Congratulating Cabinet And Thanking Family And Constituents

In the Legislative Assembly on November 22nd, 1995. See this topic in context.

Congratulating Cabinet And Thanking Family And Constituents
Item 6: Members' Statements

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Charles Dent

Charles Dent Yellowknife Frame Lake

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

Congratulating Cabinet And Thanking Family And Constituents
Item 6: Members' Statements

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The Speaker Samuel Gargan

Item 6, Members' statements. The Member for Nahendeh, Mr. Antoine.

Congratulating Cabinet And Thanking Family And Constituents
Item 6: Members' Statements

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Vince Steen

Vince Steen Nunakput

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I wish to take this opportunity to thank those people in Nunakput who have chosen me to represent them in this House. I wish to thank my family for their continued support as well.

Mr. Speaker, I take this opportunity to congratulate you on your election as Speaker; Mr. Morin as Premier; and all those elected to the Executive Council.

On behalf of the people of Nunakput, I wish to thank Nellie Cournoyea for the many years she has dedicated to the riding of Nunakput.

---Applause

Congratulating Cabinet And Thanking Family And Constituents
Item 6: Members' Statements

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The Speaker Samuel Gargan

Thank you, Mr. Steen. The Member for Natilikmiot, Mr. Ningark.

Congratulating Cabinet And Thanking Family And Constituents
Item 6: Members' Statements

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John Ningark Natilikmiot

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Thank you, my colleagues. First of all, I would like to congratulate the Honourable Don Morin for being chosen as leader of this government, and you, Mr. Speaker, as being Speaker for the next three years and a half, and all those candidates who were successful in being selected for the Executive Council of this government, and all those people who ran and were not successful. I know you will all put all your effort into making this government a better government and the system a better place for all the people of the NWT.

Mr. Speaker, I have never done this publicly before, but I would like to thank my natural mother who passed away when I was too young to get to know her. I would like to thank her. Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank my father who passed away -- my natural father -- when I was six years old. I never really got to know either of them. I know they are up there somewhere where there are no restraints.

Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank my wife, Celine, for her support during the past six years when I have served as a Member of the NWT Legislature; my children; my stepfather who is now up there sitting in the public gallery. He taught me three basic principles of life: He told me to know when to hold back. He also told me to know when to go forward. He also told me when to retreat. I live by those three principles that he taught me.

Mr. Speaker, whenever there was a time for collaboration and cooperation between the family, between the people of this particular jurisdiction, the time is now. Mr. Speaker, whenever there was a time to seek wisdom from the elders, from the public, the time is now.

Mr. Speaker, I would like to quote some quotations from a very famous man by the name of John F. Kennedy, when he first became President. Whenever there was a time to quote something like that, I think the time is now. "Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country." I think we should remember that in these difficult times. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

---Applause

Congratulating Cabinet And Thanking Family And Constituents
Item 6: Members' Statements

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The Speaker Samuel Gargan

Thank you, Mr. Ningark. The Member for North Slave, Mr. Rabesca.

Congratulating Cabinet And Thanking Family And Constituents
Item 6: Members' Statements

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Stephen Kakfwi

Stephen Kakfwi Sahtu

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I also wish to congratulate you. I know that you'll provide exemplary

leadership as a role model to the youth of the Northwest Territories. I wish you well in your job. I want to thank my wife, Marie, and my children, Kyla, Daylyn and Keenan for their support over the last eight years. I hope that with good work and cooperation they'll continue to support me for the next three and a half years.

I wish to thank the people of the Sahtu for their very strong support in the campaign and on the election night. I want to thank the many volunteers and workers who contributed to my campaign. I hope that Santa puts something in their stockings on Christmas night. I want to thank my agent, Gerry Loomis -- who's in the gallery today -- for his commitment, work and support through the campaign. Also with us today is Mr. Peter Guther, the campaign manager for Norman Wells. I must say it was one of the miracles of the campaign that for six and a half weeks, without let up, these two rival hotel owners got along and did a great job. I wanted to thank them in front of everybody today.

I want to thank, of course, my office staff, my executive assistant, Lynda Sorensen, who's also in the gallery today, and my secretary, Hilda Camirand, for their work and dedication over the last few years. I hope they continue to stay and work with me for the next three and a half exciting years serving the Members of this Legislature.

I want to thank my colleagues here today for their confidence and support in electing me again for another term as a Minister. I want to also congratulate, once again, for the record, our new Premier, Don Morin. I'm very pleased that he has been elected and has chosen to dedicate himself to this formidable job for the next three and a half years. I know that he will do an excellent job for all of us.

I want to acknowledge, as well, the support of my mother, Georgina Kakfwi, who's 75 and still very active out on the land doing her role as a traditional mother. She's been a great comfort and support to me the last few years while I've been serving in public life. I want to thank her today. Thank you.

---Applause

Congratulating Cabinet And Thanking Family And Constituents
Item 6: Members' Statements

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The Speaker Samuel Gargan

Item 6, Members' statements. The Member for Thebacha, Mr. Miltenberger.

Congratulating Cabinet And Thanking Family And Constituents
Item 6: Members' Statements

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Michael Miltenberger

Michael Miltenberger Thebacha

Thank you, Mr. Speaker and honourable colleagues. I would like to congratulate you first, Mr. Speaker, on your elevation to your role, and note to the House and to the people in the Northwest Territories that your world-class collection of cowboy boots will do a lot to add colour and flair to the position of Speaker.

