Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I, too, stand today to speak in support of the motion. I appreciate the fact that Mr. Hamilton announced his retirement earlier and I think part of it was so that we would all get used to and prepared for a life without him. I think that we all know that it's just not going to be the same.
With his announcement of retirement and some of the announcements in the House and outside of the House of some of the long-serving Members, yourself, Mr. Speaker and Minister Antoine, Minister Kakfwi and Minister Ootes leaving, it really feels like this is definitely the end of an era and we are starting anew. I think I am one of the younger ones here, contrary to some other Member's statement. I really am feeling like it's not time for me to have to grow up more and be able to be more self-sufficient.
Mr. Speaker, it really seems to me like I have known Mr. Hamilton forever and I can't remember the first time I met him, but Minister Antoine's statement about him being appointed as Clerk in 1983 reminded me that I had a brief presence in the old Assembly, the old Yellowknife Inn, where they had a youth assembly where they brought two youths from every riding in the country and I was one of the ones chosen in Yellowknife Centre. I remember making presentations, along with now Chief Jerry Paulette and Sabrina Dragon when we were 18-years-old pretending to be MLAs. That must have been when I first met Mr. Hamilton inside of this setting. But, of course, he's been a member of the community of Yellowknife for a long time. I know him through the United Church. I have a unique background that I have been an employee of the Legislative Assembly. I came here in 1989. I submitted a resume to Mr. Hamilton fresh out of university with my fancy degree in political science. I had a call from him not too long after that and started working as a research officer with Rick Bargery, who is now the deputy minister. The names sort of flow around here.
So I have had the honour of working as an employee here and then working in Ministers' offices and then going to school again and coming back as a Member. Mr. Speaker, I have to say that Mr. Hamilton truly is one of a kind. I don't think he's replaceable in this House or in the government. I know the senior management of the government relies on him a lot and in our city of Yellowknife and the entire community.
He is truly a very gifted person. He's about the only one who I know who absolutely knows everything, not just about what's going on in this chamber. We know what goes on in this Chamber is a small part of what goes on in the whole Legislative Assembly. But he also knows what's going on in the whole government. He actually knows what's going on before you know it. He knows what you are thinking even before you speak it.
---Laughter
He has a plan for you to go ahead with it or to stop the plan before you get into too much trouble. I know what Members here have already spoken about. Every time I go into his office, I can just feel the stories that must go on in that office. I have been one of the Members who have benefited from his advice. I have noticed two things about Mr. Hamilton. One is the success that he's had and his ability to have served in this House and serve the Members for 20 years, that is not a small thing. I don't know how anybody can do that. He should be very proud of having achieved that. Members who are in this House, we are very determined. We have strong beliefs. We come here with lots of issues and convictions that we want to fight on and it cannot be easy for him to give advice, but he has a gift of quick mind. Whenever I suffer from difficulty with making a decision, whether it's procedure or whether I should make this statement or that or should I go one way or the other, you could have suffered it for three hours or three days and you talk to him and he will know the answer in one instant.
Another gift he has that made him a success in this House is that no matter what advice he gives you, he always makes you feel like he's your friend. Even if he's changed your mind, you walk away thinking that you have your way or you are winning. He has that. Not too many people have that. Even if he changes your mind, he makes you feel like you've won anyway and you've made your point. I hope I am doing justice to recognizing the gifts that he has, which is his quick mind. That's not always easy to find. We second guess ourselves and about things we want to do and it's a tremendous help when you are struggling with your decision to just talk to Mr. Hamilton. It doesn't have to be very long. You just talk to him for a few minutes and he has an answer for you. Whether you take it or not, you go away with it feeling much better.
So I just want to recognize him for that. Also, I don't know how he has time for other things but he's been developing himself personally. He has lots of involvement outside of the community and I know he will do really well. As Mr. Bell has mentioned, I have travelled with him around the world, he is highly respected all across the country and all around the world by a lot of parliamentarians and clerks who know his work and who have had a chance to work with him. So I have had no doubt that he is going to have a full and illustrious career in his retirement in whatever way he chooses.
I don't want to say good-bye and I don't want to be sad about it, but I am really mindful of the fact that this is the beginning of a new era. We are going to have a totally different place and if it's any comfort to you, Mr. Hamilton, know that you've done a good job. You've gone through a lot of changes in this Assembly, guided the political and constitutional evolution through and that you are leaving us in good hands. Please feel free to come back and visit and all the best wishes to Kate and your entire family. Thank you.