Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate Mr. Miltenberger and Mr. Steen as the two Members elect to Cabinet today. I had them both over for supper last night and they were joking with me about whether or not the turkey was cooked and whether I was taking this opportunity to feed them so that I could poison them. I must confess, at the time I did not think it was necessary.
--Laughter
They kidded me about what time the Leadership Committee started today attempting to lead me to believe that it started later than it did. You might think them honourable men, but they also suggested that they might hijack some of the candidates on the way to the Legislature today and lock them up in a room with a television so they could follow the proceedings, but not get out until it was too late to vote.
All this talk of pranks and capers resulted in me having a terrible dream last night and this was what I really dreamed. I am not making this up. This is not a joke. I dreamed I was in Hay River trying to get to Yellowknife for the Cabinet selection. I was driving an old car and after loading it up to set out the door fell off. I then rushed to the airport to catch Buffalo Airways at 7:30 and in my dream it was just taking off the runway and it was only 7:27, three minutes ahead of schedule. I then called Landa Aviation to charter a flight, and Larry and Anne were away. The replacement pilot told me he could not fly me to Yellowknife, because his dog had just had puppies the night before. Just as I was resigning myself to the fact that, perhaps, I was not meant to be in Yellowknife today, I woke up and was pleasantly relieved to see that I was in Yellowknife. So as to avoid any unforeseen circumstances, such as hijackers, I left for the Legislature at 7:00 a.m. As the morning proceeded I realized that it might have been better if my nightmarish dream had in fact been a reality.
Seriously, everything turns out the way that it was meant to be. Now I do not have to be away from Hay River for the next six months, I do not have to move my office, I don't have to put my business into a blind trust, yet, and yahoo, I can spend the summer at home in my constituency. As I always believe, all things do work together for good.
Congratulations and thank you to all the candidates who had the courage to put their names forward and especially good wishes to Mr. Miltenberger and Mr. Steen. Thank you.