Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I move that this committee recommends that the Legislative Assembly approve the implementation of an On-line Petition Pilot Program to allow for the presentation of petitions from on-line petitions websites associated with the Legislative Assembly website to be operational from the period of October 1, 2010, to June 30, 2011. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
The motion is in order. To the motion. Mr. Hawkins.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, I just want to say one brief thing, which is this is a significant move forward, I believe, in democracy. I believe strongly that this will provide a new dimension to bringing the voice of the people of the North to this Assembly. We will be able to reach one corner to another on a particular issue to ensure that it will be heard on the floor of this House. An example of the rest of Canada and North America should take hold of and watch as we proceed forward to see how it works. This could be a scary adventure for some, but I believe this is an opportunity to hear the voices, the passion of the people in this respective Assembly and certainly I hope it lends itself as a model for future Assemblies to consider. Thank you.
To the motion. Mrs. Groenewegen.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I am sure that all the details of this particular undertaking will be ironed out, but I think it’s very important to make sure that there are ways of ensuring that people who want to sign on-line petitions identify themselves and their identity can be confirmed. Thank you.
To the motion. Premier Roland.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, I guess this is the one time I get to speak in Committee of the Whole to a motion. That reflects more on the Assembly as a whole and as Mrs. Groenewegen has stated, the verification of individuals who would sign on the website is going to be absolutely critical. The one thing I’ve seen, and I’m sure all of us have seen in this new world and this new technology that is ever changing, is there are so many opportunities and things happen so fast and there is a certain anonymity to the Internet world, as they say, that would be somewhat difficult to prove. Whereas in today’s environment, although cumbersome, the individual that signs is in the community and signs in front of someone, in a sense a witness. Whereas, the on-line world, you don’t know who truly is on the other side unless you can verify that in some substantive way.
So although Mr. Hawkins has talked about the rest of the world or North America paying attention to this, I think we’d better make sure we get our ducks lined up and make sure the appropriate measures are put in place so that someone doesn’t just go to a phone book in the NWT and pick a name and send it in on a website. Who’s to verify that signature is the accurate one? So it could be somewhat cumbersome as we go forward. So that’s a caution, I guess, that I would put to this. Thank you.
To the motion.
Question.
Question is being called.
---Carried
The motion is carried. Mr. Hawkins.
