Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Democracy is not a stationary institution. We must remember that innovation is a cornerstone to truly democratic politics, and as such, we cannot allow our institutions to become stagnant or irrelevant. When we stand here in this House and we're happy with 50, 60 percent voter turnout, I believe we have allowed this institution to become stagnant. I believe this House must champion electoral reform, Mr. Speaker. This is not just our elections. We must also remember we control school board elections and municipal elections in this House.

Mr. Speaker, one of the first ways I believe we must do this is ranked ballot voting. Ranked ballot voting gives more choice for voters. It discourages negative campaigns in that you are acting for second place votes. It eliminates vote splitting, and it ensures candidates actually can get a majority of support.

Mr. Speaker, 64 percent of my constituents didn't vote for me, and when you factor in that almost half didn't vote, it's more like 80 percent of my constituents never voted for me. I would like to stand here one day and know that a majority of my constituents voted me here, even if it was on their second pick, Mr. Speaker. I believe we need to end "first past the post" in the Northwest Territories for both our school boards, municipalities, and this House, Mr. Speaker.

Secondly, Mr. Speaker, our last election was the first using online voting. I am very happy to see that, but we need to extend that to our school boards and municipalities. The Northwest Territories Association of Communities has asked us for this. They have passed a resolution, and we have failed to allow them to use the same online voting software that we use.

Lastly, Mr. Speaker, and perhaps most controversial, I believe we need to lower our voting age from 18 to 16. This isn't to say that 16-year-olds will know everything they'll ever know in life. I was 16 once. I remember how dumb I was, but the reality is: the younger people vote, they create a lifelong voting turnout. It is proven, when you lower the voting age, you increase overall voter turnout throughout life. Right now, sometimes an 18-year-old doesn't see their first election until 22, and if they don't vote in that, they don't vote for the first time until they're 26. Then, that pattern is not ingrained. Especially at the education authority, Mr. Speaker, I do not see why we do not let older high school students vote for who is on their school boards and who is running their schools. I believe this Assembly must champion electoral reform. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.