Mahsi cho, Mr. Speaker-elect. I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate you in your new role as Speaker of the 18th Legislative Assembly. It is a very prestigious role and I am confident you will do your very best and represent this House and the North with honour and dignity.
I would also like to take this time to address our new Premier-elect, Mr. Bob McLeod. Congratulations on being elected to your second term as the Premier of the Northwest Territories to serve the great people of this territory. I wish you the best of luck in the next four years. You have support from all Members here today, and I know collectively we will all work to making the lives of Northerners better.
I would also like to thank and congratulate my colleague Mr. Glen Abernethy for putting his name forward for Premier. Mr. Abernethy has done a lot for this government in the eight years that he has been here. Working alongside of him as chair of the standing committee in the last government, he did a lot of great work for the people of the Northwest Territories and I am confident he will continue to bring that work ethic into this House day in and day out.
I would like to begin by congratulating all my colleagues who are here today. We have 11 new Members and the Members who got re-elected to the 18th Legislative Assembly. It is a very challenging job but, at the same time, a very rewarding experience. You will all get to see that over the course of the next four years.
From what I have witnessed over the past few weeks, I know, and I am confident, that everyone in this room will do an amazing job in representing their constituents with respect and integrity. To all Members today who are putting their name forward to try to get a seat on the Executive Council, thank you and good luck. It takes a lot of courage and commitment, dedication and, even more so, sacrifice to work on behalf of the 44,000 residents of the Northwest Territories.
I thank the people of Inuvik, once again, for putting their trust in me to represent them for another four years in the Legislative Assembly. It's very humbling, but at the same time very gratifying, knowing that I can make changes in this House for not only residents of Inuvik but residents right throughout the Northwest Territories.
I would also like to thank those who supported me throughout the 17th Legislative Assembly, who made my job a lot easier, who made my job challenging at the same time, to get things done. Those who continue to support me here in the 18th, I will commit to do my best on your behalf.
Early last week we heard a comment that past predicts future. I find those words very fitting for myself. During the 17th Legislative Assembly I worked very hard for my constituents and the people of the Northwest Territories, and I worked equally as hard on the committees that I served on to get as much work as possible for the well-being and benefit of all Northerners. This, however, was not done by myself. It was a team effort from the public, non-government organizations, staff from this building, also Members who may or may not be here today. We are all able to accomplish so much by working together.
I would like to take a moment just to recognize the work of the two committees that I was part of in the 17th Legislative Assembly, the Standing Committee on Social Programs and Government Operations. I want to assure the Members who are not here with us in the 18th Assembly that, moving forward, we will continue to do the work that you did during the last government, and I am confident that this group of elected officials will continue to be strong advocates of the work that was started in the 17th and build on it for the people of the Northwest Territories.
For the new Members who really don't know who I am, here is a little history. I started my career as a community health representative in Inuvik for about four and a half years, where a lot of health initiatives were accomplished, which eventually landed me on town council in Inuvik. When I got on to town council, I was officially into politics and worked just as hard then, and I would say a big accomplishment was creating the first community tobacco bylaw in the North. When that job was done, I moved to Yellowknife to take a job as a First Nations and Inuit health branch coordinator, where I travelled to 32 of the 33 communities in the Northwest Territories where I lobbied governments, where I created policies, worked on legislation that came into this House and we created tobacco legislation, we dropped smoking rates for all youth, as well as adults.
On those travels I was able to see each and every one of your communities, the struggles, the challenges that they have. They were still the same when I got in to chairing the Standing Committee on Social Programs, and I know what is needed in these communities.
After working in the tobacco field, I did work as an occupational hygienist, health and wellness coordinator over at Diavik, where we created policies for occupational health standards to ensure that all companies abided by the laws of this territory. I then moved and worked for Municipal and Community Affairs as a regional youth and volunteer coordinator back in Inuvik. The main reason I went back to Inuvik was so that I could work on making a difference in the lives of people once again, specifically the youth. Eventually I became a Member of the Legislative Assembly in 2011. Every job that I have had, I was able to work with great people throughout the North with one common goal in mind: help people and improve their health and well-being. Every job that I have had has been very rewarding, but none so rewarding as that of an MLA. I am not here for myself. I am here for the people of the Northwest Territories and I am here for the people who need a voice in this House. I feel that is why I probably speak so loud.
---Laughter
During the last government, I sat on two hardworking committees. I learned a lot about the government, departments, policies, legislation, action plans that needed to be changed. It made it easier for me to fulfill my duties as an MLA. It also helped that I had one of the best attendance records during the 17th Legislative Assembly. If there is one piece of advice that I could give to all Members here today, make sure you keep your butts in the seats during committee meetings and during session. It will really help make your job a lot better.
It would help me instill changes and in making improvements in many programs, services, policies and legislation, such as the Child and Family Services Act, the Mental Health Act, the new governance act, Pharmaceutical Strategy and the Pharmaceutical Act, which is saving people's lives.
We also did a lot of work on creating and modernizing action plans and strategies that are going to help improve the lives of people in the Northwest Territories and give supports to those NGOs and those people in the North who do good work on behalf of the government and for the people of the Northwest Territories. What we also did was create legislation that we tabled on the creation of an ombudsman, which I think is truly needed in the Northwest Territories. We also put into place the Public Accounts Practice, which was never done in about 10 years before the last government came in. In every initiative that we tackled, we did it to the best of our abilities with the best of interest of Northerners in our minds.
Throughout the duration of my first term, I was very optimistic, with lots of energy and a strong work ethic. If elected to Cabinet, I will bring that same energy and work ethic into the Cabinet room, as when I chaired the Standing Committee on Social Programs, to ensure we do the best for the people of the Northwest Territories.
Over the past four years, I committed and dedicated myself to helping people across the North in every region. This will not change if elected to Cabinet. I will work harder to bring the voices of the people into the Cabinet room as I did into this House. They deserve it.
As I move forward into the 18th Assembly, I will continue to have that optimism, but being a Member in the 17th, I will bring in the realities that we face and address the issues the best that we can. I am confident that building on the work of the 17th and can see development in areas of supports in terms of mental health and addictions. I'm still a strong advocate for a treatment centre. The Housing First Strategy, creation of an inspector monitor for the Business Incentive Policy, and to promote and support small businesses in the North.
We have heard that building stronger relationships with Aboriginal governments, stakeholders and our partners is also very important, and I look forward to strengthening those relations.
In closing, I just want to say that a vote for me is not a vote for me. It's a vote for you. It's a vote for your constituents. It's a vote for the people of the Northwest Territories. Mahsi cho, quanami, merci beaucoup, thank you.