Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My time in this office has been short so, this time, I will make this a short reply.
---Laughter
I can say that I have learned a lot in this short time and I would like to recognize the cooperation of everybody to ensure that my goals for Aivilik were met.
Mr. Speaker, I had many items to cover on my agenda for this very short time but the two most important issues were Bill C-68, the gun control bill, and the Inuit elders, in relation to the Bowhead whale. I would just like to make a correction in my statement this morning about the whalers in the 18th century. It was not only the Dutch, as I indicated, it was also the British and others responsible for the slaughter of whales. I just forgot to read that sentence.
Mr. Speaker, these two issues needed to be voiced, even in the short time I had and I had the pleasure to speak on these two very important issues on behalf of my Aivilik riding.
Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank my husband, partner and best friend, Tom, for all the support he has given me and the encouragement to run in the Aivilik riding. I would like to thank our sons, Trevor and Randy. Though they weren't born from inside, under my heart, they were born from my heart. They have had a lot of patience in this short time.
I would also like to thank Brian Armstrong, my assistant, for being here and working long hours sometimes, and for his energy -- which I needed for the short time I was here. I would like to thank my mom and my dad for the high expectations they have for all their children. It was more like a nunnery with four other sisters in my family.
---Laughter
Mr. Speaker, I especially would like to thank my dad. He gave me advice before I started my career as a teacher about 19 years ago: he said, "Nutaraq -- the name he calls me, which means "my little child," -- never use the term often used by non-aboriginals; I know." He said not to use this term because if someone is teaching you, you might miss something that you might need to know. I also would like to thank him for voting for me, after a conversation that he, my mom and I had about traditional leadership. When I asked him, "Dad, would you vote for a woman today as a leader," he asked, "What do you mean?" I replied, "If, say, a woman was running for a mayor in your town." He said, "No, I wouldn't vote for a woman leader." Then he encouraged me and told me that he voted for me.
---Laughter
His grandfather, Angutimmarik was a well-know Aivilik leader in the traditional days. Mr. Speaker, I really appreciate my mom and dad for all the encouragement they have given me in this short time.
I would like to thank all the people who elected me to this office, for I needed this experience for the future of the Nunavut government so that I will be able to assist my people better, whether as a politician or a public servant. When the by-election for the Aivilik riding opened, Mr. Speaker, the mayor of Coral Harbour, Louie Bruce, said the person going into this office was just going to test the waters at this time to see if they like it or not, and that person would float or sink.
Mr. Speaker, I felt I came into the rapids, into a very organized confusion, but I feel I was prepared and determined to succeed in this short time. I had to make sure I had the right equipment to float and swim. I knew that if this didn't kill me, it was going to make me stronger.
---Laughter
And, Mr. Speaker, I'm glad that, as an Inuk, I have the survival skills instilled in me by my elders to be able to survive in any type of harsh environment.
I was happy to be here while the Education Act was being addressed. It's an area I'm comfortable with. I know with this act, Mr. Speaker, we should be able to produce bilingual, bi-cultural aboriginals for our future, with the support of Innuqatigiit and Dene Kede curriculums and also aboriginal teachers dedicated to education.
Mr. Speaker, I'm confident that our aboriginal culture and language will survive. I'm sure the Department of Education of this government will make sure we get more aboriginal teachers by setting up more field-based training programs or closer-to-home programs to produce more aboriginal teachers in the west and in the east.
---Applause