Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, this harmonization initiative I believe was undertaken with the best of intentions. Unfortunately, it began to encompass a lot of other different issues and got a little broader and it has became much more complicated now. As a regular Member, I found myself in a difficult situation. This will positively impact many of my constituents, it will negatively impact others. I think the harmonization initiative does need some more work. We did see some movement on the part of the government this week with the agreement to grandfather the seniors. So when you take the seniors out of the mix in Hay River, I still have a split between the people that it will help and those it will be difficult for. I think that the detail I am concerned about is more in how it's implemented. I believe in the philosophy. I believe in the concept, but how it's going to be implemented is still a concern to me.

I don't think it's right for us to absolve ourselves of responsibility by deferring it for an entire year. We just basically look like we are washing our hands of it for political reasons and I don't think that that shows very much leadership. So, Mr. Speaker, I am going to vote on this today to... I am not voting in favour of the motion to defer the harmonization initiative and I am going to hope that there is still an opportunity to look at some of these areas that are causing difficulty and to modify them, whether it's phase-ins or just cleaning it up, make it less onerous for certain individuals and for certain communities. I am hopeful that the government will look at some of those changes prior to implementation, but to defer it by a year and just wash our hands of it as a government I cannot support. Thank you.