Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, certainly I appreciate the concerns raised by the Member for Yellowknife North. She spoke well to them and I think summarized well the concerns associated with moving forward with the bill as it is. Certainly the biggest one that I have is the uncertainty it could create. We certainly don't have certainty as to what would happen after the bill moves forward, and that is a concern that I share.

I also think the Member for Yellowknife North made it clear that we are not in a position to be repealing the carbon tax in the sense that citizens will not be paying carbon tax even if this bill moved forward. So we do need to be clear about that. And I think citizens need to understand that clearly, that we are not in the position to do that. This is a federal tax whether if the -- if the NWT repeals our tax, the federal tax will remain, and they will be taxed the same.

However, I do note that many issues with the existing act were raised the last time it was reviewed and not addressed when it was passed. So an opportunity for further investigation could lead to ideas for improvement that could either be applied to this act or to a subsequent one if this act were to be defeated. Furthermore, review of the bill by committee will allow for a fulsome investigation into its merits or the lack thereof.

So I want to be clear I am similar to the Member for Boot Lake. I am supportive of sending the bill to second reading for further investigation. I want to be clear that that is not necessarily an expression of support for the bill itself at this time. My hope is through investigation we can address uncertainties, possibly develop ideas as to how we can address the existing shortcomings of the current program and come forward with conclusive recommendations. So I am supportive of moving the bill to committee, investigating it. I think that we can come forward -- I hope that we can come forward with conclusive recommendations about it. And depending on the conclusions of the committee and my own personal conclusions which would stem from the investigation of the committee, I will make a decision on the bill at a later time. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.