Thank you, Mr. Chair. I support this motion. In fact, it was in my electoral platform that this was a change that I thought would be beneficial. Over the course of the election, I spoke to many residents of Kam Lake who had just moved to the riding. Kam Lake is a community on the grow, and some people were not able to vote because they did not meet that 12-month threshold. It is a curious thing that the three northern jurisdictions have a year-long residency that is required. I was just reading in the press the other day that there was a candidate in Nunavut who sought to run in the previous election, and was unable to because she failed to meet the one-year requirement which is also required for candidates.
I think this is a way to open up the electoral process and encourage more participation. The North is a place of opportunities, and we are always trying to attract new residents, and to have those new people's voices added to our democracy is only going to strengthen the exchange of ideas that MLAs bring forward, and to empower them to be part of our democratic process. I would even say, we could drop this from six months to as soon as someone establishes residency in the Northwest Territories, but I think the committee did consider that and ultimately decided on taking a balanced approach that cut the time requirements in half. I think this is a very important and positive recommendation, and I will be supporting it. Thank you, Mr. Chair.