Thank you, Mr. Chair. Thank you, colleagues. I have a two-page speech, and the reason why is last night I walked around my apartment, and I was pacing. I couldn't even watch the Oilers play. And I was wondering what was going on and I couldn't help but think something was missing. And late last night I finally decided I needed to put my name forward as a Minister. So after I decided that in my head, I went to bed and slept a good solid six hours. So I'm standing before you all to put my name in this Cabinet not because of what transpired today, but because of what I felt last night. I feel it was the right experience -- I feel I have the right experience and the knowledge to offer this House and help take us forward in the right direction.

I'm a Metis person born and raised in Hay River. My mother and father both came to the Northwest Territories very young as part of the commercial fishing industry. Both my mother, Delphine Coutoreille, married my father in Hay River, and she had a career of being a mother and also working at one of the local stores. My father spent a couple winters commercial fishing and vowed he'd never do that again. And he took a career with NTCL for 35 years, five of which he actually went to work for Beaudrill up in Tuktoyaktuk for five years. My mother passed away, and my dad is still with us today.

I spent 30 years in emergency services from firefighter to medic to deputy chief to chief to back down -- I've been in every position in there to kind of help out our town and our community. I've seen everything. I've been on the road at 40 below. I've done everything on the fire service and emergency services has to offer. 26 years in the public service, around eight of those as a corrections officer, five, six years of shift supervisor, deputy warden, acted as warden, been in many acting roles. Most recently, I was the director for the investigation standards office which was a position -- a new position to Hay River. I spent 15 years on town council as politics with, you know, a good mayor, good council, and I think as a politician and in our local government, I think I did some good things. At least I hope so.

I'm involved in the community. I've been involved in the community, and I don't think that's ever going to go away. I've seen what a community can do when we all get together and work together. I've been involved in many organizations. You know, I took over the Legion and I ran in and took over the legion because it was at a deficit. It was going to close its doors. It was for sale. And as a community, you don't want to start losing these nonservice -- or these service groups. And that's because if you do, it starts impacting the community. When I stepped in, it was over $300,000 in the hole. To this day, it has many good employees, a good manager. It doesn't owe any money to anybody, and it usually pays its land taxes well in advance. It donates on annual probably almost $90,000 a year to the community. I take pride in that organization because it's something that I committed my life to, to bring back, and now it's running on its own where I don't need to be there.

I know the issues facing our territory. I know the issues facing our government. I feel that I'm a good fit as a Minister to jump in a role where I could be an asset to some of the decisions that have to be made.

I believe we need to fine tune our government. We have a good government. We need to work with what we have and fine tune it.

I will not forget as a Minister, the Regular Members. I will work with the Regular Members. I will work as a team. I'm a team builder. I've always been a team builder. I've done it in everything I've done with the fire departments -- with the fire department, with the Legion. I know less hands make good -- sorry, many hands make less work, and I believe in that philosophy. I believe we can do that here.

I can work with the Indigenous government organizations, the non-profit organizations. I believe I have the strengths to do those.

I also believe in stimulating the economy from within. I think we can do that as a government and keep our local people working and provide work for our local businesses. I know with great leadership and a great team, we can start doing some of the things that everybody's talking about, like closing the funding gap.

We're all passionate about health care. So am I. I did, you know, 20 years working on the ambulance. I've seen firsthand what everybody's got to go through, and I still am passionate about health care. I'd listen to the stories. I've seen what happens firsthand. I know the drug crisis we're going through. And as the thing tends to flow from the south to the North with everything else, I know what's going on in Hay River. I don't want to see that in Norman Wells. I don't want to see that in Tuktoyaktuk.

You know, I want to see a treatment centre. I want to see a trauma-informed treatment centre. I want to see our communities getting taken care of, and I want to see on the land programs in regional centres so that we can start taking care of our people. You know, I want to work with the Aboriginal groups and the government and the Regular Members and everybody else to get the settling the land claims.

Just touching base again just briefly with the emergency services, you know, like I think I have lots to offer into what happened with the wildland fires and the floods and the experiences we've gone through, and I think that knowledge and that expertise would be beneficial to our government going forward. I think together as a government, making our public service accountable to the people in the Northwest Territories, we can do great things.

