Mahsi. Members of the 19^th Assembly, I respectfully and humbly put my name forward for your consideration as Premier. Although this is my first time here as an elected representative, I feel like our territory is at a crossroads, with high levels of uncertainty about our economic and social future. I believe it is our duty as Members of this Assembly to provide that certainty, some hope for all residents, that they have a secure future, no matter what they do for a living, no matter which community they live in, and no matter what their personal circumstances are.

I am here today to ask for your support because of my father, Frank Laviolette. After my mother passed away in 1995, I began spending more time with "Big Frank." I was a businesswoman, and my husband and I were at a point where we were contemplating our own future. I had been a witness to my father's transition from bison rancher to politician. He established the first Aboriginal political organization in the NWT, attended Dene nation meetings, and was instrumental in the political evolution of the Salt River First Nation. He started talking to me about Salt River affairs. I originally wanted no part of it. As my sister pointed out to him, I was there to spend time with him because he was lonely, but my persistence comes from him. He was not going to stop suggesting I get involved.

I started to see politics as part of my future, and, in 2007, I got involved in the Salt River First Nation. In life, business, and politics, I have overcome adversity and challenges, realized opportunities, suffered loss, and experienced success. I always believed in what I was trying to do. I believed in my vision of where I was going. I believe now our territory needs a vision, building on the accomplishments of previous governments but doing things in different ways. While there are proven ways to develop, implement, and evaluate government policy, I believe our residents want us to do new things in new ways. They do not want the status quo. We have elected 12 new MLAs, including myself, as proof. They want positive changes to move our territory forward with healthy people, a safe and pristine environment, and a thriving economy and business community.

Earlier in our deliberations, we outlined our priorities for this Assembly. We have all been entrusted with looking after the people, the environment, and the economy of the NWT. If chosen to be Premier, I believe one of our first priorities should be our Aboriginal people. The NWT is a leading jurisdiction in our country for recognition of Aboriginal rights, so I believe it's time for the Government of the Northwest Territories to fully endorse and implement the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.

It is also time to settle outstanding Indigenous land and resources negotiations for the Akaitcho, the Deh Cho, and the NWT Metis as quickly as possible. We should also fight to have both reserves in the NWT recognized by Canada as federal reserves. We have heard from many leaders across the territory: the Government of the Northwest Territories is standing in the way of outstanding land claims. We have an obligation to truly walk the talk and seriously support the settlement of these claims in order to move forward. We should not be an obstacle to settling these claims, and we should be actively moving to remove other obstacles to settling these claims.

Settling Indigenous lands and resources negotiations will provide certainty for Indigenous governments to begin to draw a jurisdiction down on self-governance, bringing programs and services closer to the people they serve and economic opportunities if they choose to develop their lands and resources. We have all heard of the potential income and the huge positive impacts these agreements have on resource exploration in the NWT. The completion of these agreements would only bring certainty to industry, whether they are exploring on Indigenous lands or lands that are retained by the government.

The health system in the NWT compares very favourably to that of other jurisdictions across the country. However, we need to make improvements by having doctors who live in the NWT and not simply dispense medical services as locums. In my home community, I have benefitted on and off from seeing the same physician for extended periods of time, but we do need to do more to offer that level of service consistently to our residents. We must work together to support our healthcare workers and instill continuity in our health system so that our sick and elderly feel that they have a doctor who is their doctor, a doctor who knows them, who knows their medical history. Continuity will ensure that our health system develops an environment of prevention. As statistics show, millions upon millions of dollars are spent on treatment. Monies could be saved by promoting healthy lifestyles for all residents. Money spent on prevention has huge returns on the health system and our society.

I believe one of the wisest and best investments we can make as a government is in our children, setting the stage for their journey through life. We have all spoken about the importance of childcare to help our residents work and the positive impact this may have on our economy. Creating a universal subsidized childcare program is a must if we are to set the table for the people to work. Investing in early childhood development is the first and most essential building block in ensuring wellness and increasing our graduation rates.

Offering post-secondary education opportunities in the NWT by supporting the plan to develop a polytech university/University of the North is vital. When I was a child, there were many tradesmen in my home town, the majority of whom obtained their journeyman status right in Fort Smith. Currently, our territory suffers from a lack of qualified trades personnel. I believe it's time for us to re-examine the model that produced so many qualified tradespeople. A polytech university would go a long way in filling this void.

We have an opportunity through the Aurora Research Institute to be a leading jurisdiction for the use, study, and sharing of the polar satellite data. Can we support and revitalize our connection to Aboriginal languages and traditional lifestyles through our university? We must work to ensure this is a truly unique university where people across the North, Canada, and other parts of the world will want to come to study.

