Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I wish to give my sincere apologies to my constituents for my absence from the House during Wednesday's vote on the motion put forward by the Member for Tu Nedhe. Mr. Speaker, I spoke to the motion on Wednesday, and my constituents know that I strongly opposed the motion. I intended to vote accordingly. Unfortunately, in this Assembly, many things are uncertain, and not the least of these is timing. I knew after my comments that there were Members who had yet to speak. As well, under our rules, the Member who moves the motion has the right to conclude the debate, and that Member can speak for up to 20 minutes. Therefore, I fully expected that once I finished my comments the debate would still be lengthy.
Mr. Speaker, unfortunately, when I stepped out of the Assembly for a few minutes I missed the vote. My constituents know my position, but I do apologize to them that I was not able to be counted with the other Members who opposed this motion. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
--Applause