I don't want to reinvent the wheel. I don't think that's necessary. I think there's many reviews and documents sitting on the shelf with lots of dust on them. I think we can dust those off and start looking to see if they would apply today.

So in closing, like I said I believe I'm a good team builder. I believe I'm a person that likes to work with people. I believe that working together will make things go smoother. And as a Minister, if selected, I look forward to working with everybody, including the Regular MLAs, to bring this government in the right direction. So thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Clerk. I'm a storyteller. For most of my life, I have painted pictures with words. Sometimes those words make more of a novel. So I have cut my words down today in hopes of gaining a little bit of favour with the clerk that I lost in the last Assembly and painting a clearer picture with moments we have now shared getting to know one another.

We're privileged to be standing here on Chief Drygeese territory, traditional lands of the Yellowknives Dene since time immemorial, home to the Tlicho and North Slave Metis, enriched by all First Nations and Inuit, who today call Yellowknife home. I am forever grateful to this territory. It has gifted me a childhood full of gratitude for the North, its people, its land, and its many lessons.

I started my post-secondary pursuit in chemistry. Science was always what I thought I should do. But this didn't align with my heart. I love listening, learning, reflecting, and writing. So my heart led me to journalism, six years as a public servant in communications and policy, 15 years as a northern entrepreneur, many more as a community volunteer, and finally a term in this House.

I see the role of Minister much like that of a scientist who tests hypotheses thoughtfully and seeing how methods change the results and be willing to shift when the original plan isn't right. I know that the way I come to this table affects the results we can achieve.

The 20th Assembly convenes at a crucial time in our collective history, both globally and locally. Wicked problems are everywhere. Climate change, inflation, housing stresses, and health care tensions strain global communities. Here, wicked problems like to sink their teeth into the North differently, more immediately. The time for action is running out if we are to not inherit irreversible damage.

Regrettably, these wicked problems are not new. They follow us from election to election. As MLAs, Cabinet, and departments, we need to govern different if we are not to continue having these bite us at the end of this term. The 20th Assembly must make a difference, a real and durable difference. MLAs, Indigenous governments, and public government, NGOs, private industry, and civil society must come together to achieve our priorities. The Cabinet must build strong and open bridges between the communities of difference if we are to make a difference. I have high expectations of our capacity to resolve and resolve to achieve what none of us could achieve on our own. Cabinet must create a safe place for all of us to venture into tough conversations, to share our collective wisdom, to encourage us to engage deeply and without fear regardless of how vulnerable we become as we stretch out beyond our comfort zones.

We need three things as we embrace today's wicked problems. The first is resilience. In the face of shocks like wildfires, floods, and pandemics, that stuff like that is unlikely to go away. This is about reliable business continuity, keeping the lights on. We're trying to ensure that business as usual achieves stability, security, safety, and sustainability for the normal lives we yearn for. By building our resilience, we are future proofing and becoming more adaptable to things we cannot control.

Second, and at the same time, we're striving for total system transformation that changes our relationships with nature and each other, moving from a competitive to a cooperative stance where accountability for achieving desired results takes priority over compliance with procedures that don't serve us. We know that society and nature are moving irreversibly to something new. We need to work smart, not politically correct to thrive rather than survive.

Third, in between resilience and transformation is creative innovation where we try a variety of new things, new technologies based on stronger values of empathy, connectivity, sharing, stewardship, and care. These three pathways are not separate but overlapping. And leading this is our job. Our progress must be tracked quantitatively, qualitatively, and anecdotally to mark our paths and to ensure we are accountable.

Madam Clerk, great opportunity awaits when times are tough. First, we need to dream big. Second, we need real partnership. And third, we must bring the whole system to the table to ensure that no one is left behind as we adapt and transform to a new future.

Making a difference is engaging what is alive and what has soul. As leaders, we all have a big role in this challenge. We're asking ourselves to see the future in this present moment. We're asking ourselves to take confident action with complex systems despite uncertainty. We are asking ourselves to engage multiple ways of knowing diverse perspectives, imagination, innovation, and creativity to push the needle of the status quo. We need to find flexible pathways rather than rigid roadmaps to take full advantage of the opportunities, allow us to learn, be flexible, be nimble, and act so we can find what works and step out of the tradition of studying than shelving.

