Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, over the past several weeks, I have thought long and hard about the comments made regarding the performance of the Minister of Social Services shortly before the second session recessed in April. I rise today to indicate my confidence in and support for the honourable Member for Yellowknife South.

I will tell the House, Mr. Speaker, that I did not vote for Mr. Whitford when we were originally selecting our Executive Council. I have always believed, however, that Ministers should be selected on the basis of whether their abilities are best suited to carry out the ministerial duties inherent to their portfolio assignment. I believe that every new Minister must be given an opportunity to prove those abilities. Over the past few months in his new portfolio, I have come to respect the way Mr. Whitford's personal approach and positive attitude has assisted me. I have been impressed with the Minister's willingness to listen to the opinions and aspirations of community leaders during his frequent constituency visits. When he visited Fort Providence on April 21, his open style of communicating resulted in a clear understanding of the issues surrounding Social Service deliveries.

I also believe that the Minister has demonstrated continued support and strong leadership in resolving long-standing issues surrounding the location of the handicapped adult group home in the Keewatin, bringing in critically needed amendments to the Child Day Care Act, fostering an unprecedented level of training in suicide prevention and addiction counselling, and solidifying an effective SARS program for social assistance recipients.

Mr. Speaker, the Minister of Social Services will never be faced with a lack of client concerns, process complaints, program needs, or new challenges. What has been lacking so far, however, has been any apparent support from the Minister's cabinet colleagues. I have been repeatedly dismayed by the way other Ministers have remained silent in the...