Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Your Standing Committee on Social Development is pleased to provide its Report on the Review of Bill 20: An Act to Amend the Employment Standards Act and recommends it to the House.

Introduction

Bill 20, An Act to Amend the Employment Standards Act, was introduced by the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment. This bill seeks to add two new provisions into the Employment Standards Act. The first provision is intended to provide protection to Northwest Territories workers by introducing emergency leave provisions that will allow workers to access unpaid leave when they are unable to perform their duties due to an emergency.

The second area is intended to provide flexibility to NWT employers by including an exception to the requirement for employers to provide a certain period of notice prior to a group termination.

Bill 20, An Act to Amend the Employment Standards Act, received second reading in the Legislative Assembly and was referred to the Standing Committee on Social Development on November 4, 2020. The public hearing with the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment was held on February 10, 2021. The clause-by-clause review was held on March 2, 2021.

With the Minister's agreement, a substantive motion to amend Bill 20 was passed during the clause-by-clause review. The work of the committee on the review of this bill including amendments are discussed below, along with stakeholder comments and recommended actions.

Public Review of Bill 20

The Standing Committee on Social Development undertook a four-month review of Bill 20, An Act to Amend the Employment Standards Act. This review provided the Standing Committee on Social Development a valuable opportunity to hear from community members, organized labour groups, groups representing the interests of vulnerable populations, and law professionals outside of government.

Committee would like to thank these stakeholders for taking the time to provide their important feedback and for raising areas of great consideration regarding the potential impacts this bill may have on the NWT, employees, and employers. Committee received three written submissions from stakeholders (attached in appendix A). They were:

• Status of Women Council of the NWT ("the Status of Women");
• The Union of Northern Workers ("the UNW"); and
• Marshall Law Barrister and Solicitor.

Public input has been included in greater detail under the topic headings below. Mr. Speaker, I will now pass the reading of the report on to the MLA for Great Slave. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.