Thank you, Madam Chairperson. I, too, had the ability and the time to go and visit communities up and down the valley this summer on Bill 15. As Members are well aware, previously I sat in Cabinet for seven years, and you do not have a lot of time when you are a Cabinet Minister to do a lot of other things other than be a Cabinet Minister and take care of those duties. I remember when living back in Fort Resolution, there was always a cautious approach to Yellowknife and what it represented, but I did not realize what people really thought of our capital city until you went and listened to what they had to say. I told a lot of them that I have lived here going on seven years now, and there are a lot of good people in Yellowknife. There are a lot of good people who are very, very interested in the future of the North. They are very, very interested in the development of the North. They are strong supporters of the inherent right of self-government, aboriginal government. There are good people here. I know a lot of them. So never judge a place only on the actions of a handful of them that are very vocal or on the actions of some of their elected representatives. You cannot judge a complete community.
Definitely people out there see very clearly the power shift that is going to happen in this Legislative Assembly. Those that say it is not, have either run out of fingers to count or they do not have the ability to embrace reality. When you have 11 of 19 Members that come from major centres and seven of them from our capital, you do have power. Ultimately everything comes through this House. The final decisions are made in this House. You may not be able to tell that the way the government of the day operates, but ultimately that is the way it should operate. Things should come through this House, and that is where the final decision should be made. People up and down the valley that we have heard, regardless whether they were aboriginal or non-aboriginal, are very concerned about the power shift. I have heard everyone say they want a political solution. Every last one of those people said the judges overstepped their boundaries, they entered the Legislative Assembly, made decisions - political decisions instead of justice decisions.
The Legislative Assembly Cabinet, after the decision was made, chose not to come up with a solution, but to take the advice and not appeal the decision and bring this bill forward, Bill 15. Everyone, even in that debate, was saying they have to come up with political solutions. Now everyone knows that we are all in the dying days of the 13th Legislative Assembly. Everyone knows that, but we are all still being paid as well. We are all still being paid to make decisions on behalf of the people of the whole Northwest Territories. Nobody wants to see a lame duck government. It is one of the worst things to watch.
People have to remember where they come from. People have the responsibility to stand up for what they believe in. If people believe that there is no hope to hold the Western Territory together, then they should say that. But if Members believe that we should show some leadership and supply the glue that holds the fabric of the new Western Territories together, then you should make bold decisions and move ahead.
As far as our report goes, there will be recommendations and motions. Some are useless without the other ones passing. But we went out, we have heard the people and we are repeating what people have said to us. I know the government of the day has already shown, regardless of a motion passed in this Assembly giving it direction, does not have to listen to that. I hope that it never stoops to the level of not listening to the people because we have, went out there and listened to the people. We agree with what the people are saying. You have to come up with a political solution. It should be a solution that carries, or a process for that solution, that carries the same weight as the legislation you are introducing today. It is your committee of the whole as well, Bill 15.
The two have to be equal because, if they are not, then you end up giving nothing. It is not the time to pass the buck onto the 14th Assembly. It is not the time to shrink from our responsibilities. It is a time to make decisions and it is a time to offer solutions. So with that, Madam Chairperson, I will be happy to hear other solutions than the ones we brought forward, but we do need a solution. Or the Members of the 13th Assembly and the Members of the Cabinet of this day, they will be the ones that go down in history and said we have given up, we can do nothing. Or we will not do anything, or we will not do anything or we do not have the political will to do something.
We are all elected by our people to come here and vote. We are all elected to do what is right for all of the Northwest Territories, not just a selective few. So hopefully you will all think of that when it comes time to vote and I hope that, in those cases where it does not include spending money, that you will not only allow a free vote of the Cabinet Members, but allow free debate on this issue. On an issue of this importance, no elected Member should be allowed to hide behind their chair. They should all speak so the voters know what you really feel. With that, I look forward to the debate, questions and motions. Mahsi Cho, Thank you.