Michael McLeod

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Thank you, also, to all the Members that made comments. This issue of distracted driving has certainly come forward as an emerging issue. When it was raised here several years ago there has been a lot of research done in here with distracted driving. We’ve had many organizations -- the NWT Association of Communities, we had the RCMP, people from SADD, the city -- come forward and bring some information that would support the need for new legislation. We also, of course, had many of the MLAs raise the issue and bring examples and also concerns by residents of the North...

Yes, Mr. Chair.

Mr. Chairman, on my left I have Mr. Russell Neudorf, deputy minister of the Department of Transportation, and on my right I have Ms. Kelly McLaughlin, legislative counsel with the Department of Justice.

Mr. Chairman, I am pleased to present Bill 15, An Act to Amend the Deh Cho Bridge Act, which proposes amendments to update the act to reflect changes and advancements in the Deh Cho Bridge project. The Deh Cho Bridge will provide all-day, year-round access across the Mackenzie River, replacing the operations of the Merv Hardie Ferry and the Mackenzie River ice crossing, and this bill makes three main amendments to support these future operations.

First, all reference to the Deh Cho Bridge Fund is being removed. This special fund is no longer needed, now that the Government of the Northwest...

The answer is yes and yes and yes. I understand the Member’s sense of urgency wanting to have this advertised and documented. We have the plans to do so. We had wanted to have the legislation passed first, prior to getting this out in the public. We have started, and I’m sure the Member will be happy to see, further information being provided.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Member is correct; we had indicated that we would take on a number of initiatives to encourage people to leave their phone alone while they’re driving. It’s our goal to reduce the number of collisions in the Northwest Territories attributed to driver distraction. We have a number of objectives that we’ve set, and that is to have a large percentage of people acknowledging that distracted driving, driving with a phone or other electronic devices can cause harm, and that’s something they shouldn’t do.

We have also an objective to reduce the traffic collisions, by a...

Mr. Chairman, there was a reprint and I don’t believe that was the same document that was just referenced. If we could have Mr. Ian Rennie talk to the issue.

Mr. Chairman, we’re trying to find the reference that the Member is making. He’s asked two questions about talking and removing promotion of hands-free alternatives. I’d like to point out that that’s something we will look at removing. I think it’s a good point that the Member is making and we certainly, by way of providing exemptions, are not intending to promote any type of hands-free electronic devices. However, we recognize in some cases, such as winter roads, that is the only communication device available. So we will be looking very carefully on how and what type of devices can be used.

F...

Mr. Chairman, on my left is Mr. Russell Neudorf, deputy minister of the Department of Transportation. On my right is Ms. Kelly McLaughlin -- sorry, Mr. Chairman, on my right is Ian Rennie, legislative counsel with the Department of Justice.

---Laughter

Yes, Mr. Chairman, I do. Mr. Chairman, I’m pleased to present Bill 16, An Act to Amend the Motor Vehicles Act, which addresses the issue of distracted driving posing a restriction on the use of handheld electronic devices, such as cell phones, music players, tablet devices, and personal digital systems while driving. This bill also proposes a raise in the threshold for mandatory reporting of a collision from $1,000 to $2,000 and provides a mechanism to restrict services for unpaid fines under the Deh Cho Bridge Act.

We will be joining 11 other Canadian jurisdictions in prohibiting the use of...