Thank you, Mr. Speaker and thank you, colleagues. Mr. Speaker, I move, seconded by the honourable Member for Deh Cho that Bill 11, An Act to Amend the Workers’ Compensation Act, be read for the third time. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I move, seconded by the honourable Member for Monfwi, that Bill 5, An Act to Amend the Commissioner’s Land Act, be read for the third time. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Yes, I would, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Further to my Return to Written Question 21-16(4), I wish to table the following two documents entitled Design Guideline: Units Incorporating Barrier-Free/Visitable Design Features and Public Housing Units that Incorporate Barrier-Free Features.

MACA officials have been meeting with Lutselk’e staff and council to try to see if they would be willing to form an interim corporation. Mr. Speaker, we’re not asking them to change status or anything along those lines. That would be a decision that they would have to make. We are asking them for the benefit of flowing money into their community, that the GNWT is holding for them. We are asking them to form an interim corporation so that they would be able to start using the money. We continue to have discussions with them. If it comes to where it needs to be a meeting between political...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We, as GNWT, recognize all communities’ rights to self-government, Mr. Speaker. Because of the Indian Act not allowing band communities to own real property, we have been working with band communities to form interim corporations so we can flow the capital and gas tax money to them. We view the interim corporations as a way to build capacity for their eventual transition into self-government. There’s nothing about the interim corporation model that would interfere with or go against the band communities’ self-government goals and objectives. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I seek consent to proceed with third reading of Bill 11, An Act to Amend the Workers’ Compensation Act.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I have with me, on the left, Anne Clark, president of the Workers’ Safety and Compensation Commission; and, Mr. Ian Rennie, legislative counsel. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Mr. Chairman, thank you for the opportunity to provide opening comments on Bill 11, An Act to Amend the Workers’ Compensation Act. The proposed amendments allow for the creation of a legislative presumption that firefighters with certain types of cancers are presumed to have developed the cancer from their work.

The presumption for firefighters, full-time, part-time and volunteer, will recognize that firefighters who have certain types of cancers after working as firefighters for specified periods developed those cancers from their work. Seven Canadian jurisdictions currently provide for a...

The NWT Act is a federal act that we don’t change. The bands are governed by the Indian Act, so we’re working with the band to try to get them to form an interim corporation so the money can go to them. But I will commit to working very closely with the Member and seeing if we can get the message to the leadership in Lutselk’e that this is a step that they should look at taking for the benefit of getting capital land gas tax dollars into their community. Thank you.