Thank you very much, Mr. Chair. I would like to begin by sincerely thanking the voters of Kam Lake for giving me the opportunity to once again stand here in the Legislative Assembly of the Northwest Territories and represent them during the life of the 17th Legislative Assembly.
I would like to welcome everybody back to the Legislative Assembly. I look forward to working with my former colleagues in the last government and last two governments. I am looking forward to getting to know better and working with all of the new Members, each of whom brings a wealth of credentials to the Legislative Assembly. I think we have some good balance with the new Members as well.
To my colleague Mr. Jacobson, congratulations on becoming the new Speaker earlier today. I wish you all the best in your role. Congratulations to Mr. Bob McLeod, Premier-elect, and all of his family. I have every confidence that Mr. McLeod will be a very capable and dedicated leader for our territory. He is well respected by Aboriginal leaders across this territory and has a firm grasp about what our relationship should be with the federal government. He is a very hard-working individual. I have had many opportunities to work with him over the past four years of which I firstly learned a great amount from Mr. McLeod. Congratulations.
I have been a Member of this House for the past eight years. During that time I have learned to fully appreciate the role and function of a Regular Member. Of the Yellowknife ridings, you will be asked today to choose two members to serve on the Executive Council. All five of us bring different attributes and qualifications to the position. In electing a Cabinet, it is imperative that the members you elect there are balanced, flexible and hardworking.
My background is firmly rooted in politics, having been involved in political life since I was 16 years old. I have close to 14 years of elected political
experience at the municipal and territorial levels. That elected experience has given me the opportunity to make contacts and establish working relationships with Aboriginal leaders, municipal leaders, NGOs, federal politicians and provincial and territorial politicians.
In the course of that experience, I believe I have become known as a capable and trustworthy politician. I know that being an effective Cabinet Minister requires the building of trust and credibility amongst other groups. I have demonstrated that ability. Having been part of the Northern Leaders’ Forum over the past two years, I have built relationships with the key players amongst the Aboriginal governments in our territory. I have built relationships in our regions, with communities and with Aboriginal leaders that are out there. I have a great relationship and rapport with the mayor and councillors here in Yellowknife, and over my many years in politics I have also made a number of key contacts in Ottawa.
As Members, we all know how important it is for this territorial government to have a good solid working relationship with the federal government. If elected to Cabinet, I can assure you that I will do whatever I can to make certain that our files are acted upon in Ottawa. I will fight for every available federal dollar, whether it is for transportation infrastructure, community development or housing. You can rest assured that our voice will be heard loud and clear at any FPT table that I would have the pleasure of sitting at.
I have also had the privilege to work with both former Premier Roland and Premier-elect Bob McLeod in gaining the Northwest Territories membership and PNWER, the Pacific Northwest Economic Region. The aim of this organization is to promote a greater regional collaboration and increase economic well-being of all its members. The NWT has developed many friends in this first- class organization. We have recently taken on the role of chair for the newly created Arctic Caucus made up of the State of Alaska, Yukon Territory and the NWT. My colleague from Nunakput, Speaker-elect Jacobson, and I had the pleasure of attending the first formal meeting of the Arctic Caucus in Barrow, Alaska, 10 months ago. The NWT recently hosted the Arctic Caucus here in Yellowknife this past August, where I had the opportunity to co-chair the Caucus with my colleague Mr. McLeod. The relationships that we have made continue to grow both politically and with industry leaders. The Northwest Territories involvement in the PNWER family will bode well for this territory well into the future.
During the life of the last government, I was given the honour of serving as the chair in the Standing Committee on Economic Development and Infrastructure. As many of you know, the committee
dealt with many contentious pieces of legislation over the last four years including the Species at Risk Act, the Dog Act and, most recently, the proposed NWT Wildlife Act.
We didn’t always agree, but I think we always tried our best and did solid work for this House. The compromise struck on the Dog Act wasn’t perfect for everyone, but it led to a much improved bill. I want to thank my fellow committee members and other Members for their involvement and in time spent working to find consensus. As chair of the committee, I always endeavour to listen and to lead effectively.
Over the past eight years I have always made a conscious effort to perform my job to the best of my ability. I’ve made a point to have balance in any issues I’ve brought forward. Every day I strive to be the most well-rounded politician and leader that I can be. The more time I spend in politics, the bigger my social conscience gets. Helping people is what this job is all about.
Work ethic is the cornerstone of any successful leader. Being a leader and being a Cabinet Minister means hard work. It means early mornings, late nights, weekends. It takes commitment and dedication, and I want you to know today that I would be prepared to do whatever it takes to move us ahead and ensure our collective future.
I know the feeling, Mr. Chairman, of waiting weeks to hear back from a Cabinet Minister on a constituency issue. I can promise you today, if elected, I will make certain that your constituency issues become my issues. Members can expect a quick turnaround on answers for your constituents. I will be accessible, professional and responsible in everything that I do.
With eight years as a Regular Member I fully understand the challenges and demands placed on Regular Members. The Cabinet Minister is the public face of government, not only in our territory but nationally and internationally, and you should have every confidence that those you select to serve as Cabinet Ministers will represent this territory, you, your constituents, in a positive light, both home and away all the time.
I’m a communicator. If elected I will reach out to Regular Members. What I would like to do is bring in Regular Members when developing policy, legislation and regulations. The earlier on in the process, the better. We need to explore ways and means to put true consensus back into consensus government. I see the inclusion of Regular Members as integral to this evolution.
I find the most enjoyable aspect of being an MLA is talking to constituents. Constituency meetings and getting out to the small communities are key opportunities to put your finger on the pulse of
issues that are critical to our residents. During my time as a Regular Member I’ve taken every opportunity to spend time in our small communities, even when my attendance wasn’t required. It will be a priority for me to visit all of our communities. I think Cabinet Ministers should be spending more time talking to people in the communities and make every effort when there to get out on the land.
I know how busy our schedules can get, but more emphasis needs to be placed on visiting our residents where they live in the communities. Whenever possible, the Minister should be extending an invitation to one or two Regular Members to accompany them on community visits. Members, clearly, in this building experience does count; experience making tough decisions, chairing committees, working with staff and building consensus. It’s the foundation of what we do. I’m not suggesting that my experience entitles me to your vote today, but, rather, I think my experience demonstrates that I have done everything I can do over the past eight years to earn your vote.
Shortly, we will be asked to make a serious decision on who to support for seats on the Executive Council. I encourage you to vote for those you have the most confidence in, and who have the track record and work ethic to do this very important job for both you and your constituents. We have so many issues facing us, such as devolution, the Anti-Poverty Strategy, cost of living, housing and we’ve had many discussions over the past two weeks since we’ve been together trying to come up with a way forward, a vision for the next four years, and I look forward to the collective work that is going to go into finding a way forward, identifying priorities and getting things done. I think that’s what I want to be known as, is somebody who can get the job done and people can have confidence in my ability to get the job done.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and I wanted to thank all the candidates that have let their name stand for a seat on the Executive Council. Good luck to everybody. Mahsi cho. Thank you very much.