Thank you, Madam Chair. I am here today to present Bill 20, An Act to Amend the Employment Standards Act. I wish to thank the Standing Committee on Social Development for its thoughtful review and collaboration on this bill. Thanks to the valuable insight of the committee and its staff, in cooperation with departmental representatives, the bill as amended achieves a desired balance between increased public transparency and the operational requirements of the Employment Standards Office.
This bill seeks to amend the Employment Standards Act to include two provisions that will provide protection to NWT workers and flexibility to employers during the COVID-19 pandemic and any future emergency. The first provision, emergency leave, provides job protection to NWT workers by allowing workers to access unpaid leave when they are unable to perform their duties because of an emergency, such as the ongoing public health emergency. This provision will not only encourage workers to comply with public health best practices but will also allow the NWT to meet its commitments to the Government of Canada under the Safe Restart Agreement and allow NWT workers to access the recovery benefits under the Government of Canada's COVID-19 Response Measures Act.
The second provision will provide flexibility to NWT employers by including an exception to the requirement to provide notice of group termination, in line with the notice periods set out in the act, when an unforeseeable event or circumstance beyond an employer's control occurs that prevents the employer from respecting the notice period in the act. Employers will still be required to provide notice of group termination to the employment standards officer and any applicable union as soon as possible, and employees will retain their entitlements to individual termination notice or pay in lieu of notice.
I am pleased to bring forward these amendments that will both strengthen worker protection and provide flexibility for employers and which are consistent with actions taken by other jurisdictions in response to the pandemic. This concludes my opening remarks, and I would be pleased to answer any questions that Members may have regarding Bill 20. Thank you.