Thank you, Mr. Chair. I think it’s a good thing that the Minister is not sitting in a car.
---Laughter
Thank you, Mr. Chair. I’d like to say at the outset that I’m extremely pleased to see that these amendments have finally come to this point. I think it’s a good start. I am one of those people who believe that we ought to be also legislating against the use of hands-free devices in a vehicle. They’ve been proven to be as distracting as many other things. I know the Minister feels that it is covered under the Motor Vehicles Act under penalties for distracted driving. I would hope that in a year or two’s time that we will do an evaluation of the effect of this particular change in our Motor Vehicles Act and that we will evaluate the effect that banning cell phones has had and consider banning hands-free as well.
I think it’s important to note that the NWT Association of Communities supports this bill and they wrote to committee and also, I believe, to the Minister, to express that support. They represent all of our communities and I think this is an issue that is going to affect all NWT residents no matter where they reside.
I also noted at the end of June of this year there was a little note in the Yellowknifer paper on the 29
of June from the RCMP urging motorists not to
use cell phones, that summer was coming up and kids were out of school. They, as well, recognized the dangers of driving and using cell phones at the same time. They see the results of accidents that occur. It’s a small wonder that the RCMP is supporting this kind of a change.
Certainly I will not be voting against this motion, but again I do hope that in a couple of years’ time there is an evaluation of the effect that this ban is having on our traffic accidents, and that we will then consider to make it even more restrictive for people driving distractedly and put greater penalties in place.