Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Thank you, colleagues. It is an honour and a privilege to put my name forward as Cabinet Minister and to serve the people of the Northwest Territories. I believe my four terms and 12 years of service as a Member, Cabinet Minister and former Speaker of the Assembly provides me with the experience, work ethic and understanding to be an effective Minister. I have listened to the northern people and their vision and prosperity of a healthy NWT, recognizing the participation of all our unique cultures and people. Developing a renewable and non-renewable resource development in a sustainable manner, providing quality housing, health care, elders' care, healing, and providing important development of the youth and adults in

becoming the stewards of our communities and regions to become a vibrant NWT, I am a strong candidate.

I am determined to work hard to achieve results. However, to achieve results, we need to continue to advance the NWT in the interest of all of our people. The aboriginal people of the North have shared our lands and resources among aboriginal people for years. For this, I am grateful and so are many other people who have come to the Northwest Territories looking for a better life. Many have benefited and continue to benefit thanks to the spirit of the northern cooperation.

Some of the important priorities that I see our Legislative Assembly working towards is the settlement of aboriginal land claims and self-governments. This must continue to be a priority of this government. With land claims that have been settled, we must ensure the implementation is done effectively through the honouring of these modern trainings. I continue to support the settlement of outstanding land claims, self- government agreements and also ensuring that, as Minister, we push hard to get Canada to have a more large, active role in the negotiation process in the Northwest Territories and also make sure that the implementation takes place in the Northwest Territories. I support the government taking advantage of devolution such as the management of lands and resources. The federal government has a large influence over resource development in the Northwest Territories because of the control over the different mechanisms that we have by way of licensing, regulatory systems, and, more importantly, the control of our resources and resource development by way of royalties which flow to Ottawa.

I believe that we have to take a giant leap forward and establish a development trust that the dollars that flow to Ottawa goes into this trust so that we, as northerners, will see the resources being expended on our infrastructure by way of our highways, our bridges, our ports, the critical transportation systems throughout the Northwest Territories to advance the economy of the Northwest Territories and also ensure that self- determination of our citizens and the economy have benefits through this decision.

I also recognize that, through development, we also have to have responsible development. Again, I believe it is important as a society that we have a final say on any decision that is made on development in the Northwest Territories and not leave it to a Minister in Ottawa. The critical aspect of development is truly health, respect and the well-being of our people. We have to take a close look at our social agenda to determine that we must fight for programs and services that would really mean a difference in our communities.

Investing in our communities in the areas of housing, health care, education care, healing, education, again, we must address the root cause of our society and the disorder of some of our people in our society. It is hard to see a relative, a friend, a classmate that you may have gone to school with having to live on the streets because of alcohol and drugs. We, as people of the North, are carrying people. We must take the time to find solutions to our problems. We know what our core critical problems are. In regards to alcohol and drugs, we know what the effects are which are leading to homelessness and it is having a detrimental effect on our institutions from justice to policing to health care. We must do something now.

Again, in regards to another aspect that I feel is critically important that we must ensure that the resources are there for communities and NGOs in institutions that can help us solve

these problems by coming forward and be full participants in solving problems in the Northwest Territories.

As for housing, the increased amount of budget that we have put in place by the 500 units that we are putting on the ground is not enough. We must do more to ensure that programs and services that are being delivered are accessible, affordable and achievable in the Northwest Territories by all of our residents.

Mr. Speaker, we must continue to strive for a high standard of education so that our students can take full advantage of development opportunities throughout the Northwest Territories and elsewhere in Canada. We know that across Canada there is a large demand in regards to health care providers in regards to doctors and nurses. But again, we, as communities and as a territory, must do everything that we can to ensure that those communities that aren’t able to access nurses and other health care professions that we find a unique way to address these crucial problems that originate in a lot of our small isolated communities.

Relating to the development of our natural resources, the priority that we have heard from our people across the Northwest Territories, it is development but not at no cost. We must ensure that we are responsible by way of how our developments take place and responsible by way of ensuring that sustainable development is done in regards to our environment, our lands, our fish, our animals and, more importantly, our plant species.

Again, we, as leaders, can work to ensure that the principle of sustainable development is enhanced in everything that we do. Again, by working together with the Government of the Northwest Territories and aboriginal governments in developing these resources together, we can go a long way. With that, I would like to say mahsi cho and thank you very much for the support of the colleagues and Members that I have worked with over the years and more importantly knowing that I have the experience and know what it takes. I will cooperate and work fully with all Members of this House in regards to ensuring that the goals and objectives that we establish will be achieved and accomplished.

The government is committed by way of the federal government to devolution and to devolution policy. We have to look in the confines of how land claims can be settled in the Northwest Territories and ensure that the benefits that we have seen have flown through land claim agreements will also flow through the devolution policy by using the comprehensive claims policy to achieve this result and not be dragged on through a process that has lasted 20 years and with no results.

Again, I will ask for your support for having my name stand forward. With that, mahsi cho.

---Applause