Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I think that it is very appropriate that there be a mechanism to hold Members accountable on the rare occasion when it is required. I have been a Member now for over 15 years, and I have seen instances in almost every one of the four Assemblies I have served where this issue has come up. Where mayors, and municipal councils, if not entire communities, have asked us whether there is any mechanism for dealing with these rare circumstances where they have lost confidence in their elected representatives for good reason.

We have some mechanisms in place to discipline Members in this House. They have rarely been employed. In my experience, we have been very reluctant to employ these methods in a consensus style of government, we are kind and gentle with one another. And we are too courteous to really take the strong action that sometimes and, I would say, rarely has been required.

Mr. Speaker, I believe that it is a concern in our constituencies. It is a concern among the people of the Northwest Territories. So I would like to see this bill taken to the next stage. That is all that we are discussing today; taking it to the next stage so that it can be considered and have input by the public through the Standing Committee on Legislation. I think this would be the best way to see what our constituents think.

If we do not support giving this bill second reading and forwarding it to the Standing Committee on Legislation, we will, in fact, be depriving the people of the Northwest Territories of the opportunity to have the timely input into this bill that is required on the eve of another election in the Northwest Territories.

I have consulted some of my respected constituents on this, they acknowledge that there are both pros and cons about this kind of legislation. I would say to Mr. Lewis, who I know has worked very hard on this bill and produced several drafts, that I think perhaps the bill before us may be improved. Perhaps, for example, there should be a higher majority required. Perhaps a mechanism should be developed to ensure that, in constituencies where there is more than one community, there is an insurance against one community, the electors of one community being pitted against another by perhaps requiring at least 50 per cent or more of the electorate in each community in a constituency before recall is implemented. Perhaps more names should be required on the petition. But these are details which I think we should leave to our constituents and the people of the Northwest Territories to have input on.

Perhaps a majority of our constituents may even speak against the bill. And I am willing to respect the judgement of the people and give them the opportunity to be heard. So lets at least have the courage to take the next step to let the people of the Northwest Territories have input into this bill. I fear that if we don't take this step, the public may conclude that we are afraid of this mechanism or that we are acting out of self-interest. That may be the conclusion.

I would also like to say that the time to act is now. I know the government has recently communicated to Mr. Lewis their intention to put together a legislative action paper which might be ready for the June session, which might be discussed in the dying months of this Assembly, but really would not realistically result in any new legislation in place for the next Legislature. An election is slated for the fall. Lets put the bill forward and see what our constituents have to say.

I would like to say that I have every confidence in the Members of the Standing Committee on Legislation, that they will be able to handle this responsibility, they are already planning extensive hearings on the new Education Act. They will be able to discharge this responsibility and give us good advice by June about just how this very important issue should be handled.

If we defeat the bill at second reading, Mr. Speaker, especially without saying why -- and I have heard rumours that Cabinet has already decided they are going to vote against the bill en masse, then I suspect that our constituents will assume that we are afraid and I don't think that is democracy. I, for one, have confidence in the people of the Northwest Territories, I think they will give us good advice. I also don't think they will act capriciously or use the bill against a Member for their views, or even against the government for making a tough decision.

But in any event, Mr. Speaker, if we trust the wisdom of our constituents who put us here, then we certainly will not vote today to deprive them of the chance to give comments on the bill. That is why we should vote "yes" today; to put the issue before the public, allow members of the public to have input through the Standing Committee on Legislation.

I would like to commend Mr. Lewis for his hard work on this issue. I would like to challenge Members who are going to vote against this motion to stand up and say why. Let this bill be considered by the people of the Northwest Territories in a timely fashion, before another Assembly is elected. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.