Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I was contacted this past Sunday by a constituent about a significant public safety issue that they feel this government has failed to address in the public’s interest. The issue is the use of cell phones while driving.
The issue, as many would know already, has stirred up considerable public debate elsewhere in Canada. It has raised concerns and questions about personal responsibility, privacy and, certainly, public safety.
Mr. Speaker, I believe now more than ever as a territory we have reached the point where the need for public safety in this issue has to be examined. To date, Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia, Ontario, B.C. and Quebec have either passed or are drafting legislation that bans the use of cell phones while driving. Even as of September 1st of
this year, Strathcona County in Alberta was ahead of their own province on this issue by putting public safety first. I certainly applaud them for the visions and steps, Mr. Speaker.
As I’m trying to highlight, the issue that needs to be looked at is the fact that cell phones are considered too much of a distraction while driving, leading to unnecessary accidents causing injury and death, and most certainly fully preventable accidents, if I may say.
If I might remind this House, the New England Journal of Medicine found that talking on a cell phone while driving quadruples a person’s risk of accident, and also prompting the Canadian Medical Association to call for a ban on cell phones while driving.
Now, some people would rather see stricter enforcement of the existing careless drivers and the fact is this puts the responsibility back on the drivers and enforcement agencies, but the fact is this is a point that we all agree that enforcement and certainly laws need to examine. I believe this government has a role, but certainly waiting for tragedy to inspire action will never be considered responsible.
Mr. Speaker, this issue is of serious concern to a number of Canadians and certainly a number of NWT residents. So, therefore, later today I will be encouraging the Minister of Transportation to seriously look at this issue carefully to find out what the national trends are saying and follow maybe some of the direction that we should be leading in. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.