Agreed.
Thank you, committee. Thank you to the Minister, and thank you to the witnesses. Sergeant-at-Arms, you may escort the witnesses from the chamber. Committee, we have agreed to next consider Bill 57, An Act to Amend the Employment Standards Act. I will turn to the Minister responsible for the bill to introduce it. Minister Cochrane.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. I am pleased to be here today to discuss Bill 57, An Act to Amend the Employment Standards Act. The primary objective of the Employment Standards Act is to ensure protection for workers by providing minimum standards of employment. The amendments put forward in the bill strengthen worker protection by enhancing parental leave and creating new types of leave for family caregivers and those experiencing family violence.
The parental leave changes in this bill will allow workers to take longer, unpaid parental leaves, providing job protection at this very important time in their lives. When combined with pregnancy leave, a worker could take up to a year and a half off to care for their newborn baby, which is six months longer than is currently protected in the act. Employees who share the leave with their partner are eligible for an additional eight weeks of leave, encouraging parents to share the benefit between them. A longer period of parental leave allows employees who are eligible for federal parental EI benefits to access the new extended parental EI benefits and EI Parental Sharing Benefit and take full advantage of a longer period of leave.
This bill also allows more workers to take time off work to care for family members in times of need. It creates a new family caregiver leave to care for family members who are critically ill or injured, and it extends compassionate care leave for end-of-life care by an additional 19 weeks. For both of these types of leave, the bill expands the definition of "family member" so that more workers can provide care to family when it is needed, regardless of their blood relationship.
Finally, the bill takes the significant and important step of creating family violence leave, a new type of leave in the Northwest Territories. This will provide a combination of paid and unpaid leave to support workers in responding to different types of family violence situations. Workers may be entitled to time off work to seek medical attention, attend counselling, relocate, or attend legal appointments. Introducing family violence leave is an important part of protecting workers in times of need.
These amendments align with the Government of Canada's changes to the Employment Insurance program and the Canada Labour Code and offer employees the flexibility to address personal situations while maintaining their employment status.
The department engaged stakeholders on the proposed amendments through stakeholder interviews and an online survey. Thoughtful and positive feedback was received from residents, business, labour, and community organizations across the Northwest Territories. A "what we heard" report is available on the ECE website.
I would like to recognize the hard work of the Members of the Standing Committee on Social Development during the review of Bill 57. These proposed amendments support our Northwest Territories workforce in navigating important and oftentimes challenging moments in life by strengthening job security during time away from work. Mahsi cho, Mr. Chair.
Thank you, Minister. I will now turn to the chair of the Standing Committee on Social Development, the committee that reviewed the bill, for any opening comments. Does the chair have any opening comments? Mr. Thompson.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. The Standing Committee on Social Development concluded its review of Bill 57, An Act to Amend the Employment Standards Act, on August 8, 2019, with a public clause-by-clause review held at the Legislative Assembly building. Committee held a public hearing on Bill 57 in Yellowknife on July 25, 2019. The committee received two commissions, one from the Gwich'in Tribal Council and a joint submission from the NWT Seniors' Society and the Canadian Cancer Society, which also sent a representative to present the submission to the committee at the public hearing.
On behalf of the committee, I would like to thank everybody who provided input on Bill 57. The committee supported the government's efforts to better align with our territorial Employment Standards legislation with the recent changes made to the Canadian Labour Code and the federal Employment Insurance program, as well as to update certain provisions to better protect Northwest Territories workers.
Individual Members may have additional comments or questions as we proceed with the consideration of this bill. We would also like to thank the Minister and the department for the work that they did, as well as all of the people that did provide their commissions and the committee's work. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you, Mr. Thompson. Does the Minister wish to bring witnesses into the chamber?
Yes, I do, Mr. Chair.
