Thank you, Mr. Speaker-elect. You said 10 minutes; I'll have to slow down. First of all, I'd like to congratulate Premier-elect Caroline Cochrane. I believe you'll do a great job moving forward in the Northwest Territories; as well as Speaker-elect Mr. Blake.

I want to begin my remarks today with an acknowledgement that today's proceedings are taking place on Chief Drygeese Territory, traditional home of the Yellowknives Dene First Nation, and also the traditional lands of the North Slave Metis.

For those of you who are new to the Assembly, and for members of the public who are listening in, allow me to introduce myself. I am Shane Thompson. It is my honour today to put my name forward for consideration as a Member of the Executive Council. I have been returned by voters to the Legislative Assembly for a second term as the Member for Nahendeh. I am deeply grateful to the people of Fort Simpson, Jean Marie River, Sambaa K'e, Wrigley, Fort Liard, and Nahanni Butte for their strong support and putting their faith in me a second time.

I am the son of Mary and Gordon Thompson of Hay River and the proud father of seven children and eight grandchildren. I was born and raised in Hay River and spent 23 years with the Department of Municipal and Community Affairs as a senior recreation development coordinator.

In addition to Hay River, I have lived in Inuvik, Kugluktuk, and Fort Simpson, which has given me the chance to experience life in other NWT communities. Additionally, during the course of my career, I have been fortunate enough to travel to 32 of the NWT's 33 communities. Spending my life living and working in the Northwest Territories has given me the opportunity to familiarize myself with our communities and get to know the people who live in them. This helps me to understand what is important to NWT residents.

By the way, the one community that continues to elude me, despite several attempts, is Paulatuk.

I would like to talk for a bit about my personal qualifications and my outlook on northern governance. I want to tell you how these experiences have shaped me and informed what I would bring to the job as a Cabinet Minister. I served as Chair of the Standing Committee on Social Development for the full term of the 18^th Legislative Assembly. This committee is responsible for providing oversight for the Departments of Health and Social Services; Education, Culture and Employment; Housing; and Justice. These departments account for approximately 60 percent of the government's budget.

Some of the highlights of my tenure as chair of social development committee was we improved 23 bills. This included partnerships with the Standing Committee on Government Operations on the Cannabis Implementation Act. This federally mandated legislation work was a big job that had to be completed on a tight timeline. The two standing committees worked cooperatively and traveled extensively. Our review produced 20 motions to amend this bill. Some of the amendments included:

• Allowing for the potential for private cannabis vendors in the NWT;
• Clarifying the rules around local plebiscites on private sales; and
• Providing authority for the Minister to make important regulations respecting cannabis cultivation and cannabis smoking in areas adjacent to public places, such as school grounds and business establishments.

I am very proud of the work that the social development committee did, working with the Minister of Justice and his senior officials on the Corrections Act and working with the Minister of Health and Social Services and his senior officials on the Tobacco and Vapour Products Control Act. Both of these reviews involved an unprecedented level of cooperation between GNWT departments and standing committee and resulted in sweeping changes to the proposed acts. My experiences as a standing committee chair taught me the importance of the work done by Regular Members in the standing committees, and how this vital review by elected legislators only improves proposed legislation put forward by government.

As a Member of Cabinet, I commit to ensuring that my department is prepared and empowered to work collaboratively, to the greatest possible degree, with the appropriate standing committee. This includes seeking more extensive committee input on proposed legislative initiatives at the earliest possible opportunity.

I had the second-best attendance for the 18^th Assembly. I am proud of this record, which speaks to my dedication to my job. I worked hard to stay on top of as many issues as possible, including attending meetings of standing committees that I did not serve on.

I am also proud of my voting record. I worked hard with each Minister to reach agreement on issues and improve budgets for residents of my riding and the NWT. I voted not to support or defeat Cabinet, but according to my conscience, based on what I understood to be the best interests of the communities and the people who elected me. If elected to Cabinet, I will continue to bring this philosophy of hard work and fair play to my new role. I believe that true consensus government means building positive working relationships with each Member of this House, no matter how widely our beliefs differ.

As a Member of Cabinet, I commit to walking the halls of this building, reaching out regularly by phone calls and emails to break down any perceived barriers between Regular Members and Cabinet Ministers. I believe that it is the responsibility of a Cabinet Minister to provide strong, clear, political direction to the bureaucracy and to show that they are dedicated and knowledgeable in public service, taking the necessary steps to implement that direction. I look forward to being challenged by Regular Members and by my Cabinet colleagues, both, to excel in this area.

I also commit to reaching out to each Member individually, especially where work being done by my Ministerial portfolio has potential impact on your constituency. I will work actively to seek your invitation and find opportunities to travel to your communities to better understand your concerns and those of your constituents. I commit to regularly reaching out to the standing committees, not only to inform committee of work of my department or departments but to seek your guidance, thoughts, and input before making key decisions on policies, programs, and legislative initiatives. I know that we may not be able to reach agreement on all issues at all times, but I pledge to you to ensure that the views of the standing committees will be sought, heard, and carefully considered before important decisions are made.

As important as I do, I will do my best to explain the decisions I make and the direction I give my department so that, during these times when your requests have not been fully met, you understand the rationale that has shaped the final decision. Your satisfaction that I communicate frequently, sincerely, and responsibly will be the measure of my success in this area.

I want to talk about some issues that are important to me. During my 23 years in the sports and recreation division with Municipal and Community Affairs, I dedicated my career to facilitating people working together to provide opportunities for young people to learn and grow. This has been an important part of my life and something I always remain committed to. I believe this government must do a better job with respect to providing meaningful summer employment opportunities for our youth, not just so that they have a paycheque but so our future leaders get hands-on learning doing meaningful work that helps these students build skills and understanding.

Like many of you, I worry about the northern economy and about maximizing opportunities for northern employment. I believe the GNWT must look carefully at its procurement practices to ensure that work which could be done by northern companies is not needlessly going to southern contractors.

I also believe strongly that we must come to terms with how the GNWT will need to change in the future or to settle the outstanding claims. Through committee work on the Public Land Act earlier this year, I had become more painfully aware than ever how the NWT colonial legacy has contributed to decades of land mismanagement, which caused unnecessary heartbreak and stress for the people across the NWT. We need a plan to resolve those outstanding individual claims. It will show faith to the people of the Northwest Territories that this government is listening to their concerns and will shore up the economic potential of our small communities by increasing certainty over land ownership.

Finally, while this is not the last of the issues that matter to me, it is one of the more important ones. I believe we must do more as a government to support our elders. As I have said in this House before, I would like to see the GNWT legislate a seniors' advocate who works to ensure that the needs of members of this vulnerable demographic are being met.

While these issues are important to me as a political leader, I will work equally as hard to fulfil the direction set by this Assembly and our priorities for the benefit of the NWT. As a Member of this Assembly, every single one of you was selected by your constituents to represent their concerns. I deeply respect the responsibility that has been placed in you to be the voice of the people you represent.

If you put your trust in me today to serve as a Member of the Executive Council, then I will make you this pledge. Going forward, I vow to always keep this respect in the forefront of my mind to serve as a constant reminder that being a Member of Cabinet does not make anyone more important than a Regular Member of this House. It just adds new responsibilities to their role. I also pledge to the people in Nahendeh that I will continue to be available to my constituents to help you address and hopefully resolve your issues.

I am grateful of this opportunity to speak to you all today, and thank you for your support and the best. Thank you. Marci cho.

---Applause