Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Today, Mr. Speaker, I would like to welcome all of my colleagues back to this House. I hope everyone is well rested. Over the past few months, we have seen the election of Nunavut and the Premier and Cabinet selection for the new government, and I would like to congratulate all Members who will form the new Legislative Assembly.
For the west, we still need to resolve many outstanding and important issues prior to March 31, 1999. I believe one of the most important issues, of course, is the Electoral Boundaries. We have met numerous times to discuss this and are finally at the stage where we must decide once and for all. All through this process I have supported the idea of three new seats for the western Arctic; one for Yellowknife, one extra seat for North Slave and one possibly for Hay River or Inuvik. This has been my position and I would still lobby for this. To me and my constituents, we feel this to be the best solution.
However, this Assembly is now recommending increasing the number of seats to 19, and can say that there is support for this move, as it recognizes the need for more seats to accommodate the population breakdown in a fair and equitable manner. This is fine; however, once the seats are set for Yellowknife, Hay River and Inuvik, this reduces the representation by population argument considerably. This raises another question, that being, what about the North Slave? If we agree to give these extra seats to the three tax-based communities, this will leave the North Slave as one of the largest, if not the largest, constituency in the western Arctic with only one Member representing it.
As some may realize, the North Slave currently is in the first stages of a economic boom, which will bring many new residents to the area. I can see the 25 percent mark realized in the next few years very easily. When it happens, we will be under-represented. Does this mean we will have to go to court to force the government to allow an extra seat, or will there be a set criteria that will allow for extra seats to be added once the population has reached a set level?
This is a very real concern and, if an extra seat is not provided for North Slave now, I am sure that the need will come forward in the near future. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.