Thank you, Mr. Speaker. There have been a lot of words spoken today. We have heard that, of course, some Indigenous governments do not feel that the process to date respects the agreed-upon process of co-drafting. We have also heard about many challenges with the bill itself. Mr. Speaker, everybody in this room knows that standing committee plays a significant and important role in developing legislation on behalf of this Legislative Assembly, and so, while I can't speak, let's say, for every individual specifically on the Standing Committee on Economic Development and Environment, the standing committee that will be tasked with taking this particular legislation on the road, I can say that the standing committee has consistently been clear in its messaging, that we feel that there has been a lack of supporting information and that, to some degree, we do feel ill equipped to take this material on the road.

Mr. Speaker, what is also important is that this particular piece of legislation is going to be going on the road with two other bills that we are bundling together to take this on the road. So, while again I respect that there are a number of Members saying that there will be a due diligence process for further consultation, let's remember that it's going to be bundled with two other pieces of legislation that need equal or greater attention, to some regard. We are talking about the Protected Areas Act and the Environmental Management Act. Mr. Speaker, we have seen some bills in this House, 911, cannabis, take significant time and resources from their respective standing committees to go out on the road and do very meaningful consultation. A number of them went into a number of communities, 15, 16, 17 communities in one instance, and it took months to properly do the deliberation. Mr. Speaker, departments have had nearly four years to get their legislation in order to be able to present it to the standing committees, and now the Standing Committee on Economic Development and Environment has April, May, June, and July, four months, to take nine bills that this committee is going to get on the road. Six, I should say, for sure are going on the road, possibly seven, a couple maybe that we do not have to travel with. It took months for 911 and cannabis. They travelled independently, on their own, with the full time and resources of their committees from a couple of years ago, to be able to focus and give it the time it required and the resources necessary. This committee is taking six pieces, possibly seven pieces, on the road in four months, with limited resources, limited time. This is not due diligence for a piece of legislation so serious and so critical as the Forest Act. This deserved to the parked and put forward to the 19^th Assembly, where it could start out of the gate with fresh resources, fresh time, fresh energy, and the due diligence to do the proper co-drafting consultation, et cetera.

Mr. Speaker, it's frustrating, to say the least, that I feel that our government is compounding all of its efforts into these last few months to get legislation pushed out through the door so that we can check off some boxes rather than doing it right. For those reasons, I will not be supporting the bill. Thank you.