We have to work to improve how the Government of the Northwest Territories addresses Child and Family Services. Previous governments have examined how other jurisdictions provide services to children in care and looked at what is successful and what is not. Implementation of the recommendations is essential if we are to improve the lives and the future of our children and families. Supporting our social workers and foster parents are important elements of working towards better services for children in care, but our goal should be to keep families together and reunited. We need to do everything we can to achieve this, avoiding children in care becoming statistics in the justice system, giving them better chances of becoming productive members of society.

As Premier, I would like to look closely at the mandate of the NWT Housing Corporation. I see great potential to resolve many social housing issues we face across the NWT by allowing people who can afford to be homeowners to become homeowners. Only people who find themselves in a permanent unfortunate situation should remain in social housing. We need to encourage and support others to transition into homeownership. In addition, the Housing Corporation should work to improve market housing across the NWT by providing incentives and programs, which encourage homeowners to maintain and upgrade their dwellings.

Pilot projects that support homeownership by leveraging third-party resources should be expanded. We know homeowners take pride in their property. Providing better housing overall for NWT residents should be the mandate of the NWT Housing Corporation.

Across our territory, investing in infrastructure may be one of the most important investments the Government of the Northwest Territories can make. Infrastructure has to be built in order to maintain our territory in good working order. However, we must look at each infrastructure project through social, economic, and environmental lenses in order to ensure positive impacts on our communities as we build our roads, schools, and health centres.

We must plan to manage our debt to safeguard the next generation from the burden of unmanageable finances. We need to work with the Indigenous governments and the federal government to increase the speed in which money flows to our territory and to explore project funding models that leverage resources to get more projects done to support our communities and our economy. We hear lots of announcements of federal funding coming to our territory, but with very little impact on our infrastructure deficits. Federal fundings are scheduled far into the future and are spread over many years. As your Premier, I would address this issue with the federal government as soon as possible.

Expansion of the Taltson river dam is vital to the entire Northwest Territories. It will create a climate of new opportunities, countless new jobs, lower the cost of living and doing business in the NWT, and provide new training opportunities to the trades, giving new hope to the people of the Northwest Territories. We know that Aboriginal governments want to be involved in the Taltson expansion from regulatory, environmental, and business opportunity perspectives.

Let me touch briefly on the conservation economy. Recently, Thaidene Nene was established in the east arm of the Great Slave Lake. This park, along with other parks and protected areas, offer many opportunities for our people to participate in the conservation economy. These new parks differ greatly from those of the past as, although they are there for all to enjoy, they guarantee traditional pursuits by those who have made use of the lands since time immemorial.

Continued support of the tourism industry is essential if we are to remain competitive with other jurisdictions and grow to encompass our new policies and other initiatives.

Land managements must be done in a partnership with our Indigenous people, which they share the land, and work together so that our Indigenous partners don't see it as a government encroaching on their land.

As your Premier, I believe we should place a heavy emphasis on supporting small business. Incentives provided to small business, such as tax breaks, business incentive policies, no collateral access to funding, and technological support will help small business exceed. We need to work together to expand tourism beyond the territorial capital and make sure our own northern operators are the ones benefiting the most from tourism. Small business is truly the way we can turn our economy around and put our people to work.

The cost of living in the NWT is continually on the rise. Many of our families struggle to put food on the table. Energy costs can be staggering. Energy sources that reduce the cost of power can be an incentive to families to make their homes more energy efficient while reducing their carbon footprint.

In addition, we in the NWT will be doing our share to combat climate change, which has harmful impacts on us. We only need to drive our highways and see the shoreline erosion in communities like Tuktoyaktuk to see the serious impact it has had and continues to have on our territory.

My intention as Premier would be to visit all your constituencies, so that I can hear firsthand what your constituents need to make the North a better place to live and improve their lives. I will ensure that Ministers and deputy ministers visit your communities to meet with you and your leadership to raise their awareness about the issues currently facing you and collectively develop a plan to address concerns in the spirit of cooperation.

Today, I have risen to ask you to give me an opportunity to be your Premier. I feel I have the personal qualities required for a Premier of a consensus government; strength, compassion, and perseverance. Together, we are choosing political leaders for the Government of the Northwest Territories for the next four years. No matter what the outcome, we are all the same team, doing what our residents want us to do, making the NWT a better place to live, work, and do business.

I hereby commit to forming the necessary partnerships with all levels of government, Indigenous governments, local and federal governments, as well as the private sector, and also with all of you from our deliberations. Since we were elected and here in this Assembly today, I see a passionate group of MLAs who care. Solutions and decisions made here in the Legislative Assembly affect all people of the North. We have an obligation to the people of the Northwest Territories to set the stage for hope, cooperation, and equality. The people of the NWT deserve a government which is accountable and transparent, working collaboratively in their best interest.

This is my pledge to you to give me the opportunity to lead our collective efforts to make things better for all Northerners, from Sachs Harbour to Fort Smith. Thank you.