Committee, we will defer the bill number and title until after consideration of the clauses. Please turn to page one of the bill. I will call the clauses in groups of five.

Clause 1 to 5, does committee agree?

Clause 6 to 10, does committee agree?

Clause 11 to 15, does committee agree?

Clause 16 to 20, does committee agree?

Clause 21, does committee agree?

Committee, to the bill as a whole, does the committee agree that Bill 67, An Act to Amend the Fire Prevention Act, is now ready for third reading?

Thank you committee. Does committee agree that this concludes our consideration of Bill 67, An Act to Amend the Fire Prevention Act?

Thank you, Minister, and thank you to your witnesses. Sergeant-at-arms, please escort the witnesses -- oh, sorry. Minister.

Thank you, Madam Chair. Again, I'd like to thank committee for all their hard work and the staff for being able to enhance and making this bill that much more, and we look forward to the building standards as the chairperson said in the next Assembly. Thank you.

Thank you. Sergeant-at-arms, please escort the witnesses from the Chamber.

Committee, we've agreed to consider Bill 73, An Act to Amend the Legislative Assembly and Executive Council Act, No. 4. I will ask the sponsor of the bill, the Member for Thebacha, to introduce the bill.

Thank you, Madam Chair. Madam Chair, I am pleased to speak to Bill 73, An Act to Amend the Legislative Assembly and Executive Council Act, No. 4. This bill would adjust the indemnities and allowances listed in parts 1, 2 and 3 of Schedule C, annually using the average change in the consumer price index over the past five years.

Currently, indemnities and allowances for Members of the Legislative Assembly are adjusted each year on April 1st based on the CPI for the previous calendar year. If the status quo is maintained, MLA indemnities and allowances will increase by 6.8 percent on April 1 of this year. However, if Bill 73 passes and a five-year rolling average is used as the basis for the adjustment, that would reduce the adjustment from 6.8 percent to 3.02 percent. This method is used in Manitoba and smooths out temporary spikes in inflation like we are seeing now. That concludes my remarks on Bill 73. Thank you, Madam Chair.

Thank you, Member. Would you like to bring witnesses into the Chamber?

Yes.

Thank you. Sergeant-at-arms, please escort the witness into the Chamber.

Member, will you please introduce your witnesses?

On my left is Tim Mercer, clerk of the Legislative Assembly. On my right is Christina Duffy, legislative division, Department of Justice.

Thank you. I will now open the floor to general comments on Bill 73. Member for Frame Lake.