(Translation) Thank you, Mr. Speaker. First of all, I want to congratulate you on your election, as well as passing my congratulations to our new Premier, Don Morin, and all the new Members of Cabinet selected yesterday. I look forward to working with all of you as MLAs.
I would also like to express my deep gratitude to the people of Arctic Bay, Grise Fiord and Resolute Bay who voted for me. I would like to assure all the residents of the High Arctic constituency that I will do my very best to represent everyone. I am very much looking forward to working hard as your MLA on the important issues which were raised during the campaign.
I also look forward to visiting the communities in my constituency as soon as possible and talk about the important work ahead of us. I also want to express my special thanks to my wife, Susanna, for her support during the campaign and for being with me during orientation and swearing-in recently. I also want to thank my children: Robert, Marie, Paingut and my other daughter Lynn. I would also like to thank my father, my mother, my in-laws, Tommy and Bertha, and all my relatives in Arctic Bay. I also want to thank my hard working campaign manager and official agent, Daniel Aola, for the good job he did.
Mr. Speaker, I also wish to give my personal thanks to the former Dean of this House, Mr. Ludy Pudluk, Dora, his wife; and their family, for 21 years of devoted service to this House and for being an inspiration to me. I have learned a great deal from him. In his farewell speech to this Assembly on June 14, 1995, Mr. Pudluk gave some wise advice which I would like to repeat today.
"Mr. Speaker, I have noticed when they are first elected Members can be good friends and help support each other. However, I have seen, more than once, after they spend time as legislators, they become enemies. People are not electing us to become enemies. They are electing us to work together. We are expected by our people to work together, help each other and develop the North, not to make enemies."
Mr. Speaker, this is very good advice for me from the previous Member for High Arctic and the longest-serving Member in this House. Mr. Pudluk was a Member of this House for a long time and I will try to follow, which I think we should all try to follow.
---Applause