Thank you, Mr. Chair. I'm here today to present Bill 47: An Act to Amend the Employment Standards Act, No. 2.
Bill 47 adds the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation on September 30th to the list of statutory holidays listed in Part 3 of the Northwest Territories’ Employment Standards Act, and includes consequential amendments to the Interpretation Act and the current Public Services Holiday Order to ensure alignment across legislation in the NWT and extend the holiday for members of the territorial public service going forward.
I am pleased to bring forward these amendments to support the continued public commemoration of the history and legacy of residential schools and our government’s role in the reconciliation process. Thank you.
Thank you, Minister. Minister, would you like to bring witnesses in to the Chamber?
Yes, I would.
SergeantatArms, please escort the witnesses into the Chamber.
Minister, please introduce your witnesses.
Thank you. To my right, I have Andrea Giesbrecht, director of labour, development, and standards. It's her second appearance in front of committee. And on my left, Stephen Flanagan, legislative division with the Department of Justice, and it is his first time appearing in Committee of the Whole. Thank you.
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 on Bill 47. Ms. Cleveland.
Thank you very much, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, Bill 47: An Act to Amend the Employment Standards Act, No. 2, received second reading in the Legislative Assembly on March 28th, 2021, and was referred to the Standing Committee on Social Development for review.
On May 10th, 2022, the standing committee held a public hearing with the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment, and completed its clausebyclause review of the bill. The committee received no submissions on the bill.
And I'd like to thank committee for their efforts in reviewing this legislation. Individual Members may have additional comments or questions. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you, Ms. Cleveland. I will now open the floor to general comments on Bill 47. Mr. O'Reilly.
Thanks, Mr. Chair. Yes, I'm glad to see that we are making it consistent in terms of who will get to celebrate this holiday, not just members of the public service, but people that work in the private sector as well.
But I know that there were some concerns or issues raised when this was being discussed around what sort of supports or activities and so on were our government helping put together to facilitate reconciliation and, particularly, for this day. So if I could ask the Minister what efforts our government is doing to ensure that the day is meaningful for our residents in the Northwest Territories as a learning experience as well? Thanks, Mr. Chair.
Thank you, Mr. O'Reilly. Minister.
Thank you. So Education, Culture and Employment oversees this act, and as such we undertook engagement on whether or not this day should be a statutory holiday in the Northwest Territories.
The Department of the Executive and Indigenous Affairs is going to be leading phase 2 of the engagement, and they are preparing an engagement plan. They will be engaging with Indigenous governments, residential school survivors, and so on, to determine how to properly commemorate the date. Thank you.
Thank you, Minister. Mr. O'Reilly.
Thanks, Mr. Chair. No, I appreciate the response from the Minister. I have no further questions. Thank you.
Is committee agreed that there are no further general comments?
Agreed.
Can we proceed to a clausebyclause review of Bill 47: An Act to Amend the Employment Standards Act, No. 2?
Agreed.
Committee, we will defer the bill number and title until after consideration of the clauses. Please turn to page one of the bill.
Clause 1, does the committee agree?
Agreed.
Clause 2, does the committee agree?
Agreed.
Clause 3, does the committee agree?
Agreed.
Clause 4, does the committee agree?
Agreed.
Committee, to the bill as a whole, does the committee agree that Bill 47: An Act to Amend the Employment Standards Act, No. 2, is now ready for third reading?
Agreed.
Thank you, committee. Does the committee agree that this concludes our consideration of Bill 47: An Act to Amend the Employment Standards Act, No. 2?
Agreed.
Thank you, Minister, and thanks to your witnesses. SergeantatArms, please escort the witnesses from the Chamber.
