Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Speaker, the Thebacha election allegations are the first tests we have had of what turns out to be a very fragile electoral system, given that the RCMP and Elections Canada reached gridlock within hours of receiving the complaints. It took seven months of fumbling before the RCMP provided a report on the allegations to the chief electoral officer and a full month later, the chief electoral officer has finally issued a non-answer. Mr. Speaker, the system has definitely failed its first test.

On May 1st, a letter was received from the chief electoral officer. The letter promised that Elections Canada would try to have an answer to the allegations by the middle of May. Mr. Speaker, yesterday, the chief electoral officer issued a press release. His decision, on investigation, is that he would not prosecute alleged infractions to the NWT Elections Act in the Thebacha election. He said: "I have concluded that any trial regarding the election in Thebacha would neither be in the best interest of justice or be of value in protecting the integrity of the electoral system." Mr. Speaker, after seven months and about $250,000, nothing has been answered.

With the chief electoral officer's release, he doesn't say whether the election was fairly run or not. He doesn't say whether the rules which govern our elections were broken or twisted. He doesn't even say whether there are loopholes which allow the system to be used or abused in ways that it shouldn't be.

Mr. Speaker, I strongly disagree with the chief electoral officer's statement regarding the integrity of the electoral system. How can there be any integrity in a system when the decision is made to leave an election permanently under a cloud? Everyone in Fort Smith, Mr. Speaker, has heard the rumours that the RCMP investigation turned up illegal election activities: proxy fraud; solicitation; forgery. What the press release seems to say is there are problems, but Elections Canada isn't going to bother pursuing them. We are no further ahead than we were six months ago. No one really knows what has happened.

To me, Mr. Speaker, enough is enough. It is time to put these allegations to rest. I will try to get a real answer on what happened in the Thebacha investigation. The standing committee is scheduled to review the chief electoral officer's report on the 1995 election.

Mr. Speaker, I seek unanimous consent to conclude my statement.