Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Democracy means many things to many different people. Democracy is certainly a form of government where people rule through their elected MLAs. The people are the absolute and supreme form of political authority. As we, as legislators, from time to time vote on behalf of our people, such as the budget process or the motions brought up in this Assembly, we are the people's voice. We were put here by the very fact that we will represent our people in these legislative halls of government.
We stand today on new ground with the old ways of doing things. We achieved a new deal with Ottawa. Much of the leadership under our Premier and past governments, to them we owe our appreciation. We value our democratic process and the importance to let our people speak through a vote. A vote to choose, a vote to say yes or no through a simple question, a question that will be affecting them for the rest of their lives and their children's children.
We're still a consensus government and passing our budget shows it's alive and well and it can work if we work it. We have regional votes. It's been done in the past with our land claims and it works. This is the price of democracy. Power to the people. We need to believe in our people.
With a plebiscite vote the stakes are high. I'm not too sure about the timing, but we as government must ensure that all residents know the details of the Devolution Agreement. More importantly, the people need to know the possibilities and opportunities that are here for them.
We must inspire each individual to pick up the Devolution Agreement, read it, study it, talk about it, and not listen to other's opinions about it. This is true responsibility for their lives. We need to respect the Devolution Agreement and the collective ownership of it. This devolution will stop us from asking for permission from Ottawa if we can do this or that.
We have become the adults today. Now we must learn the rules of the adult world and we need to live by them as responsible adults with Canada.
We value the people's right to decide, and every four years we allow that to happen. It's a privilege to be here, not a right.
Once again, I say from our leadership in the Sahtu, have faith in our leaders. As Mr. Blake said, have faith in our people. We will decide amongst ourselves in our own way if we're going to look at the Devolution Agreement and accept it. We have a process. I'm going to work with my people. My people are going to do this in a way that is good for the Sahtu people. I would say let them have their own way of saying yes to me and I will vote according to my people. In this poll thing, I will not be supporting this motion.