engaged in consultation aimed at reforming the Occupational Health and Safety Regulations.

Mr. Chair, these regulations apply to workplaces other than mines and some aspects of oil and gas operations. The consultation resulted in a report in excess of 1,000 pages and three volumes.

I’m pleased to answer any questions that Members may have pertaining to Bill 65. Mahsi.

Thank you, Minister Lafferty. I’ll ask the chairman responsible for the Standing Committee on Economic Development and Infrastructure, Mr. Hawkins.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. The Standing Committee on Economic Development and Infrastructure held its public review of Bill 65, An Act to Amend the Safety Act, on September 17, 2015. The committee thanks the Minister and his staff for presenting the bill.

Bill 65 amends the Safety Act to harmonize with the new Occupational Health and Safety Regulations, including regulation-making power and authority for three sections and with the new federal Workplace Hazardous Information System legislation.

The committee recognizes that extensive consultation informed the draft of the new Occupational Health and Safety Regulations. However, no specific consultation was undertaken in the drafting of Bill 65. The committee encourages the undertaking of specific consultation for any future legislative proposals specifically respecting the Safety Act.

During the public hearing, the committee initiated two amendments of Bill 65 with the Minister’s concurrence. The first corrects an inconsistency in the translation in the French version of Clause 4 to align with the remainder of the Safety Act. The second clarifies the language regarding the exemption of privileged information under the Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act in clause 5.

Following the clause-by-clause review, a motion was carried to report Bill 65 to the Assembly as ready for consideration in Committee of the Whole as amended and reprinted.

This certainly concludes the committee’s general comments of Bill 65. Individual Members may have additional questions and comments as they arise. Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman.

Thank you, Mr. Hawkins. Minister Lafferty, do you have witnesses to bring into the Chamber?

Yes, I do, Mr. Chair.

Sergeant-at-Arms, please escort the witnesses into the Chamber. Is committee agreed?

Thank you. Minister Lafferty, would you please introduce your witnesses.

Mahsi, Mr. Chair. To my left I have Mr. Dave Grundy. He’s the CEO of the Workers’ Safety and Compensation Commission. To my immediate right is Judy Kainz, director of prevention services and safety officer. To my far right is Ms. Emerald Murphy, legal counsel. Mahsi.