Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I would just like to outline some of the real problems that the draft bill proposes. First of all, let's look at the requirement that all firearms be registered. We own a tremendous amount of firearms in the Northwest Territories. As this bill is drafted, each and every gun in each and every community, in each and every household, will have to be registered with the RCMP. This will be a nightmare to administer in the Northwest Territories and very costly.

The RCMP are already overwhelmed with paperwork. Our unilingual constituents or constituents whose first language is not English are also cruelly disadvantaged by problems of paperwork like income tax forms and demands which come from the federal government in English and French. And I say to News/North, how patronizing for them to say that the new paperwork regarding ownership will cause some difficulties for people who do not speak English, but News/North assures us people are used to dealing with such problems. How patronizing.

Secondly, Mr. Speaker, people who do not meet these provisions as the law is now drafted will be subject to a criminal record; will be charged, not by summary offence, but by indictment; and, will face a minimum penalty of one year in jail for a second offence. I can easily see people who are in trouble with the law having these firearm offences added to the list of charges and, yes, without control of prosecutions we are very vulnerable to inappropriate values and misplaced priorities from the Attorney General for the Northwest Territories in Ottawa.

Right now, Mr. Speaker, as the bill is drafted, a registration card must be with the rifle if a firearm is loaned. I've heard defenders of this legislation compare it to having a licence to drive a car but not having a licence to drive a car is not a criminal offence. Mr. Speaker, these are some of the problems with this bill as it's drafted. I'm concerned that members of the press have not given Members of this Assembly credit for the hard work that has been done -- along, of course, with the Minister -- for progress that has already been made in dealing with issues such as: gun safety training; modifying the legislation in relation to areas such as the purchase of ammunition; and, perhaps, in securing no fees for general hunting licence holders.

We have made some progress in some areas, this should be acknowledged by the press. And now is certainly not the time to let up. I would like to say again that gun control is okay for jurisdictions such as Ontario which perceive it as needed. We don't need it here and I think we should continue to pursue a blanket exemption for the Northwest Territories. It won't work here, it's not needed and I'm going to continue to work on this, along with Members of this House and Members of the subcommittee that has been established. I think it's important to our people and our constituents, whether the press knows that or not. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

---Applause