Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, in all too many instances alcohol is a contributing factor in motor vehicle collisions, injuries and deaths. Every day in Canada, on average, 4.5 people are killed as a result of impaired driving and many more are injured.

Mixing alcohol and automobiles is a deadly combination that continues to exact a toll in human suffering in the NWT, not to mention the personal financial losses and the added cost to our health system to care for those injured in alcohol-related crashes.

In 2001, according to statistics compiled by the Department of Transportation, there were 48 collisions involving alcohol in the Northwest Territories resulting in 36 injuries. Sadly this represents a full 17 percent of all traffic injuries in the NWT last year. The statistic that I find particularly disturbing is that 65 percent -- two-thirds -- of all drinking drivers were between the ages of 16 and 34.

This week groups such as Students Against Drunk Driving (SADD) are observing National Students Against Impaired Driving Week in Canada. SADD chapters in the NWT have also participated in this national observance as part of their continuing efforts to raise awareness and promote the value of education as part of overall efforts to combat drinking and driving.

Mr. Speaker, it is against that backdrop that I am pleased to report that, while renewed efforts are still needed to prevent this deplorable act of driving while impaired, there are encouraging signs that increased awareness, education and enforcement have led to some noteworthy progress in this uphill fight. A review of DOT statistics shows that over the last decade -- 1992 to 2001 -- the number of collisions involving alcohol has decreased by almost 50 percent, from 91 collisions in 1992 to 48 in 2001. Over that same period the number of victims injured in those crashes dropped from 38 to 21.

Despite these advances in the struggle, Mr. Speaker, much still remains to be done to prevent alcohol-related collisions. We must change outdated and dangerous attitudes and behaviour to reduce the number of people who drink alcohol and get behind the wheel of a car.

Mr. Speaker, as a society that is concerned for the safety and well-being of our citizens, we must loudly and forcefully condemn those who insist on putting themselves and others at risk by drinking and driving. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

-- Applause