We need to welcome crucial conversations in this House, in this Cabinet, and with the public service because the issues we face resonate with the people we each serve. Crucial conversations can only thrive where there is neither violence nor silence. We must learn to talk through the tough stuff, let empathy replace judgment, let personal accountability replace self-justification.

So, Madam Clerk, what do I potentially bring to the table?

My approach is creative. The status quo or reacting critically against it only gets us more of what we already have which has proven to be inadequate. More of the same doesn't get you different.

My approach is collaborative. No one is smarter than all of us.

My approach is rights-based. Rights are not an entitlement but an empowerment.

My approach is grounded in a conviction about the central importance of the North.

My approach is people-centered where I listen to learn and understand, not to react and defend. People centeredness exposes our values And for me, those include integrity, transparency, deep listening, and curiosity.

My approach is persistently optimistic. That's how you overcome adversity. That's what gives real hope real teeth.

Madam Clerk, we must go beyond our current thinking and act from a deeper collective wisdom. We have work to do. We must always remember why we were driven to ask for the trust of the people we serve, then we must act, learn, and act again to nudge our home to a better place. Colleagues, today I ask for your support for a ministerial role based on your confidence that I will draw the best out of our Cabinet, my department, and the Members of this House to make a durable difference while we help to tell our shared story. Thank you.

Dear friends and Members, we gather here today not just to elect our leadership for the future of this Assembly, but we are also here to inspire hope to all northerners who sent us here. Optimism, I believe, can be infectious. So let's tap into that possibility about the wonderful things we can do, tap into our passion about success, and I know we can succeed as MLAs. However, over the last eight years, I'm going to tell you something about me, that I started a small business. I wasn't always an MLA. So I took that idea about a business. It started to grow. It created employment. I had partnerships. It represents in many ways what we all believe in. It created success. And that's the type of success we want for everyone, including our families, our partners, and even our communities.

At the same time, I worked for a non-profit and I'm very proud of those seven years. That experience firsthand deeply resonated within my soul and to the people we served. I could see that on the faces of other NGO partners working in our community. I learned a lot from them and certainly by doing. Now, I'd like to go back a bit because I want to tell you a little bit about the foundation of who I am.

Now, in my younger years, which, in truth, are getting further away, I was born in New Brunswick and my parents found opportunity in Fort Simpson back in the '70s, a community that I still remember to this day and still deeply cherish because of the important experiences I had. But little did I know or anyone else knew about the impacts that small community would have on me, the life lessons, the comradery, the friendships. Then in time, like many other students and some of my colleagues here today, I moved to Yellowknife in the mid '80s where I attended Akaitcho Hall, a residential school. And interestingly enough, I was friends and colleagues there with many of the leaders we know of today.

That experience molded me to who I am today. It has left a lasting impression that I think has made me a better, stronger person. It has influenced deeply the way I see the world today and the necessity of how we have to see things at the same time, much of which I think is always for the better, including the lifelong friendships I've gained there.

By coming here during that time, to Yellowknife that is, I met and later married the love of my life, my wife Sue, and together we've raised our two boys in this city, which we're both currently very proud of and are both attending university. Our hopes as parents are just like yours. We hope and dream that they'll bring the next generational skills and talent back to the North and be part of the future here as well.

So now we're here today in this very, very moment. Much is to be done. I can't say that enough. Many the challenges we work on today and tomorrow that we are all working to the same goal about a brighter future for people of the North in all regions. And we can do such wonderful things, but we can achieve even more by working together.

Now, for returning Members, those with some experience, you'll remember the dreaded Minister of all, the Minister of no. And my favorite Minister in those days when I was an MLA for three terms was the Minister of yes. Now we've all had different experiences is why I tell this story, because sometimes for better for worse when you run for Cabinet, you have to be the Minister of no, and sometimes you can fortunately be the Minister of yes. I can pledge to you as a Minister, that I'll work as hard as I can to listen to your concerns. I can't promise I won't say no, but I'll certainly resist it at every chance I get because my job is to listen and understand and trying to find a way to help each and every one of you to achieve common successes Because lifting up your community and your challenges is my personal goal. It's our collective goal, if we think about it. Deeply, we mean that each in our own way, but we can do that together. So I believe we need to be respectful, kind, and never forget about being caring.