Thank you. Sergeant-at-Arms, please escort the witnesses into the chamber. Minister, please take your seat at the witness table. Minister, please introduce your witnesses for the record.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. On my left is Michael Saturnino, who is the director of Labour Development and Standards, and on my right is Kelly McLaughlin, who is the drafter for the legislation. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you, Minister. Could you please, once again, slowly for the record, introduce the witnesses? We didn't quite catch the names.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. On my left is Mr. Michael Saturnino. He is the director of Labour Development and Standards. On my right is Kelly McLaughlin, and she is the drafter. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you very much, Minister. Welcome to the witnesses. Committee, I will open the floor to general comments on Bill 57. Do we have any comments from committee? First, I have Ms. Green.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. This is one of these unsung but very important, bills that would make a difference to the lives of many families in the Northwest Territories in a number of different ways, not only for families in extreme circumstances like those facing family violence, but just ordinary working families, especially given the shortage of childcare in the Northwest Territories. This could really be an important incentive to having families staying longer in the Northwest Territories, because they are able to stay at home with their children for a longer period of time, so I am pleased to see the changes that are in this bill, and I will support them. Thank you.
Thank you. Next, I have Mr. O'Reilly.
Thanks, Mr. Chair. The Minister may recall that I raised the issue of how our parental benefits system was out of sync with the federal one. The federal system, they brought their changes in. Originally, I think they were supposed to start July 1st. They pushed it forward to March, so, under the federal system, they provide EI benefits. The difficulty was that our legislation did not ensure that employers kept the jobs for those people if they went off. I did push to have this bill brought forward in the life of this Assembly, so I want to commend the Minister and her staff for undertaking a very quick turnaround time to get this bill back into the House, and the committee for their work, as well, because we do not want our parents and families to not enjoy the benefits that most other Canadians are getting. I want to also commend the Minister and the department in reviewing the types of leave that are provided under here to include domestic violence leave. I think that is a very important improvement, so I just want to thank and commend the Minister and department for their hard work to get this back into the House so our parents are entitled to the same benefits as everyone else. Thanks, Mr. Chair.
Thank you. Any further general comments? Seeing none, we will move to a clause-by-clause review of the bill. As usual, we will defer consideration of the bill number and title until after consideration of the clauses. Please turn to page 1. I will call each clause individually. If committee agrees, please respond accordingly.
Agreed.
---Clauses 1 through 12 approved
Mr. O'Reilly.
Sorry, I wanted to ask about clause 14, if I may.
So we have agreed to clause 13?
Agreed.
Clause 14. Mr. O'Reilly.
Thanks, Mr. Chair. I had asked the Minister in the clause-by-clause when this bill is going to be coming into force, and I would like to get it on the record in the House, as well. Thanks, Mr. Chair.
Thank you. Minister.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. Basically, the act will come into force, the proper terminology, it comes into force on a day or days to be fixed by order of the Commissioner. The plain language standard of that is that we are working on the regulations right now. We have the orders to get them through. We have the regulations to get the regulations done. This is important. This is critical. This is about children and families and family violence, so I will be pushing my department as hard as possible, and Justice, to try to get it done, so it's a priority for us. I can't say the date, but we are working really diligently to get them done. We need the regulations done, but we are on it. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you. Mr. O'Reilly.
Thanks, Mr. Chair. Well, I may not be here to hold the Minister to this, but is there an estimate of a time that the Minister or her staff might be able to give us? The reason I ask this is parents who are looking at or wanting to take some of these types of leave, they are going to want to know when it's going to kick in, so, if I could get some kind of a rough estimate, that would be helpful. Thanks, Mr. Chair.
Thank you. Minister.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. We are trying to get this work done right now. It will potentially be early, as early as possible, in the next Assembly if we cannot get it done before. We are rushing it now. We are trying to get it done, but we recognize we only have a couple more weeks to get this work done, or a month, three weeks, so we are trying. The latest it will be, I can't give you an estimate. We are hoping within a couple of months. That is what we are hoping for. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you. Anything further from Mr. O'Reilly? Nothing further from Mr. O'Reilly. I will call clause 14.
Agreed.
Thank you, committee. Please return to the bill number and title. Bill 57, An Act to Amend the Employment Standards Act. Does committee agree?
Agreed.
Thank you. To the bill as whole.
Agreed.
Does committee agree that Bill 57 is now ready for third reading?
Agreed.
Thank you, committee. Bill 57 is now ready for third reading. Does committee agree that this concludes our consideration of Bill 57?
Agreed.
