Thank you, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, I think one of the highest obligations of any legislator is to ensure that the rights of Canadians, and certainly in our case the rights of all Northerners, are protected including essential democratic rights, and the Charter is our guide to doing that.
I am concerned that the amendment as indicated in Committee Motion 91-18(2) does not adequately ensure that the constitutional rights of Northerners will be protected and potentially infringed by a ban for running for office, and I propose this amendment is a way to provide certainty that, should a ban be brought forward, those subject to it still have an avenue of recourse to apply by way of petition to the Supreme Court and request an exemption to the ban based on exceptional circumstances.
Should this amendment pass, there will be work required to determine those exceptional circumstances, but I believe this is the best way forward to ensure that this Assembly can both send a strong message about expected behaviour of responsible citizens in the Northwest Territories and respond to the epidemic of family violence, which is clearly indicated in both our mandate and priorities document and has been referenced many times by the honourable Members of this House on various occasions and on various topics.
We have an obligation to be role models, but we also have an obligation to make sure that the rights of Northerners are protected, and this seeks a balance to do both. I know this topic has not been without controversy, and as the honourable Member for Frame Lake mentioned, that's a good thing. It's good that we can debate this fully and understand exactly what we're trying to achieve with recommendations such as these and motions such as these. I do believe that we have an onus to ensure without a doubt that rights are respected when we are making statements and changing the rules for the reason of addressing social ills in our territory.
So with that, Mr. Chair, I will yield my time, but I look forward to debate on this amendment and any other motion. Thank you.