To be fair and honest, I want to repeat again, you won't get everything you want, but it's how we go about this in collaboration collectively to serve our communities.

I want you to know the issues you face, if I'm Minister, you won't be alone. And sometimes you can feel that way. I've been on those benches. I know what it's like. But I'll give you as much time and latitude and certainly some experience and strength, whatever I can offer.

Now, over my last eight years, I'm going to tell you, frankly, I've grown stronger, more patient, and mentally wiser. I really see you. And I'm proud of the 12 respectable important years that I learned and worked on the Regular Member benches. Without it, I don't think it would make me the person I was today. I remember it was successful in many ways but in truth if I was being honest, I was also a feisty Member at times too. If I'm your Cabinet Minister, I won't forget the energy and the relentlessness that I would bring to the job, because I'll be your relentless partner fighting for you. And I'll ensure every step of the way you won't be forgotten as I've seen in the past. You will have a role in the success of those initiatives and your work will be recognized.

As your Cabinet Minister, I know many strengths and weaknesses of the departments. Sometimes it's their policy issues and how they communicate them. Sometimes it's the communication issues, how they don't communicate them. And at times, they act like silos. Maybe for good reason, but it doesn't always work. The good news is I have experience with these challenges, and I can help be the catalyst that brings better results and because tough choices have been part of my values in life, even when easier ones may have presented themselves.

This time, our system needs leadership in the government, not just a simple reset. We could shock the system, but that's what we'll get. We need stability, vision, and maturity, as well as know-how and energy. I can be that and more. At the same time, the system will require an occasional disruptor. And I'm known for that too. Because I still have fire in my belly, and I'm willing to do it.

So I want each and every one of you, if I'm elected, to hold me accountable because it'll be your job to make sure I'm doing my job. Equally, it's my job to make sure we're working together. So I want to be able to speak up when the time is necessary because I'll be there fighting for your issues to fight against the status quo. If selected, I don't know where I eventually will be; however, I would like to say a few things.

I recognize the urgent need for dental care in our communities. Why can't we have access to that? I recognize that universal childcare, the $10-a-day program is not adequately serving our families or our communities. I will be there when the communities are facing those tougher questions about rebuild and how do we do long-term planning for floods and fire, improving the relationships of those Indigenous governments that feel put out to the side. I will listen, give them the time, and certainly my energy.

To the carbon tax -- sorry, to the carbon tax on home heating fuel, that needs to be stopped. But I will be relentless.

I'll support you by whatever means to help support our youth in our communities. Those young people that we see as our future need something productive to do. If it means recreation, we should be asking ourselves, would we rather prefer an arena, a basketball hoop, or would we rather them can find their own choices with drugs and alcohol? I say we can support them with rec activities and other arts and cultural programs. Because we cannot give up on them. We want them to be happy and productive and stay in school.

I know and understand some of the historical challenges out there in the relationship with the GNWT, and I'll work for a path of healing. I know infrastructure projects are being left on the ground, and we need the umph and energy to put behind them. I recognize that some communities do not have elder services or even an ambulance, and that's got to be wrong. And I can tell you we have infrastructure projects that have never started, and it worries me that where is the energy and focus of our government.

Colleagues, we have approximately 1,369 days in our Assembly. It's later than we think. We must get to work. But the enormity of the job is manageable in many ways. If I have the privilege of your support to become the Minister, I intend to never misplace that support and trust. If you feel the urgency and the passion as I do, then we're on the right page going in the right direction. Our voices might be different but our hearts and souls for the community are going together and, to me, the collaborative approach is that.

The people sent here for us to succeed together, not as individuals. Please keep that in mind. And together we can do so much more. So with that, I look forward to working with you, for you, always for the northern territory as a whole. Thank you, my friends and colleagues.

Thank you, Ms. Chair. A Cabinet role is a big commitment and a big challenge, and it's not one that I take lightly, especially as an MLA that is brand new to this Assembly. So thank you for allowing me this opportunity to explain a bit more about what motivates me, what is my background and experience, my vision for an effective Assembly and Cabinet, and why I believe I'm the right person for the job.

