Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, congratulations again on your election as the Speaker. I would also like to congratulate the Honourable Don Morin on his election as Premier-elect and extend congratulations to the other Members of the new Cabinet.
Mr. Speaker, before we get down to the challenging business of looking after the affairs of northerners, I would like to take a couple of minutes to acknowledge a number of people. First of all, I would like to publicly thank the constituents of Yellowknife Frame Lake for their overwhelming vote of approval in returning me to office. I knocked on nearly every door in the constituency and met more than 1000 people during the campaign and I was pleased that many took the time to discuss their concerns with me. There are some strong opinions among my constituents on a variety of issues and I want to assure all of them that I will do my best to make sure that their views don't go unheeded during this Assembly.
I would also like to offer congratulations to you, Mr. Speaker, and to the rest of my fellow Members for the individual election victories that you were able to celebrate. We all know that there's a great diversity among our constituents and across the North as a whole. Social, cultural and educational diversity; our challenge is to find unity within that diversity.
I would like to express my thanks to all of you for the confidence you've shown me in giving me the honour and privilege to serve on Cabinet. It's clear that people in the Northwest Territories expect a change in the way decisions are made. We now face the challenge of defining a new way of managing the government. I've been pleased to hear a lot of comments by Members in the past week or so about cooperation and working collectively. It's what residents of the North expect and what we must deliver. Mr. Speaker, I'd like to promise the Member for Yellowknife North that my office door will always be open to him and to the other Members in the House.
Mr. Speaker, most of all I'd like to thank my wife, Eileen. Not only has she been a constant source of encouragement and advice, she's provided unwavering support throughout the last four years. My young son, Tyler, also deserves some recognition for his patience and understanding about just how busy his dad has been.
Mr. Speaker, the road ahead of us is undoubtedly going to be a bumpy one. We face numerous challenges, some of which we're already aware of, some of which haven't yet become apparent. I want to assure the people of my constituency of Yellowknife Frame Lake and all residents of the Northwest Territories that I will do my best to provide leadership, honesty and integrity and meet those challenges head on. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
---Applause