As you can tell, I'm a little eager today. Thank you, everyone. I would like to thank you all for the trust that you have placed in me as your Speaker-elect. I will have a lot more to say tomorrow when the 19^th Assembly officially opens.

The next item on the agenda is the election of Premier. Our agreed-upon procedures will see us call for Members to ask one question to the previously nominated candidates. As we all know, the candidates for the Premier position are Caroline Cochrane, Jackson Lafferty, Frieda Martselos, and R.J. Simpson.

Members are now permitted to ask a maximum of one question to be directed to all Premier-candidates. Candidates will have two-and-a-half minutes to answer each question. In the interest of time, I will be consistent in enforcing these timelines today. Members, the floor is now open for questions. Mr. Simpson.

Thank you. Mr. Speaker-elect, Canada has re-elected the Liberal Party to again lead our country. With a minority government in place, we may end up with another election fairly soon. It is therefore important for our government to quickly establish an immediate and effective working relationship with the federal government to address issues such as our fiscal position, state of our economy, health, housing, land claims, and many more that directly impact the residents of the NWT.

The question that I pose to the candidates is: if elected Premier, what do you see as the first and most pressing issue respecting the NWT that you would raise with the Prime Minister of Canada, and why? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Simpson. The first candidate that we have is Ms. Martselos.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. The most important thing that we would have to express our interest in would be the economy. The economy of the Northwest Territories is at a crossroads. The main issue with the economy is extremely important. We know that we are in a deficit of over $1 billion, and I think that something has to be put forward to make sure that we address the whole thing with the economy. Thank you.

Thank you, Ms. Martselos. Next, we have Mr. Lafferty.

Masi, Mr. Speaker-elect. Congratulations. Part of the process should be that whoever is elected as the Premier and Cabinet need to, obviously, meet with the newly formed Liberal government. Although they're a minority, there are a lot of moving targets in Ottawa.

First, and foremost, obviously, I agree with the economy, as well, those areas that we need to have an informed discussion with the federal government. We need to continue to push our existing infrastructure that is before the federal government and that we push as a territorial government over the years. We have mega projects that are on the books right now and waiting to be approved. We need to continue to push that forward because that will have a lasting positive impact in the Northwest Territories.

At the same time, building our relationship that we have in the federal government, the new Prime Minister and also the Cabinet, whoever that will be. At the same time, we must have strong working relations with our MP and also our Senator for the Northwest Territories. We need to utilize their services because they are our gateway through Ottawa, opening doors for us. We have positive working relations with our current MP and newly again re-elected. We need a foundation even more going forward because we do have a lot of challenges. At the same time, I'm optimistic. There are great opportunities for the Northwest Territories, and this is the time. This is the time that we move forward with the federal government because we need to form positive working relations with them as well. Masi, Mr. Speaker-elect.

Thank you, Mr. Lafferty. Next, we have Ms. Cochrane.

Thank you, Speaker-elect. I agree with the last two speakers that the economy in the Northwest Territories is a huge issue that we need to address. However, I must also state that we need to make sure that our priorities line up with the mandates of the Liberal government that is newly elected because it is strategic to make sure that we're asking the same thing that can meet their goals.

I think that one of the beauties that we have is being a consensus government. Over the last four years as a Minister, when I met with different federal Ministers in different jurisdictions, I have not made an issue of putting my voice behind one party, and I think that's important. As a consensus government, we have to support all parties, especially in a minority government, and relationships are critical. We have a very strong Member of Parliament. We need to use that. Michael McLeod has been for us for the last four years. He's a strong advocate for the Northwest Territories. We need to strengthen that. We have a strong relationship. We need to use that relationship.

We need to meet with the Liberal Party. We need to make sure that our priorities can fit within their priorities, and we need to meet forward not in an aggressive way -- aggression is not the answer; I've learned that as I've aged -- in a collaborative way, working towards them, showing how, if they support our jurisdiction in the Northwest Territories, it will actually further their priorities, as well. Working together is the key. Thank you, Mr. Speaker-elect.

Thank you, Ms. Cochrane. Next, we have Mr. Simpson, Jr.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker-elect. In 2015 when I was elected, I was asked the question: what was the first thing I was going to do when I came to the Legislative Assembly in Yellowknife. My answer was: I was going to build relationships.

When I was acclaimed to this Assembly, the first thing I wanted to do was build relationships, so I reached out to all new Members. If elected Premier, the first thing I would do is build a relationship with the Prime Minister. We have priorities, but if we're not on their radar, if we don't have that kind of access at the very top, then our priorities aren't going to be heard. It's good to have relationships with Cabinet Ministers and the bureaucracy as well, but to have the ear of the Prime Minister I think is very important because we have serious issues facing us, and I'd tell him to expect a new way of doing business from the territories, as well, that does line up with the Liberal priorities. The Liberals, they talk a lot about reconciliation. There is nowhere in the country that does reconciliation like the Northwest Territories. Going forward, we're going to see a new way of it. We're going to move forward arm-in-arm with Indigenous governments, and we're going to go to Ottawa with our Indigenous partners to address some of these issues, to address these infrastructure issues so that we can be a sustainable economy on our own, so we don't have to wait on our $1.3-billion welfare cheque from Ottawa every year. Thank you, Mr. Speaker-elect.

Thank you, Mr. Simpson. Ms. Nokleby.

MS. NOKLEBY: "Nokleby."