Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I think I was part of that earlier confusion. I thank the Member for Monfwi for moving the amended motion obviously and the Member for Range Lake for clarifying what it is, the intent of the amendment. That said, it's already been explained on the record so there's no sense in repeating what it was, but I want to further underscore I think the Members would like a recorded vote in this amendment process so therefore I'll formally ask for it. Thank you.
The Member for Monfwi. The Member for Frame Lake. The Member for Great Slave. The Member for Mackenzie Delta. The Member for Yellowknife North. The Member for Tu NedheWiilideh. The Member for Deh Cho. The Member for Sahtu. The Member for Yellowknife Centre. The Member for Range Lake.
All those opposed? All those abstaining?
The Member from Thebacha. The Member for Kam Lake. The Member for Hay River North. The Member for Hay River South. The Member for Inuvik Twin Lakes. The Member for Nunakput.
Colleagues, motion 10 yeses. 0 nos. And 6 abstentions. Motion has been carried.
Carried
Members, returning back to the Motion 920(1) as amended. To the motion as amended. Member for Monfwi.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. First off, I'm going to ask for a recorded vote to make sure that doesn't get forgotten.
The next part is part of the I just want to further elaborate on the amendment made by my colleague from Monfwi. The issue is this side of the House is trying to make this the most collaborative process as possible, and we want to work with Council of Leaders. We believe the Indigenous governments do have a role to play on the guidance of this inquiry, and we think it would be strengthened by their vision and input on it. So the Members aren't doing this in isolation so the House may be able to count every single one here showing their support. But that said, I want people to know is we've reached well beyond our ranks in this House to get into the communities to speak to the chiefs, to speak to folks and families who have been impacted by this, so that's, you know, part of the underlying reason of this amendment to ensure that we're demonstrating, we're reaching very far and collaboratively to make it a good process. Thank you.
The Member for Monfwi. The Member for Frame Lake. The Member for Great Slave. The Member for Mackenzie Delta. The Member for Yellowknife North. The Member for Tu NedheWiilideh. The Member for Deh Cho. The Member for Sahtu. The Member for Yellowknife Centre. The Member for Range Lake.
All those opposed? All those abstaining?
The Member for Thebacha. The Member for Kam Lake. The Member for Hay River North. The Member for Hay River South. The Member for Inuvik Twin Lakes. The Member for Nunakput.
In favour, 10. Opposed, 0. Abstention, 6. Motion has been carried.
Carried
Returning back to Motion 920(1) as amended. To the motion. Member from Frame Lake.
Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Well, over the course of today, we've had a public debate on the nature of the emergency that brings this motion before the House today, the nature of what that motion is calling for, and we've also made that motion more collaborative, more inclusive of treaty partners, more mindful of costs, and to ensure the protection and anonymity of those participating. And all of this, this motion, all the research we've done that my honourable friends have spoken about over the last week and before that, I want to reassure my friends opposite that we do, in fact, work in reality on this side of the House. We do get sound legal advice from our experts, and the resources afforded to us in the execution of our duties as Members of this institution are second to none. We are very well equipped to look at legislation as lawmakers, to get independent advice that's not coloured by anything other than the advice, and we've done that. So I feel very confident that we when we say this legislation can do what we say it is not a flight of fancy. It is not an imaginary concept that we dreamed of one night. It is, in fact, based on the law. And the federal law that I think, more Canadians are familiar with, more Northerners, that has produced national inquiries is very similar to ours. We've heard experts. One of the the expert by the Honourable Minister of Municipal and Community Affairs spoke literally wrote the book on public inquiries law, and he mentioned in that interview that he had looked at our legislation, and it was not nearly as problematic as perhaps the GNWT's position was on or the concerns that have been raised. And we've been trying earnestly to express that we've done our homework. You know, and it is frustrating at times that it's like speaking into our own echo chamber because folks aren't listening, and that's frustrating, right. We keep saying we've done our homework. We keep saying we're gonna compromise. You're concerned about costs? Okay, let's put let's compromise on costs. You're concerned about timing? Let's make sure there's timelines. We have worked to compromise and to address the concerns from our government partners or our colleagues opposite every time we've engaged them on this issue, and we have not seen well, we've not seen the same compromises on their end.
And the reason, again, this is important is we're all affected. All of us. Every single one of us. You know, I had to put my wife and children on the highway out of the territory and stay behind. And, you know, I was in emergency operations. I wasn't a frontline fighter or anything like that. So, you know, my contribution was in other ways. But we all have a story. And whether we stayed, or we left, or we were in a community that was unaffected, we are all affected, you know, not directly affected. So when we say this is not a witch hunt, we mean it because we're not looking to cast blame. We're not looking to cast blame because we all know what this was like. It was hard. It's probably the hardest thing we've had to this the GNWT has ever had to deal with. And that's what this is about. It's about getting the right answers so things like this doesn't happen again. And it is about healing. And the suggestion that an inquiry can't lead to healing, I think is fairly difficult to take when you consider we've had a national inquiry into a very sensitive subject. You know, and I'm not going to delve into that here, Mr. Speaker, but a very sensitive and personal subject for Northerners, and I think that did lead to a lot of healing. So I reject the suggestion that an inquiry will be divisive and find fault and split people. I think it can heal, and I think it's necessary to give that level of independence so we know that what is coming out of an inquiry is the right information.