So a bit about my background. I was born and raised in Barrie, Ontario, and both my parents were teachers. My father was a high school teacher and my mother was a trailblazer in adult literacy. So both instilled in me a strong desire for lifelong learning and a passion for community service and volunteerism.

When I went off to university, I studied international development. I really wanted to help people overseas who were less fortunate than I was. I spent a year in the Philippines working with a grassroots peace building movement. And while it did spark my passion for learning about other cultures and languages, I concluded pretty quickly that I belonged here at home in Canada. I realized that as a decedent of the British Crown and as a Canadian citizen, I am a treaty person and it's my duty to uphold my responsibilities and better understand those treaty obligations to the Indigenous nations of Canada. So I turned my master's research towards negotiations between mineral exploration companies and First Nations in Canada, focusing on land access during the earliest stages of mineral exploration.

Fifteen years ago I moved to Yellowknife and have come to feel more at home here than anywhere else that I have lived. I love the land. I love this community. And every day I am grateful for the beauty of this place and its people.

After quite a brief stint with ITI when I first moved here, I decided I would rather work independently as a consultant and began doing work directly for First Nation communities outside Yellowknife, first communities across the Deh Cho region and then later on in the Sahtu. I spent time in each region of this territory doing work that spanned from helping communities navigate the complexities of major resource extraction projects and pipelines and building cross-cultural environmental research and monitoring programs that were based in communities, to planning renewable energy projects in communities, and also housing initiatives.

For four years, I led the northern office of the Pembina Institute, which is -- it's like a think tank but it's focused on renewable energy and clean energy solutions and climate change. Now I spent many years advocating for better policy solutions from outside government, and then I decided I would like to be the one who is making decisions and able to make change from the inside. So I ran for Yellowknife city council and was elected to two consecutive terms, and that was from 2015 to last year, 2022.

During this time I served as deputy mayor, as the chair of the community energy planning committee, and also the chair of the community advisory board on homelessness here in Yellowknife. During that time, in order to make ends meet and also to feed my passion for being on the land and arts and children's education, I also managed my own piano teaching studio and I worked at the snow castle, and I worked as an on the land educator with Bush Kids NWT. I was also a board member with the Yellowknife Women's Society, which houses vulnerable people at the Spruce Bough supportive living facility, the women's shelter. The society also runs the street outreach van and two daycares, amongst other programs. And during the recent evacuation, I worked with the society as we frantically tried to locate and support members of the vulnerable population who were scattered in various cities in Alberta, and I saw firsthand how what we often see as just everyday government dysfunction really became magnified during the emergency despite the heroic efforts of many individual government employees who tried to step up.

Now, the common themes in all of this background are my passion for this community, for the land, and for making positive change, also my ability to learn new things quickly and my ability to think holistically about how all the different pieces fit together at a policy level for creating a healthy land and a healthy community.

My vision for a healthy and effective consensus government involves Regular MLAs and Cabinet pulling in the same direction rather than one side serving as an opposition, as we often hear it called. We all know that we need our small set of really focused priorities with actions that all departments would be contributing to, and we need to negotiate together a set of priorities that we can all get on board with and stay on board with to achieve meaningful change. So in my mind, Premier and Cabinet should be ensuring that the departments are effectively integrating the work on those priorities and not retreating into their silos. And committees and Regular MLAs would help guide Cabinet and pointing out aspects that require some course correction to achieve those priorities we've all agreed upon. We are here to hold each other accountable, not to shame and blame, but to draw attention to the gaps and things that are being missed and forgotten.

To achieve true and effective collaboration, I think we need a Cabinet made up of consensus builders, people who share a clear vision of what needs to be done but who can also listen and work with others in a respectful and ethical way.

Now, I've never joined a political party, and I don't like partisan slogans or ideology. I simply want to find the most practical and efficient ways of getting things done. I will work with everyone. I will build upon the common ground that we can identify instead of focusing on the differences. I'm someone who never stops listening and learning, whether that's from colleagues or constituents, advisors or staff. I try to hear all perspectives, and I try to choose carefully who I take advice from.

