Thank you, Madam Chairperson. Madam Chairperson, with the knowledge and consent of myself, as the
Minister of Transportation, and my department, the Member from Yellowknife South has introduced Bill 19, a private Member's bill to amend the Public Highways Act and the Motor Vehicles Act. The affect of the amendments will be to remove the restrictions presently in these laws that prohibit the setting of maximum speed limits on territorial and municipal highways greater than 90 kilometres per hour.
Most importantly, Madam Chairperson, the amendments will place no obligations on the ministry and the department to do anything at all. However, the amendment simply removes the restrictions on the prerogative to set maximum speed limits. On passage of the bill, Madam Chairperson, as the Minister, I will be instructing my department to review some of the maximum speed limits that are out there now and in effect, and possibly look at raising some of them when it is deemed safe and sensible to do so on the existing highway system. With that, normally the practice of this House is that members of the Executive Council abstain on private Member's bills, but in this case, Madam Chairperson, I will be voting in favour of this bill. Thank you.
--Applause