---Laughter

---Applause

My congratulations, also, to the Premier and the elected Cabinet Members. You're a stalwart lot, and I think with the 24 of us working together, as my honourable colleague from Inuvik indicated, as a team and as a family, that we can prove to everybody that consensus government can in fact work and is alive and well in the Northwest Territories. I don't think there should be any doubt if anybody has a problem from outside the boundaries of the Northwest Territories that they should know who to call, and that's the Premier, Mr. Don Morin. There is no doubt; he's the man.

I would like to briefly thank my family as well, and my many supporters in the riding of Thebacha and the people of Thebacha for their support. Well, nearly all of them.

---Laughter

---Applause

We have an interesting challenge ahead of us and I do look forward to working with all, not only with the people here duly elected, but the people of the Northwest Territories and the many groups that we're going to need to help us deal with the issues.

I think we have all the pieces in place. The last week has been a good one for me. I came here with a very negative point of view about whether we could make a consensus government work and that we were going to be stuck with a very negative, adversarial-type of government. I am reassured and I am grateful to you all for the good work that we have done and are going to do. Thank you.

---Applause

Congratulating Cabinet And Thanking Family And Constituents
Item 6: Members' Statements

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The Speaker Samuel Gargan

Thank you. Item 6, Members' statements. The Member for Kitikmeot, Mr. Ng.

Congratulating Cabinet And Thanking Family And Constituents
Item 6: Members' Statements

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Kelvin Ng Kitikmeot

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I also wish to add my congratulations to you on your re-election as Speaker, and also to the Honourable Mr. Morin on his election as Premier, and to the other Cabinet Members. I would also like to thank all the candidates who put forward their names forward for these positions, because I think it's important to recognize that they gave us all an opportunity to make our selection for our representatives.

I would also like to thank the constituents, at this time, from Coppermine, Cambridge Bay, Umingmaktok and Bathurst Inlet for their decisive mandate that they gave me once again. It's an honour that I won't take lightly, and I'll work diligently to meet their expectations.

I also wish to acknowledge, once again, and thank my family, particularly my wife, Susie, for their support, encouragement and understanding over the past two and a half years. As many of us who have been around a little bit and for those Members who will be around for a bit, you'll quickly find out that the workload and travel requirements as a Member doesn't exactly fit well with family life and family commitments.

Finally, Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank Members of this House for their confidence in choosing me as one of their Executive Council Members. I will commit to carrying out my duties to the best of my ability for the benefit of all residents, and I look forward to working with all Members of this House over the next three and a half years. Thank you.

---Applause

Congratulating Cabinet And Thanking Family And Constituents
Item 6: Members' Statements

November 21st, 1995

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The Speaker Samuel Gargan

Thank you, Mr. Ng. Item 6, Members' statements. The Member for Keewatin Central, Mr. Todd.

Congratulating Cabinet And Thanking Family And Constituents
Item 6: Members' Statements

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Don Morin Tu Nedhe

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would just like to congratulate you as well on your position of Speaker. I'm sure you'll serve as a role model for all our youth. I would like to congratulate all those Members who ran for Cabinet. It takes a lot of nerve and a lot of energy to put your name forward and stand there and give your speeches. I would like to congratulate the Members of Cabinet who managed to get on Cabinet. But let me reassure all the other Members that there's lots of work to do and there's enough work to do to share it.

I would like to thank my family; my wife, Gladys, for all her support over the years. I encourage my mother, who is also in the gallery, Beatrice, not to give any more interviews.

---Laughter

---Applause

That's in jest; she knows I love her very much.

I would like to thank the constituents of Tu Nedhe. I would like to thank the people of Fort Resolution and Lutsel K'e for their support on October 16th. I would like to thank my campaign workers. We couldn't beat the previous term's percentage we had gotten, I think it was in 1991, it was 88.3 per cent. That was the highest vote margin in the Northwest Territories. We couldn't hit that this time, but it still makes John Todd the second-best in the North today, so that's good enough for me.

I would just like to say to my constituents that I will continually be there for them, I will always visit them in their homes. That's where we have our best time, is sitting there and visiting and having tea. I'm there to hear their concerns, I'll be there to take their advice, and I'll be there to listen to them and work for them. So I'll be there for the people of Tu Nedhe, for the elders, for the youth, and I will also be there for all the people in the Northwest Territories and the Members of this Legislative Assembly.

In the last week and a half it has been very enjoyable to come to work every day. It has been very enjoyable to see all 23 smiling faces and all 23 people, including myself, willing to work together. We can accomplish many good things as long as we are willing to work together. All I've heard for one solid week is we want to work together. We have an open-door policy in this government, let me assure you. And I would like to assure my good friend, Roy Erasmus, from Yellowknife North, if you ever see that door closing the least little bit, let me know and I'll make sure it opens again.

We had our first Cabinet meeting yesterday around two o'clock. We made one major decision: As everybody knows, the Cabinet is on this side of the building and the ordinary Members are on that side. There was a door in between, so I got our good friend, David Hamilton, to remove that door and put it in storage. Hopefully, we don't have to put it back up. Mahsi cho, thank you very much.

---Applause

Congratulating Cabinet And Thanking Family And Constituents
Item 6: Members' Statements

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The Speaker Samuel Gargan

Thank you, Mr. Morin. Item 6, Members' statements. Are there any further Members' statements? Item 7, recognition of visitors in the gallery. Mr. Morin.