Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I think I've already spoken to this issue of the plebiscite in the House before, but just to be on the public record for this particular vote and this particular motion, I will not be supporting the motion.
A plebiscite is a costly thing. It is an opinion poll. I do applaud the Premier's efforts in getting the signatories that have come to the table already on devolution. I know that that did not happen by waving a magic wand. That took hard work. That took visits to all of the regions. It took a lot of consultation out there. We know some of the work that quietly went on behind the scenes to canvass Aboriginal governments and canvass people in the public.
I think that I would rather see the money that would be spent on a plebiscite go into an awareness campaign whereby communities or regions or organizations, schools, could make a request to this government to have a presentation made to them on what devolution is. It's a complex subject, and it isn't just something we've been working on or talking to people about in the last 18 months. Try the last 18 years. Try the last four years. I mean, it's something that's been around for a long time and talked about, and now we have a draft final agreement, we have a, well, a final agreement, and I think the money and time could be better spent to respond to people's requests who would like to know more and be informed of how this is going to affect them.
I know in Hay River, we'd probably like to know how devolution is going to affect us on many different fronts. I don't think that we should go out on a campaign, though, and hold public hearings and meetings, and all kinds of things that people may or may not choose to show up. I mean, devolution is a complex thing. It's something that a lot of people are probably interested it, but it's something that a lot of other people aren't that interested in. I think that if we set up some kind of a presentation team and we could do it by request, by community, by region, by intuition, I think that would be money and time extremely well spent, and I would support that, but not a plebiscite.