Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It might be January 2nd. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Yes, I will answer as quickly as possible to the Kitikmeot leadership in which forum, I do not know. I will be communicating with them. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I will seriously look at the request by the Member for the Kitikmeot leaders. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, it also gives me great sorrow to share with Members of this House the sad news of Nancy Karetak-Lindell's husband Jon who passed away last night. I really feel a deep hurt for the Lindell family and my prayers including those of Cabinet are with them. I lead a prayer this morning with the government Ministers when we learned of Ms. Karetak-Lindell's lose. We prayed as leaders, to our Heavenly Father that He will answer and comfort the family.

Mr. Speaker, Nancy Karetak-Lindell, like myself, has been a mother, a wife and a political leader for the Keewatin. Excuse me, Mr. Speaker. She is my colleague, my close relative, her loss is very close to home for me. I am returning to Rankin this Friday to be with my husband and my boys. I need a hug from my husband. Mr. Speaker, I encourage everyone in the territories to pray for Nancy Lindell and her family at this time. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Madam Chairperson. To my right is Mr. Bob McLeod, Deputy Minister of Municipal and Community Affairs, and Chris Keely, Finance Director. Sean Flynn to my left is Legal Counsel for the Legislative Assembly.

Thank you, Madam Chairperson. Madam Chairperson, I am pleased to have this opportunity to speak to the committee about Bill 24, Community Employees' Benefits Program Transfer Act. This proposed bill is needed to permit the transfer of the Community Employees' Benefits Program to a federally-incorporated, not-for-profit corporation.

Madam Chairperson, under the Nunavut Act the current Community Employees' Benefits Program Act would duplicate in Nunavut creating a board for each territory. This would add substantially to the costs of administering the programs and increase costs to the employers and employees enrolled in the CEBA Program. To ensure that the program would remain affordable and could continue to grow, the CEBA Board expressed the desire to remain as one. Madam Chairperson, the current program includes approximately 93 participating employers and 1,292 participating employees. These are, for the most part, from municipalities and housing associations. Overall, $19.5 million is held in trust by the board.

The program provides pension plans, retirement programs, group insurance and group RRSPs which are all competitive benefits on par with those available to GNWT employees. The NWT Association of Municipalities administers this program through a contract with the board. Over the years, the work of the association has been key to its success and growth. The board's long-range planning has been to specialize in providing services to northern locations. There are other northern locations, such as northern Quebec and the northern parts of various provinces, which could be interested in purchasing these types of services. This would meet the needs of northerners living in other jurisdictions and would also allow the program to expand and attract additional employees and employers.

Madam Chairperson, Bill 24 will ensure that the transfer to the new northern Employees' Benefits Program does not have an impact on the participating employers and employees. The objectives of the transfer are to ensure the program remains affordable and tailored to the needs of northerners; that there is fair and equitable representation of Nunavut and the west on the board; that there is continued stability in the administration and management of the program; and that there is opportunity for the program to expand if it is the wish of the members.

Madam Chairperson, I am pleased to say that in cooperation with officials from the board and the Office of the Interim Commissioner, these objectives can be met. As proposed, the program will remain affordable to employers and employees and will remain tailored to the needs of northerners. In addition, I have agreed to take the appropriate action necessary to have Nunavut and the Western Territory represented equally on the board. This will mean that at the time of incorporation there will be four members each for Nunavut and the west.

To ensure success of the new corporation it is expected that, for the time being, the NWTAM will continue to administer the program. Once the new corporation is established, participating members will be able to elect their own board members and will decide where the head office should remain or if services should be expanded to other northern regions. These decisions will come from the members, not the government.

Madam Chairperson, Bill 24 provides for all the assets and liabilities currently held by the board to be transferred to the new corporation. The bill also ensures that existing benefit plans and the benefit entitlements will continue after the transfer. In closing, Madam Chairperson, I am pleased that the proposed Bill 24, Community Employees' Benefits Program Transfer Act, will serve the interests of people in both Nunavut and the NWT. Thank you, Madam Chairperson.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I have a return to oral question asked by Mr. Rabesca on November 10, 1998, formula funding for Rae-Edzo. In recognition of the unique situation in Rae-Edzo, the Department of Municipal and Community Affairs has provided the community with additional funding. Detailed information on this matter has been provided to Mr. Rabesca, MLA for North Slave, as he requested. Thank you.

Mr. Speaker, on November 12th and 13th, I attended the Conference of Ministers Responsible for Consumer Affairs, which was held on Prince Edward Island.

Consumer Affairs Ministers recognize the importance of working together to better inform consumers about telemarketing fraud. More importantly, the Ministers agreed that there was a need to help enforcement agencies crack down on cross-border fraud and scams.

At our meeting, all Ministers agreed to sign the Cooperative Enforcement Agreement on Consumer Related Measures. In addition, CANSHARE, an information network, was launched.

Together, these initiatives will increase sharing of information on consumer protection issues. They will allow faster and better national tracking of deceptive telemarketing and other kinds of scams.

Mr. Speaker, a public education campaign will be launched in January 1999, which has been declared the International Year of Older Persons. The campaign is designed to inform all consumers, including senior citizens who are often a target of these scams.

In addition, Mr. Speaker, Ministers have agreed to harmonize the rules governing the cost of credit information to consumers. This will strengthen efforts to have one set of rules in place by the year 2000 for disclosure of information about the cost of credit by financial institutions and automobile leasing firms. With these new rules, consumers will have a legal right to obtain more information from businesses when they are borrowing money or leasing a car.

Mr. Speaker, our efforts in educating northern consumers and protecting senior citizens from telemarketing and consumer fraud is vital. The Department of Municipal and Community Affairs recognizes this important role and is taking the necessary steps to ensure adequate protection of consumers across the north.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

--Applause

And, Empowerment through Community Government Legislation, Report of the Review Committee on Phase 2 of the Municipal Legislation Review for Nunavut. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.