Thank you, Madam Chair. I am pleased to be here today to discuss Bill 77, the Nursing Profession Act. The development of this bill has been the result of significant time and effort by the Department of Health and Social Services and would not have been possible without input and contributions from the Registered Nurses Association of the Northwest Territories and Nunavut.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank Members of the Standing Committee on Social Development for the time they have taken to ensure this bill received comprehensive review. I also wish to acknowledge the time and effort members of the public took to develop submissions.

Madam Chair, the primary purpose of Bill 77 is to repeal the current Nursing Profession Act and replace it with a new act that will establish a single regulatory framework for all nurses in the Northwest Territories. The bill proposes to repeal the Licensed Practical Nurses Act and transfer authority to regulate licensed practical nurses from the Department of Health and Social Services to the Registered Nurses Association of the Northwest Territories and Nunavut. The new bill will establish new nursing designations, scopes of practice, and registers, as well as associated requirements for licensed practical nurses as registered nurse authorized prescribers, registered psychiatric nurses, and registered psychiatric nurse authorized prescribers, registered nurses and nurse practitioners will all continue to be regulated under this Act. The bill further proposes a modernized process for the review of conduct of members. I would be pleased to answer any questions the Members here may have.