Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, over the past few days I have heard from many of my constituents in Hay River. I have to say that the message has been mixed. There have been some expressions of support for the Premier and some of non-support. I have carefully considered these opinions that have come to me.
Sometimes in these circumstances, we as elected Members have to weigh the balance of all the issues that are before us. Much of the information out there for our constituents portrays a picture of what is happening here and it is portrayed in black and white and it would be nice if it was that clear cut and that simple, but I am afraid it is not.
I feel very similarly to the sentiment expressed by Mr. Braden in his minority report which was attached to the committee report. I also believe that the departure of the Premier at this time would not be in the best interest of the people of the Northwest Territories.
This government has made substantial progress on the issues of devolution, diamond development, a gas pipeline, provincial and external relations and self-government. These issues are huge to the economic stability of all regions of the Northwest Territories including Hay River.
Mr. Chairman, I thank the Premier for his comments today and I think as most know in this House, we feel he has a responsibility as the head of this government to have overseen these matters in a better fashion. So as Mr. Braden stated in his report, this is a difficult compromise for me to make and I believe for anyone who is continuing to support him, it does call on us to weigh this out and to make somewhat of a compromise.
But with all due respect to my colleagues in this House and to my constituents in Hay River who may disagree with my position I can still say in good conscience I do believe that Stephen Kakfwi is the best chance we have to advance our agenda for the benefit of all Northerners.
I want to state that I am prepared to work closely with him and the other Members of this Assembly to get past this very difficult series of events and get the most out of this last year of this mandate as we possibly can.
I will also contribute to the discussions and the review of policies to prevent any reoccurrence of this nature in this government in the future. Mr. Chairman, I will be supporting the motion to accept the Auditor General's report and the findings contained in it, but I will not be supporting the motion requesting Premier Kakfwi to resign. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.