Now, I'm not the one with the loudest opinions or the one who can talk for the longest, but I'm the one who will spend time trying to understand both the people around me and the complexity of the situations that we're facing.

The first thing I did when I decided to run for politics back in 2015 was that I resolved I would not try to be the person that everyone liked. Instead, I wanted to be someone that everyone could respect, even those who disagree with me and my decisions. I want to be transparent, always explain my rationale, and make decisions with integrity. And so that makes me someone who's not afraid to take risks. I try to take courageous decisions even when they're difficult, even if they upset some people if I'm satisfied that I've taken the time to listen and I'm convinced it's the best way forward.

Through my work with Bush Kids, we taught a lot about the Dene laws, and I try to follow them in my own life. One that I think about often is to just be happy as much as you can. And so I try to bring joy to my work. I try to bring a smiling face each day. Because if we can't be pleasant and kind to each other, then what's the point of doing this work?

I work hard. I read a lot. I do my homework. I attend every meeting that I can and in every meeting, I try to give everyone the attention and the respect that they deserve. I ask a lot of questions, and sometimes I have to hold myself back from asking too many questions because I've learned that sometimes people just need to show you instead of telling you so I should just wait and watch sometimes.

I respond to everyone who reaches out with a question or concern. And one question that people ask often is how are you going to stand up to the bureaucrats who are going to try to control you and control the government? To start with, I have tremendous respect for those who've dedicated their lives to public service, and I try to appreciate the pressures and the risks that they face too. I believe I can foster mutual respect and lead the bureaucracy with determination, integrity, and a spirit of collaboration. If encountering resistance or attitudes like it can't be done or this is the way it's always been done, my first response would be to be curious, understand what can be gained and who stands to lose out if something is changed. So I'll finish it off here. I believe my experience and my positive energy would be an asset to Cabinet.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. And I'm sure everyone has heard more than enough from me today, so I'll keep it short.

First, I want to congratulate the Premier-elect on his success today and I would like nothing more to help him realize his 50-year vision for the territory. I think that idea of a vision that moves us forward and using the next four years to set up the next 50 is exactly where we need to head, and I think we're all united here in that direction. We have an embarrassment of riches. I'm very proud to stand for this -- for role in the Executive Council, with so many well qualified people. And I can say that you've heard my vision, you've heard my dedication to change, you've heard my drive to make things different, make things better, and I want to apply that energy in a Cabinet role to make sure whatever portfolio I have is very successful and continues to collaborate and empower all Members of this House. And if -- the promise I'll make -- because this is something I really appreciated as a Regular Member, if there's -- the department says no and committee wants something done, I'll ask is there any really good reason you can give me that I can't say yes to this committee? And if they can't give me one, I'm going to say yes to the committee. And that was something that we learned early on. And some Ministers did that, some didn't. But my priority is making sure the voice of people are heard and the voice and the committee system is successful. So that's my guarantee to all Members here and also my guarantee to work tirelessly on behalf of my constituents, on behalf of the whole Northwest Territories, and continue to support all of us in achieving our goals of building a territory we can live, work, and play in for generations to come. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, I have also spoken a fair bit already today. I'm going to try very hard not to go back over everything I have said today or 20 minutes last week, but I do want to take a few minutes to maybe reformulate some of what I have been saying into the role as a Cabinet Member. It is a different role, and it's one that I do want to make clear what I think I'm bringing to it so that people have that different perspective from me.

I do care very deeply about consensus government and care very deeply about its achievement. If I have the opportunity to return to Cabinet, I want to bring back some of these same considerations to Cabinet that I did before.

When I spoke about vision on many occasions here, that's something that in my view that should apply to every Cabinet Minister, that we all have a responsibility to bring vision within our departments and vision to our responsibilities as Minister. And that means taking the priorities that are relevant to our departments and acting on them and delivering those results for this Assembly. I believe that's what I did to the best of my abilities for the last four years, whether simple or small things, such as instituting the budget dialogues process, to create greater points of accountability and communications into the community, to having employee town halls to, again, have that kind of engagement and dialogue, values I hold dear with our public service. You've heard me speak a lot about the government renewal process because it's one that I believe in deeply. It's about delivering evidence-based information so we can make better decisions and be more efficient with what we have. And changes in our capital. I know I've referenced this too, but it's because it's something that means a lot to me. We've put planning back into the center of it so we have better planning, a better process, something that's more realistic, and by being more realistic it's more transparent. Because these are all values that we often hear about but actually making good on them and acting on them, it can be quite difficult when we're within our departments. But I believe that there are ways to make things more transparent, make ourselves more accountable, and increase and improve our communications.

