Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Today I’d like to highlight on-line petitions in my Member’s statement.
I am very pleased that the Legislative Assembly will soon be accepting on-line petitions here. It’s a new form of democracy being created right before our eyes, and I intend to promote this option to all the residents of Yellowknife Centre as well as throughout the North to all our northern constituents. I certainly hope Northerners will consider using this site to submit their petitions and make sure their voice is heard in this Assembly.
I was in favour of this direction from the start of our deliberations and I think that on-line petitions are a great way to ensure that there’s broad participation on democratic issues that affect the North.
Take issues like supplementary health benefits. It’s polarized Northerners from tip to tip to tip of our northern territory. This way we can ensure we hear their voice collectively, in one petition.
In 2000 the Scottish Parliament became the first Legislature to accept on-line petitions and formally launched its system in 2004. As I understand it, many European Legislatures now offer the ability to submit on-line petitions. The National Assembly of Quebec has recently established an on-line petition service for its residents. And our very own, the Legislative Assembly of the Northwest Territories, will become the second Legislature in Canada and, as I understand it, in North America, to have this feature.
Mr. Speaker, this Assembly has taken a huge step forward in delivering democracy to its constituents and I have to assure you that even if it has low uptake, the fact is we are providing access to our constituents, which is one of the purposes of why we’re here.
So I hope that this on-line service will mean that more MLAs will receive more petitions from their concerned constituents, rather than having their voice of silence because they’re not sure what to do. It seems to me the likelihood is that there will be more frequent petitions come forward and hopefully this government will hear concerns of the people by the people.
All in all, I think on-line petitions are a great way to increase communication in that outreach to our constituents. I want to thank the Members of this Assembly for their support of this initiative, especially the Members of the Rules and Procedures committee.
Finally, I would like to thank Mr. Speaker, as you soon will be launching this new initiative formally here as an opportunity for Northerners to make sure they are fully in touch with their Assembly. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Thank you, Members.