And you know why inquiries go over budget, Mr. Speaker? Because they find out new questions they need to ask. They listen to the people who are coming before them. They listen to witness testimonies. And that's how things are going. But we've said if we get let the government do its report, get the afteraction reports done, get the recommendations in place to fight the coming fires so we don't have to be evacuated again, if nature cooperates. Give those reports to the inquiry. Let them review it. Let them see what the government has done and that will necessarily scope this exercise. Again, we have brought this forward and it's fallen on deaf ears, Mr. Speaker.
And I agree with those who have said, you know, people in these roles made the best decision for the time based on the information they had. I agree 100 percent. We all you know, we all know that that's the reality here. It's not about saying, you know, attacking first responders, attacking firefighters, attacking emergency service workers. And the suggestion of that is not what we are about. These are our friends. These are our neighbours. These are people who saved our communities, and we respect them for the heros that they are.
And the events that happened at this Assembly last into the personal conduct of a Member that led to exorbitant costs, that was not a public inquiry under the Public Inquiries Act. The Commissioner had the process that was used is through the Conflict Commissioner, and the code the Integrity Commissioner process we have here, it has its own rules. It has similar powers; in fact identical powers to how an inquiry works but it is not the same thing as this. And its budget was handled by the esoteric bodies that exist within this Assembly. And it didn't have to go there I don't think, but I'm not going to litigate that either. But we can keep being scared about costs and timelines and things like that, but what we haven't heard is what is the budget for this process? How what is the right amount of money to spend on this? Is it $20,000? $40,000? $100,000? $10 million? $5 million? Two? We haven't been told. No one's been told. Despite us asking well, what is reasonable, then? What is reasonable for this government to carry in its fiscal given the fiscal circumstances we have. We haven't gotten an answer. So what is the cost? Because of what we're proposing on this side of the House is going to be too expensive for this government to bear, but they can do it for a reasonable cost that's going to get the same level of results, I just don't see how that works out. It's not just lawyers. It's the engagement sessions. It's the ability to bring people forward.
So I think we've I'm not going to belabour this anymore, Mr. Speaker. It's just concerning to me as well that when again, when we have done our homework, when we have tried to work collaboratively and hear the concerns and then be reasonable. And no, we are not this is a nonbinding motion, Mr. Speaker. We are aware of that. An inquiry doesn't happen just because this passes. But this sends a clear message of what the expectations are. And that's why collaboration's so important here. And, again, we have tried. The seconder and myself have tried to make this a process that we can all get behind because healing is what we need to do at the end of the day.
It was unfortunate that some of the debate has been characterized by stubbornness or a desire to point fingers or find fault or certainly to divide communities, because that's not what we're trying to do here. We're trying to bring communities back together. We're trying to bring this government closer to the people and restore the trust that has been broken through a very traumatic event. And I think this is the right tool to do so, and I'm pleased to have brought it forward and to be supported. And at the appropriate time, I will request a recorded vote. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
The Member for Range Lake. The Member for Monfwi. The Member for Frame Lake. The Member for Great Slave. The Member for Mackenzie Delta. The Member for Yellowknife North. The Member for Tu NedheWiilideh. The Member for Deh Cho. The Member for Sahtu. The Member for Yellowknife Centre.
All those opposed, please stand.
The Member for Thebacha. The Member for Kam Lake. The Member for Hay River North. The Member from Hay River South. The Member for Inuvik Twin Lakes. The Member for Nunakput.
Those all abstaining, please stand. Members, the results are 10 in favour, 6 opposed, zero abstentions. Motion 920(1) as amended has been carried.
Carried
Ladies and gentlemen, colleagues, I will ask to have a brief break. We've been in these chambers for over two and a half hours. We need to give our interpreters a break as well, so I'd like to thank them very much for us as we went through this debate in this motion. Thank you.
SHORT RECESS
Thank you, colleagues. Motions. Member from Yellowknife North.
Recorded vote, please.
The Member from Sahtu. The Member for Yellowknife Centre. The Member for Range Lake. The Member for Monfwi. The Member for Frame Lake. The Member for Great Slave. The Member for Mackenzie Delta. The Member for Yellowknife North. The Member for Tu NedheWiilideh.
All those opposed? Those abstaining?
The Member for Thebacha. The Member for Kam Lake. The Member for Hay River North. The Member for Hay River South. The Member for Inuvik Twin Lakes. The Member for Nunakput.
Thank you. 10 in favour just hold on one second. 10 in favour. Zero opposed. 6 abstentions. The motion is carried.
Carried
Motions. Member from Yellowknife Centre.