Thank you, committee. Thank you to the Minister and to the witnesses. Sergeant-at-Arms, you may escort the witnesses from the Chamber. Committee, we have agreed to next consider Bill 58, Justice Administration Statutes Amendment Act. I will turn to the Minister responsible for the bill for opening comments and to let the Minister introduce it. Minister Sebert.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. I am pleased to be here today to discuss Bill 58: Justice Administration Statutes Amendment Act. This bill proposes to make targeted and necessary legislative amendments to acts that support the justice system in the Northwest Territories.
This bill amends various statutes administered by the Department of Justice to:
repeal provisions of An Act to Amend the Children's Law Act and amend the Children's Law Act to establish a recalculation service;
amend the Coroners Act to clarify the responsibilities of the Chief Coroner and coroners in respect of inquests and authorize the release of the body of the deceased if an investigation is complete;
amend the Evidence Act to add provisions in respect of the admissibility of electronic records, and repeal provisions that allow the court to refuse to admit photographic film prints into evidence;
add an updated definition for "prime rate" to the provisions of the Judicature Act relating to prejudgment and post-judgment interest;
add a reference in the Jury Act to exemptions from jury service contained in the Legislative Assembly and Executive Council Act;
increase fee rates in respect of the registration of certain instruments and caveats under the Land Titles Act;
amend the Public Trustee Act to establish a mechanism for the disposition of unclaimed property;
amend the Residential Tenancies Act to provide for the appointment of a chief rental officer, adjust provisions relating to service and the giving of reasons, and allow regulations to be made in respect of fees for services provided; and
amend the Retirement Plan Beneficiaries Act to provide for the discharge of the administrator of a plan.
Overall, this bill contains a number of measures to improve access to justice and service delivery, which the government believes will significantly assist residents of the Northwest Territories.
Of particular note, the changes to the Children's Law Act will improve the process for recalculating support order amounts payable under both that act and the federal Divorce Act. This will make it easier for parents to obtain changes in the amounts payable under support orders to better reflect current circumstances. These amendments will allow the government to implement this long-awaited service by the end of 2019.
In addition, the proposed changes to the Residential Tenancies Act will help address the processing times for orders. Members of this Assembly and the public have stated many times that the timelines faced by those relying on the hearing process set out in legislation are too long. Contributing to the delays are certain requirements set out in the existing legislation, including the requirement to provide written reasons for every order.
I would be pleased to answer any questions that Members may have regarding Bill 58. Thank you.
Thank you, Minister. I will turn to the chair of the Standing Committee on Social Development, the committee that considered the bill, for any opening comments. Mr. Thompson.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. The Standing Committee on Social Development concluded its review of Bill 58, Justice Administration Statutes Amendment Act, on July 25, 2019, with a public hearing and clause-by-clause review held at the Legislative Assembly building. Committee received no submissions from the public. The committee supported the government's change to improve access to justice and service delivery, which will assist residents of the Northwest Territories.
Mr. Chair, I would also like to thank the Minister and his department for working with committee and our legislative staff as we move forward. Individual Members may have additional comments or questions as we proceed with consideration of this bill. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you, Mr. Thompson. Minister, do you have witnesses you wish to bring into the chamber?
Yes, I do.
Sergeant-at-Arms, please escort the witnesses into the chamber. Minister, please introduce your witnesses for the record.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. To my right is Mr. Mark Aitken, assistant deputy minister of Justice. To my left is Ms. Laura Jeffrey, legislative counsel. Thank you.
Thank you. Welcome to the witnesses. I will open the floor to general comments. First, Ms. Green.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. I have made several Member's statements in this House about the problems related to delays in putting out orders after hearings under the Residential Tenancies Act. In particular, I had heard from constituents who are just renting one place of their own, they aren't commercial landlords, and how the wait between the hearing and the order can mean that the money is even more difficult to collect from the non-paying tenant.
I am very happy to see this change. I think that it will make a tangible difference to the people who are, as I say, just landlords of a single property or a couple of properties. This will expedite the service that the public can receive from the rental office.
I am also happy to see the changes in the Children's Law Act. Whenever we can improve legal services for ordinary people who come face-to-face with the law, I think that we should do so, and I am pleased to see that this bill does that. Thank you.
Thank you, Ms. Green. Anything further to general comments on this act? Seeing none, does committee agree that we begin our clause-by-clause review?
