Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I, too, will be voting in favour of this motion. Originally, I was not in favour of the Boundaries Commission. I had thought that for a brief period of time, it would be okay just to have 14 Members. However, it is becoming increasingly more clear to me that this is not just going to be for a short period of time. Additionally, my primary reason, Mr. Speaker, as sure as I am standing here, if there is a constitutional challenge, we will lose that challenge. Simply looking in Yellowknife alone, the Yellowknife South constituency is more than two times the size of the smallest Yellowknife constituency. I do not think any court would allow that to stand. I cannot vote in favour of a motion that allows us to be in jeopardy of having to perhaps dissolve the House and have a Boundaries Commission and perhaps even another vote. Another reason and, in fact, Mr. Speaker, a person told me today that they would be willing to put their name on a document that would go to a Constitutional challenge. This is not just mere speculation.
Another thing that has been brought forward and certainly has to be considered is the fact that 14 Members are simply not enough to do a good job, Mr. Speaker. If you have 14 Members, you have one Speaker, that is 13 left. You have six Ministers, that is seven gone. This only leaves seven Ordinary Members, and all Cabinet has to do is sway one person or one person to be gone, and Cabinet can do anything they want. It will not be good government, and there is a possibility that this could go on for an extended period, Mr. Speaker. I simply cannot agree to this. I have talked to some Ministers, and they have indicated that with six Ministers, it will be a tough enough job. They could not do with less than six Ministers. If you are going to have a bigger leeway between the Ministers and the Ordinary Members, more than just six to seven and if we cannot decrease the amount of Ministers, we have to increase the amount of Ordinary Members.
Mr. Speaker, this has been a very difficult decision for me. There are a lot of aboriginal people, as well as non-aboriginal people, in my riding and obviously the Aboriginal Summit has indicated that they do not wish to see a Boundaries Commission. However, I have to consider what is best for the whole of my constituency, not just one part. I have come to the conclusion that it is best for the overall constituency of Yellowknife North if there is a Boundaries Commission. I will be voting in favour of this motion. Thank you.
--Applause