Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I wanted to take this opportunity to reply to the opening address. I wanted to do generally what Mr. Ng did yesterday, and that is to try to show my respect for the work that has been done by many people who have worked with me during my tenure as a Member of this Assembly.
Mr. Speaker, there is always a great deal of criticism that is often directed at Cabinet Members, and the situation during this session has been no different. But I want to say this, Mr. Speaker, despite our report cards -- and I guess they have been provided to us -- I just want to say to all my Cabinet colleagues who have served with me for the last three years or less, if nothing else, you deserve an A plus because of the time, effort and commitment that you have given to the people of the Northwest Territories. Serving in Cabinet is a very difficult task, and often, unless we say yes to Members, we are considered as being opponents to Members.
We have other factors that we have to consider in making our decisions. So not everything we do is right in the minds of Members, but I can say, without equivocation, having served with all of you, that you have done your job -- at least in my eyes, because I have had an opportunity to work with every one of you -- with diligence, consideration of all the facts, a view to trying to be fair and an effort to do the best for all the people, including your constituents. Often times, the work we do in Cabinet is at the sacrifice of our families and at the sacrifice of our constituents. So I want to commend every one of those who have served in Cabinet for their commitment to those principles.
Mr. Speaker, to you, having served in your capacity as Speaker, to Mr. Ballantyne and to Mrs. Jeannie Marie-Jewell, it is often said that being a Speaker takes away your ability to speak in this House on behalf of your constituents, and I want people to realize that your responsibility is far more than just sitting in the House and applying the rules in this House.
The fact is, Mr. Speaker, that your responsibility is one of representing, to the people of Canada and to the people in the north, our Assembly and all Members in this Assembly. You not only keep the rules, but you ensure that the people know about this Assembly, how it works and all those things that are good about it.
At times we think there is nothing good about an Assembly. I often listen to Mr. Lewis who articulates the importance of a forum of this nature. Sometimes we lose sight of the fact that a forum like this allows every Member an opportunity to rise and speak in opposition to those issues that some Members may feel are important, without having to feel that they are opponents. They can rise and speak their mind without having to think that someone may do things that are bad or, for that matter, at another time not support their efforts. I think that is an important consideration. I also want to say that there are other Members who have spoken about this issue in this House.
Mr. Speaker, I came to this Assembly some fifteen and a half years ago. It's interesting how many changes have occurred in this Assembly. There are three of us who have been here since 1979, and the dean of our House, Mr. Ludy Pudluk, who has been here for almost 20 years now. I have seen a lot of changes in this Assembly. Sometimes I reflect back and realize that when I came here four years ago I thought we had a group of people who were probably the most educated of all the Members that have come to this House. After four years, I wonder if we were educated, or maybe people like Ipeelee Kilabuk, Mark Evaloarjuk or Charlie Crow could have taught some of the people here a few lessons in diplomacy and dignity. I say that not with a great deal of animosity or anything, but I think that often we fail to realize how important it is for us to treat each other with some sense of respect or at least consider the facts before we...