Merci, Monsieur le President. I would like to start with congratulating our Premier-elect, and I look forward to working with you no matter what side of the House I end up on.

I would like to use my time today to talk a little bit myself, my experience, and my approach as a Cabinet Minister in this 19^th Assembly. I am on the ballot as one of your choices to serve as a Yellowknife MLA on the Executive Council.

My mother's family is Ukrainian and French-Canadian. Although Shirley Vaillancourt's father spoke French in northern Ontario, the language was not spoken at home and was lost. My father, Thomas O'Reilly, came from the Republic of Ireland to Canada in 1955, and we still have many relatives there. I was born in Hamilton, Ontario, in 1958, so I am going to let you do the math, but I do qualify for a free parking sticker with the City and Seniors Extended Health Benefits.

I grew up in southern Ontario. I skipped grade 12 for a day in May 1976 to go into Toronto to watch the Mackenzie Valley Pipeline Inquiry. That is probably what got me hooked on the North. I went to the University of Waterloo, where I graduated with a Bachelor's in Environmental Studies and stayed on to do a Master's in Planning. My thesis work was on land management in the Yukon, where I spent three summers. I worked in Ottawa for Environment Canada after I graduated in 1983, but my heart was in the North, so I interviewed for and accepted a position with the Dene Nation as the Land Use Planning Coordinator in 1985.

In 1987, the position changed to a joint Dene-Metis assignment. It was a great job as I worked with regional staff that included David Krutko, Gina Bayha, Michael Nadli, Violet Camsell-Blondin, and Raymond Jones. We travelled to most of the communities in the Northwest Territories south of the treeline and met with many elders and harvesters, many of whom are no longer with us. I remember staying with Nap and Annie Norbert, hearing Gabe Etchinellie talk about crossing the Mackenzie Mountains on foot, losing at cribbage to Dolphus Lennie, fishing for pickerel off Dolphus Jumbo's dock at Sambaa K'e, and listening to Frank Laviolette talk about buffalos.

My other work experience includes:

• being a sessional instructor at Aurora College in the former Native Studies program;
• executive assistant to the Dene National Chief;
• opening a northern office for the Canadian Polar Commission,
• a ten-year stint as the Research Director for the Canadian Arctic Resources Committee, where we looked at issues like Impact and Benefit Agreements, policy options for mining, and intervened in the environmental reviews of three diamond mines; and
• another ten years as Executive Director for a public environmental oversight agency for the Ekati Diamond Mine.

Some of my other work experience and volunteer work includes:

• three terms as a City Councillor here in Yellowknife, where I led negotiations of a Memorandum of Understanding with Yellowknives Dene First Nation, waste reduction initiatives, and efforts toward an energy plan to save money and reduce greenhouse gas emissions;
• eleven years on the Waste Reduction and Recovery Advisory Committee, reporting to the Minister of Environment and Natural Resources when the Beverage Container Deposit Program and an electronic waste recycling program were developed; and
• negotiation of the Giant Mine Environmental Agreement with the federal and territorial governments, Yellowknives Dene First Nation, North Slave Metis Alliance, the City of Yellowknife, and Alternatives North that set up an oversight body that also has responsibility for ongoing research and development.

I have a broad range of experience working with public governments and Indigenous peoples and their governments. I also have in-depth knowledge and experience related to the environment and resource management. These will be important for whoever serves in Cabinet. I hold people accountable for their commitments and obligations, but also work collaboratively and get results.

What was accomplished in the 18^th Assembly? There were many successes in the last Assembly that I helped contribute towards:

• we will soon have 911 service for the Northwest Territories;
• an Ombud for the Northwest Territories;
• there was serious planning towards a university for the Northwest Territories;
• modernized elections, with more opportunities to vote, as recommended by the Rules and Procedures Committee that I chaired;
• increased support for women in lineup and efforts to make the Assembly friendlier for MLAs with younger families;
• tougher and binding rules for MLAs with an independent Integrity Commissioner, also from the Rules and Procedures Committee;
• more committee business was conducted in public than ever before, with improved reporting of these meetings;
• hundreds of changes were recommended by the Regular MLAs to the legislation put forward by Cabinet, and many of these changes were accepted by the Ministers;
• a much-improved Corrections Act, developed cooperatively with Regular MLAs;
• improved access to information and protection of privacy legislation;
• new protected areas legislation that lays out a clear process and responsibilities;
• following suggestions from Cabinet, I developed a Private Member's Bill, the only one from the last Assembly, that helps clarify cremation services that was supported by both sides of the House; and
• I worked with the Minister of Justice, who agreed to carry out a review of Victim Services programs and supports here in the Northwest Territories.

Having served for one term as a Regular MLA, I know what it is like to be on that side of the House and have learned from that experience. There are many ways that we can improve consensus government. Much of this was set out in the Report of the Special Committee on Transition Matters. I volunteered to serve on that committee. Some of our recommendations included:

• better orientation and ongoing training of MLAs, and we have been living some of that experience over the last three weeks;
• setting clearer and fewer priorities;
• options for the structure and selection of Cabinet and standing committee;
• improved and more collaborative budgeting;
• mid-term review with a focus on priorities; and
• improvements to how legislation is developed, introduced, and reviewed, including future regulations.

You heard my priorities for the 19^th Assembly on October 8^th, where I laid out a vision of where the Northwest Territories can and should be ten years from now, and I am going to try to highlight some of that again for you.

• A diversified economy where we would produce a lot more of what we consume.
• Our workforce would more closely reflect the cultures and diversity of the NWT.
• We would have vibrant small communities, regional centres, and a capital that serves all of our residents.
• Indigenous languages would continue to be spoken in each of the regions and taught in our schools, with improved access to all government services in all of our official languages. There would also be a strong French first language education system that would control its own admissions.
• All of our citizens would have access to affordable, suitable, and adequate housing.
• Our communities would be self-sufficient for their energy needs, and there would be a solid plan and progress on dealing with climate change mitigation and adaptation.
• Caribou herds would once again be thriving. There would be a fully-funded and functioning integrated environmental and resource management system.
• Legally-binding water agreements and land use plans would all be in place to protect us from upstream threats.
• There would be a new confederation of regional Indigenous governments and a territorial public government with strong community governments, set out in a constitution for the Northwest Territories.

Why should you vote for me as one of the Yellowknife Cabinet Members? I worked very hard in the last Assembly, as my attendance record shows. I participated in as many Committee meetings as I could, so I have a reasonable understanding of what is happening in many of the departments and across GNWT as a whole. I strongly believe in evidence-based decisions. I ask tough questions, do my homework, and come prepared to meetings. I fully intend to continue in these roles, no matter what side of the House I end up on. There needs to be a proper balance between big infrastructure projects and long-term investment into programs and services for our peoples. Decisions should be communicated openly and made transparently, with reasons and evidence provided.

Over the last couple of days, we have collectively developed our priorities for the 19^th Assembly. We will need the right people in Cabinet to help develop a mandate to achieve these priorities. I believe that I am one of those people, based on my knowledge, experience, and work ethic, and I ask for your support. Thank you. Mahsi. Merci. Marci. Quana.

---Applause