Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, as this is the last day of the sitting for 1996, I would like to take this opportunity to wish the people of Iqaluit, Apex, and the outpost camps a very Merry Christmas and New Year.
Mr. Speaker, to be able to come to Yellowknife for prolonged periods of time, when you have a young family, means you need support from your partner at home. Mr. Speaker, my wife Upa, is home with our three kids, ranging in age from 1 to 8 years old. My wife has been employed at the women's shelter known as Qimaavik in Iqaluit, since 1992. That job is stressful, Mr. Speaker. Having to maintain our home, and take care of the three children for weeks on end, while I serve here in public office, takes more than dedication.
It takes commitment and love. I could not be here today, I would not be able to do the job, to function in the stressful world of cutbacks and reductions, being in the public eye, without my wife's support.
Mr. Speaker, as we near the Christmas season and a new year, my wife has two more years of my prolonged absences, and missed birthdays, to look forward to.
Is public life worth missing seeing your baby walk for the first time? Or missing out on an award presentation to your son? I do not know. But the public should sometimes look at these aspects of public life. I now know why so many of our territorial, provincial, and federal politicians have failed marriages and other problems. It is not an easy life, Mr. Speaker. I have nothing but respect for any man or woman who can survive and dedicate four, five, six years or more in public life.
Mr. Speaker, to my wife and family in Iqaluit, that I will not see for another two weeks, I miss you, I love you, and I apologize to my son Wally for missing his birthday again this year, and I will try to make it up to you.
-- Applause