I've seen that growth now in the tourism sector, in the agricultural sector. We've seen changes in our procurement process. So anyone that's saying a change in government is not possible, to that I disagree, and I'm asking you to give me the chance to continue to make change in our government on all of our behalves.

How we do that, of course, is sometimes challenging. There are different pathways. There are many different ways of doing it. I feel very confident that we are going to have a positive opportunity with this Assembly in different ways to see change. For myself, I think I'm very practical. I am very solution oriented. I am very driven to create change. And I care very deeply about people, about the people of the Northwest Territories.

I have relied very much on the input of MLAs over the last four years in everything I do. I have allowed this to be an integral part of every budget process, all eight budgets for which I was responsible, and I promise to continue that if I'm returned to Cabinet. I believe in communication and connection. This is truly one of the reasons that I am putting my name forward. It's what brought me into politics. It's what's kept me going through politics. And I expect it's what will keep me going over the next four years in whatever role I may occupy.

I very much believe and follow through. And so when I do make a commitment, I will follow through on that commitment. My commitments generally are not promises that I can't keep. They are promises that I will work for a solution. Because sometimes we don't know the solution at the front end. We have to start by identifying and understanding the problem and then figuring out how we're going to solve it. I will rely on everyone in this room to help me solve problems because everyone here knows their community, their residents, their regions the best. I'll work with Indigenous governments for the very same reasons. They know their regions. They know their lands. They know their people. What either role I would hope to occupy as a Minister is to then translate those solutions into the department so that we are delivering as a government on what people need. I believe in person-centered services. I believe in healthy workplaces with empowered employees. And as I keep saying more than once now, I do sincerely want to ensure that we are maintaining and improving communications at every level with the Indigenous Government of the Northwest Territories. These relationships are foundational. We are all treaty peoples here, and we have an opportunity to truly be leaders in Canada and Indigenous reconciliation.

Communications to the public, if we don't have those, we've seen that the results can be quite disastrous. And I believe we have opportunities to improve those pathways of communication. Communications to stakeholders, again I have made it my practice to accept meetings, to be available, to listen, to listen actively, to whoever might be coming forward. And I can assure you, within Department of Industry, Tourism and Investment, many people want to come and talk to us. But also and very importantly, within government. I have had the opportunity to work on many files that were multi -- involved multiple departments, and finding better ways to integrate the communications between the officials in those departments, between the Ministers' offices, between Ministers' offices involving senior managers, this is how we will truly become a whole-of-government approach to our problem solving.

And last but, in fact, not least, but most importantly, the communications between us here as MLAs and between MLAs and Cabinet. I know there has been a number of discussions in the last couple of weeks of how we might do that, and everyone right now is committed to it. I certainly am, and I certainly intend to stay that way. I believe I have demonstrated myself over the last four years to be open, to be engaged, to be prepared to listen. It's how I've operated. It's how I've operated as a Minister. It's how we've passed our budgets. I believe in dialogue. I believe in discussion. And I look forward to having the opportunity to continue that.

Fundamentally, I believe in consensus government. I believe I've done what I can so far to make it better, to make it stronger, and to make it more focused on consensus. And I'd like the opportunity to continue that work.

I have a deep sense of commitment and responsibility to my constituents. I also have a very deep sense of responsibility, if given the opportunity to be Minister again, to every single resident of the Northwest Territories and to every single MLA here who would be entrusting us with the role as Minister. I believe I've worked hard, as I've said, in the last 19th Assembly, and as a Minister I'd like to continue to uphold values of openness within my office, with my department, to continue to improve communications, to continue to improve transparency, and to be prepared to always be accountable for what is happening or perhaps not happening within my departments for which I may be responsible. I hope you will grant me that opportunity, and I put this in your hands. Thank you.