Thank you, Mr. Chair. I just have a couple of comments I’d like to make. I’d like to start off, as well, by thanking the members of the commission for their work. I think they did an admirable job. I know it certainly was a lot of time that was put in. I think the result was a thorough and comprehensive report. It obviously was well researched and I think some thanks have to go to our staff for that, who provided an awful lot of support to the commission.

I think that some of the amendments that are coming forward provide clarification to a number of provisions around Members’ travel, constituency expenses and a few other procedural items. Some of them will be in regulations but there are also

some amendments to the act that clarify a number of things. I don’t see those as major changes, but I think it’s certainly a good thing to evaluate where our problems have been and to try to clarify them, and I think that this act does that.

I’m also very glad to see that we are putting restrictions on Regular Members, Cabinet Ministers and Speaker after they leave the Assembly. I think these amendments were really needed. There was an opportunity for Members who were no longer Members, previous Members, to either be employed or to enter into contracts with the government to be employed by someone with whom they’ve had significant dealings while they were a Cabinet Minister. It was very open. There really weren’t any restrictions in the act and this has tightened it up quite a bit. It could be tighter, but this is, I think, a solution that is a good one, and I support the solution as it is presented.

We, as Members, should not expect that we can leave here and automatically enter into employment, for instance, with the GNWT. We are given a transition allowance as former Members and I think that the amount of the transition allowance is such that it certainly can enable former Members to survive for a period of a year and they then can get into contracts and/or employment with the GNWT.

Along the same vein, I am really glad to see that we are suggesting that the restrictions not only apply to former Members and current Members, but it also applies to departments and employees of the GNWT. The onus is on employees as much as it is on Members not to enter into contracts with former Members. I think that’s a distinction that needs to be made.

Other than that, Mr. Chair, I don’t have any comments. I do think that the amendments as a whole are good ones. That’s it.