Mr. Chairman, I will be supporting the recommendations of the commission and the report that they have tabled with us.
--Applause
We had three independent people who were appointed by the legislature. We asked them to go on our behalf to undertake to speak to Members of the public, consult with our communities and to focus their time and their attention on this issue to advise us on it. We have some very credible, well-known, well respected people on this commission.
I believe that the report reflects their advice on the best way to balance the need for representation by population, regional representation, as well as respecting the cultural diversity and reflecting that in this legislature. I also know that one of the primary responsibilities I have as an elected Member of this legislature, elected by the public, is to ensure always that this institution functions in the best possible capacity. That is, I should not allow anything to happen that would compromise the ability of this institution to do its duties for the general public. That has been shared with my constituents since last spring. At the end of the day, whether this government, this central institution, this legislature is supported or disowned by the public, whether it be the aboriginal constituents or the general public; it should not be because we have deliberately done a disservice to ourselves and compromised the ability of this legislature to carry out the very functions that we asked people to elect us to carry out in the first place. I do not think that it is up to us to compromise that institution.
If you want a phrase, I would say that 14 is not enough. I think a minimum of 16 would help greatly to ensure that we continue to be able to see this institution work and carry out the functions that have been set out for it to do. We have all been elected to ensure that it does carry out those functions. A reduction of 24 to 14 is a drastic reduction, so when we say we should leave everything the way it is without change, there already has been a dramatic change that has happened. We have to accept the fact that it is a drastic change. What it does is, presently we have 24 Members, one of which is a Speaker, that allows 23. Eight are Ministers, allowing 15 Ordinary Members. What we will end up with if we leave things as they are with 14, is we will have one Speaker, six Cabinet Members and, therefore, only seven Ordinary Members. The Cabinet could be able to call a session of this Legislature with only one Ordinary Member agreeing. That is only one who would have to attend these sessions for us to carry on the business of this Legislature. That is a dramatic change in the nature, in the character of this institution. I also believe that the legal challenge is inevitable and it will cost us money. I also believe it is our duty to avoid settling issues in court, that is why we are here. Despised as we are as politicians, according to someone's survey, we are preferred in many ways to letting the courts decide issues. Our constituents and the general public look to us to make difficult decisions, take difficult positions. Nevertheless, meet their obligation to come up with some sort of agreement that will avoid having the legal system deal with issues that are our primary responsibility. Yellowknife has a huge population and I think we have an obligation to ensure that the makeup of this Legislature reflects that.
-- Applause
We also have a growing aboriginal population right here in this city. I am aware of that. I can see by the suggestions that at least one of the ridings recommended will be majority aboriginal, which would make it, if there is such a thing, an aboriginal constituency, so who would object to that?
The aboriginal leaders have said over the last few years that they will focus on community and regional institutions of government, that their primary focus over the next few years is to look at community and regional governments and see how those work. For the time being, this central institution will carry on. We have a duty to make sure that we do the best job possible for them, for everyone. We should not be disowned at the end because we have compromised our ability to do that job.
I believe that the aboriginal people will stay with public governments as long as those governments provide an adequate job, providing an adequate service for them. Just being under-represented alone will not alienate them, but what will alienate them more than anything is being marginalized economically. I believe as long as the aboriginal population is part of the economic growth of this part of the country and that they feel they are partners in the development, the number of people representing them directly or indirectly in this Legislature would not be that significant a concern. Having said that, I believe that the issue of the Cabinet makeup of the new government is equally important in that the aboriginal population in the regions would be served greatly by any agreement that we make here as Members about how the Cabinet will be made up. Is it going to be a free-for-all or are we going to ensure that the northern regions are represented in Cabinet, that Yellowknife is represented in Cabinet, that the other regions that are on Great Slave Lake will also be on Cabinet, but no one has really addressed that. It is something that we need to work on because I think it is equally important to the people out there in our communities. The number of Members in the Legislature alone is not the most important thing to them. At the end of the day, they will also find equal comfort in knowing that, no matter what happens, all regions will be adequately represented in a future Cabinet of this government.
Some of my constituents have said that perhaps there should be no change, but as I have said to them, I have said to you again, I do not believe that no change is an option at this time. I believe we are compelled by a number of factors to act and it is our duty to act. I must support an increase in representation for Yellowknife and I believe I do that and still keep it consistent with some basic objectives, that is, keep it small, keep the costs down, avoid a court challenge, show respect for the work of the commission and the recommendations to us and also reflect the significant population of Yellowknife in the future Western Territory. Thank you.
-- Applause