Thank you, Mr. Speaker-elect. First off, I too would like to congratulate yourself and the Premier on your new positions. I know you both will do us well and represent the Northwest Territories with dignity.
Good afternoon, colleagues. I would like to start off with congratulating each of you for being elected to your respective ridings. I can honestly say, campaigning and then being elected as the representative for Nahendeh riding was a humbling experience, and I am sure each of you feel the same.
Looking around the room and knowing not only how much you did to get here but also all of the work that we have done together over the last three weeks, I can say I am very proud to be part of this team. The next four years will surely require immense effort from each of us. I believe we are up to it. The next four years will also be intense work, work which we committed to do on behalf of the people who made it possible that we sit here today, the residents of the Northwest Territories.
These residents also include people of non-voting age, our children and youth. As you are all aware, I am an advocate for youth development. Given the social challenges our communities face every day, every one of us has a part to play in growing our children and youth to secure our future. It is really that simple.
My life work has been in the field where the primary focus is on creating positive change in peoples' lives. I decided to run for office because I wanted to continue this work in another capacity. I feel blessed to be here and I have the support from the leadership in my riding. I would like to officially put my name forward for the Executive Council within this Assembly.
My speech today will not be about specific topics or priorities, as we spent the last two days exploring, debating and polishing them. Rather, my speech will give you a glimpse of who I am and the initial but critical work that just lays ahead of us and our team.
From my prior speech, you will have seen that I am a passionate person, especially when it comes to the territory I have lived in for my whole entire life.
I was born and raised in the Northwest Territories and have had the opportunity to work within 31 of these communities. I understand their unique opportunities and challenges that our people face. You will find that I am also passionate about these opportunities and challenges.
Every one of us represents a unique constituency. We were elected basically on platforms designed to address priorities that constituents identified. However, there are also common threads that are woven through each of the ridings. These threads unite us as a territory, much like the residents of the NWT is to our differences and our similarities that we create the best path forward. Indeed, we are a unique territory with 11 official languages and even more culture and ethnic diversity. As we create the path forward, we must respect our diversity, diverse history, our seniors and elders and all our rich, traditional culture. Our culture is what defines us, and while we move forward creating our territory's future, it will be through our culture that we remain rooted in our traditions.
Over my career, no matter my position, I have always strongly believed in an open door policy, and this will remain the same. As my platform stated, people matter. Their thoughts and ideas matter. Being accessible is, and will be, one of my priorities, not only for the residents of Nahendeh but especially each of you, my colleagues. As part of the Executive Council, I vow to listen. More than that, I love to listen, to understand each of your perspectives while working for the greater good of the NWT. I emphasize listening to understand, because simply listening is not enough. Too many assumptions can be made. Asking questions and doing necessary research will help me see your perspective.
In our new roles in the 18th Assembly, we must be active listeners. I firmly believe that solutions can be found at the ground level, and often diverse perspectives offer the best and most robust solutions.
Throughout the last 23 years, I called Fort Simpson my home, raising five children, all of whom are young adults who have children who make the North their home. I've invested 23 years as a public servant with the Government of the Northwest Territories and five years with the municipal government. I have volunteered with many boards and committees from local to national levels. I have spent 24 years as a justice of the peace, presiding over matters throughout the Northwest Territories.
To achieve common priorities, I have worked alongside municipal and First Nation governments, and this must remain a priority. Collaboration, especially across governments, takes purposeful attention and continued investments. Great progress was made in the 17th Assembly in this regard, but there remains work to be done. New relationships must be forged, and old relationships must be maintained. Collaboration is not something that just happens, especially across government, but it certainly should be more achievable with one organization.
Within the GNWT there are 14 departments and 13 agencies. Note I said “within the GNWT.” One organization with many areas, but still one organization. GNWT should be a model of collaboration, starting with this Assembly.
In fact, within this Assembly's website, under consensus government it states: “Compared to the party system, there is much more communication between Regular Members and Cabinet.” This communication and collaboration must be extended to all GNWT departments and agencies. Fundamentally, we are all one organization and we must work together holistically to achieve this Assembly's priorities.
In my extensive background in community and capacity building through sport and rec, I have firsthand experience not only shaping but also working within many complex and diverse team settings. It takes many different perspectives and a true collaborative effort to move forward on opportunities and find solutions to issues.
Our 33 communities are made up of people. It will be the health and well-being of our people which will determine the health of our communities. The role of the GNWT is to ensure there are supports and services in our communities, and ultimately to move forward, achieving the priorities we came to consensus on early this week.
What our territory needs are high-performing leadership teams, teams which are absolutely focused on our goals and objectives in order to achieve excellence. As the 18th Assembly, I see every one of us as a valuable part of this leadership team. We each have unique and important roles, which also involve the honour of representing the people of our respective constituencies.
As part of my core values, I hold transparency and accountability at the highest level. There has been evidence that this has been evident throughout my life, especially within my career as well as my various volunteer roles. In fact, over the last year, my commitment and accountability brought me to pursue a graduate certificate in the social program evaluation with the University of Victoria and Carleton University. This educational pursuit underscored the importance of setting obtainable, and identifying, performance measures. To assist with accountability, I am an honest and committed person. I do what I say I'm going to do when I say I'm going to do it. This you can count on.
As we move forward to form the Executive Council and the various committees and structures with this Assembly, I would like to wish each of you a most inspiring and productive tenure. We are 19 elected officials working for the residents of the Northwest Territories. Let's keep that in the forefront as we lead our people into a healthy and prosperous future.
In closing, I would like to share that I am thrilled to be here to work alongside each of you. I personally would like to thank all the Members who put their names forward today, whether it was for Speaker, Premier or Executive Council. As well, thank you to all who will be dedicating themselves to work on the various committees. As I stated earlier, every unique role within the 18th Assembly is valuable, important to the people of the NWT. I look forward to being an active contributor in changing the legacy of the 18th Assembly, and I would be honoured to serve within the Executive Council. Thank you, mahsi cho.