Oh God, may Your spirit and guidance be in us as we work for the benefit of all our people for peace and justice in our land and for the constant recognition of the dignity and aspirations of those whom we serve. Amen.

Mr. Chairman, I wish to nominate Paul Delorey, the Member for Hay River North, for the position on Cabinet. Thank you.

I do accept.

Mr. Chairman, I wish to nominate Steven Nitah, the Member for Tu Nedhe, for a position on Cabinet.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I wish to nominate Michael Miltenberger, the Member for Thebacha, for a position on Cabinet.

I do, Mr. Chairman.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Yes, I do.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Honourable Ministers, fellow colleagues, thank you for the opportunity to address you this morning. I would like to thank Mr. Bill Braden for nominating me and for his confidence in my ability to fill the vacant Cabinet position. I would also like to thank my constituents from Hay River, many of whom I have heard from in the last several days to pledge their support for me. Most importantly, I want to thank my wife Davida and my children, whom I have consulted with at great length prior to my decision to seeking this position. I want to assure all Members of this House and all residents of the Northwest Territories that I have my family's complete support and blessing. They are fully aware of the commitment that I would be undertaking and the dedication that is necessary to serve the people of the Northwest Territories.

By way of my background, I have been a northern resident for 32 years. During this time, I have served the community of Hay River in a variety of capacities. I have been very involved with a number of volunteer organizations over the years. Our volunteers are the backbone of our communities.

I have very much enjoyed my work and involvement with the Knights of Columbus for the past 16 years. Through my involvement with the Knights of Columbus, I have witnessed many positive benefits to our church, our community and especially our youth. My faith is a constant source of strength for me as I continue my work as an elected Member of this Assembly.

People have told me many times that they appreciate me for my principles of honesty, integrity, hard work and commitment. I have always stood my ground for what I believe in. I have a very strong sense of right and wrong. I have never deviated from my inherent principles. I believe I posses a very good character. My credibility means everything to me. I speak from the heart because I honestly believe that is the only way to be truly honest to one's self.

If I am the successful candidate, I look forward to working with all the Members of this House. I believe that I have always been approachable on every issue with all of my colleagues. I consider myself a team player. I am a firm believer in consensus government because I believe in working together for the betterment of all our people. Together we can make a difference.

I have thoroughly enjoyed working with the other 18 Members of this House for the past two years. As we continue our mandate for the betterment of our territory, I believe it is absolutely essential that we continue the course that we have set. We have reached the mid-way point in our term in office, and we still have many things to accomplish. We must work together as one cohesive unit to achieve our common goals. Our goals that we have set for ourselves are attainable. I believe that it is only through team work and partnerships that we will be able to make the North a strong sustainable territory.

I believe it is vital that we continue the efforts of this government in lobbying the federal government for a new formula financing agreement. We have let be known to all that the Northwest Territories is open for business, and we have come a long way in making this a reality. However, we need to do more. We need to let the federal government know that while development in the North is vital for our economy, we have to set some perimeters in order to reap the benefits for our residents.

Our current fiscal arrangement with Ottawa does not provide for enough rate of return to our territory. Devolution and resource revenue sharing agreements will be vital to our economy to becoming a have territory. The federal coffers are growing and we are not seeing enough benefit for our people. If we are successful in our deliberations with the federal government, we will be able to provide a sustainable economy for our future generations.

We also need to deal, as a government, with our social issues. The demand on our social programs will only become greater with the advent of development in our territory. Increased focus on recruitment and retention of health care professionals is vital in order to fulfil our mandate in achieving comprehensive integrated patient care. Community wellness needs to be a key focus of this government. No one can ignore the issue of addiction and how this affects our family units. It is critical that we provide more resources for prevention initiatives. I believe that our current social ills are reaching epidemic proportions and we must do everything in our power to eradicate this.

Our government has been investing more badly needed resources into our education system in order to improve the success rates of students in our schools. I am encouraged by the recent announcement of more focus on early childhood development. We also need to focus more funding towards creating well trained Northerners in order to properly prepare our residents to take advantage of opportunities in our growing resource sectors. In this way, we would be able to work towards our goal of maximizing northern employment.

Another area that requires our utmost support and diligence is the area of sustainable resources. We must focus all our efforts on the successful creation of a Mackenzie Valley pipeline. We must support our Premier and our government in their efforts to make this a reality for our territory. We must also continue to support the Aboriginal Pipeline Working Group in their endeavours to see this project completed. Our territory has enormous potential in oil and gas, mining, hydro electric development and other resources. We need to be diligent in our protection of these resources for our future generations.

As a government, we need to ensure that our Northerners are prepared for a part of this development. There must be benefits accruing to all communities throughout the North, and in addition northern businesses must be equipped with the tools necessary to capitalize on contracts resulting from increased development.

One of the most negative effects of increased resource development is the enormous strain it places on our infrastructure such as our highway system. It is imperative that we work together to find new sources of revenue to address this problem. While recognizing that our highways are badly in need of repair, we must endeavour to find means to maintain our highway infrastructure while placing the least possible burden on our residents.

I am a fair believer in regional capacity building. I have always been a vocal supporter of this. I believe that we have to empower our people, and in order to do this we must provide them with the tools to do so. I believe that through hard work, dedication and commitment anything is attainable, and we have to strive to complete our land claim agreements and self-government initiatives in a timely manner. It will be through hard work, with all the partners involved, that these agreements can be reached at an early resolution. We must work in partnership with aboriginal governments to achieve a fair and equitable arrangement for all.

I want to assure the Members of this House, and the people of the Northwest Territories, that our Premier, Mr. Stephen Kakfwi, has my full support as our leader. I have full confidence in the entire Cabinet and would welcome the opportunity to work with them as we continue the work of the 14^th Legislative Assembly.

Premier Kakfwi in his Premier's address in January of this year made a very profound statement in light of recent events that have unfolded in this House. I quote: “We are all in this together, and we all have a stake in the outcome. Each and every one of us has the power and responsibility to bring about change and make a meaningful contribution. Working together we can achieve our dreams of a better tomorrow.”

I could not agree more, and it is for this reason that I am seeking your support today. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Thank you, colleagues.

-- Applause