Thank you, Mr. Delorey. To the motion. The honourable Member for Mackenzie Delta, Mr. Krutko.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, it won't be the same around here without Mr. Hamilton. As someone new coming in the House in the 13th Assembly and new to politics, especially territorial politics, it was a real eye opener, especially trying to understand tons of rules and regulations and policies and procedures that we have in front of us and trying to weasel your way through the day-to-day operations. I was able to always depend on Mr. Hamilton to teach me the ropes, the tricks of the trade around here because it is a tricky process trying to figure out how you can get around certain aspects of the rules of this House.

So it's all his fault.

---Laughter

But it was definitely a real learning process. Then I think becoming the Deputy Speaker of this House was also a real challenge to try to figure out what you do when you sit up in the big chair up there. I try to keep my emotions to myself and not to interfere with people that are talking too long or are just not answering the questions because for me it's pretty hard to do.

I think it was an important thing knowing that Mr. Hamilton spent some time in the Mackenzie Delta, especially the community of Aklavik. People still talk about David's stay in Aklavik. I think that people will also be sad to see David leaving and not realizing there's somebody in the Legislative Assembly who had a presence in Aklavik for some time.

So on behalf of the people of the Mackenzie Delta I would like to just wish David all the best and wherever you go, whatever you do, I know you'll be close by and always there in case I need some more tips. Thank you.

---Applause

Thank you. To the motion. The honourable Member for Weledeh, Minister Handley.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In case anyone was wondering, I wanted to let you know that I'm speaking in favour of the motion.

---Laughter

Mr. Speaker, I had the pleasure of knowing Mr. Hamilton when he was Deputy Clerk, going back to the early 1980s, late 1970s, when he was there. There has been a lot of change in this Legislative Assembly since then. I was always intrigued with that little Scotsman running around everywhere. Those were the days when the Legislative Assembly used to travel around to communities and he had the task of making sure that everything got to where it was supposed to be and so on. I was always amazed that we were able to do that in those days.

He also had to put up with a lot of other kind of changes. This Legislative Assembly, before it had all of these rules that Mr. Hamilton brought to us, was a much more rocking and rolling place. He had to deal with cups flying across the Chamber, people getting up and smacking somebody because they didn't quite like the response they gave and so on. There have been a lot of changes.

Mr. Hamilton has also certainly shown himself to me in the last four years to be a real encyclopedia of knowledge on rules, on Beauchesne's, on precedents that have happened in the House in previous years and so on.

He certainly has not lost his energy. I get a lot of amusement sitting here watching him and watching his body language, watching his eyes and so on as things are going on in the House here. He's keeping track of everything that's going on. I also watch him move around. When I see him coming down that hallway upstairs with a furrow in his brow, I get out of the way because there's something happening here and I just hope that he's not coming into my office.

I have learned to appreciate David's support, David's help to all of us in this House and his ability, as someone else has said, to be able to calm us down, bring order back into the process when it's necessary. I, too, want to express my appreciation for his support and do welcome him back into this Chamber when he's back in Yellowknife. Thank you.

---Applause

To the motion. The honourable Member for Yellowknife South, Mr. Bell.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I, too, after much deliberation will have to, I think grudgingly, support this motion.

---Laughter

Like so many other Members who come here for the first time after an election into this awe-inspiring building, it truly is a mysterious parliamentary process and I think David's been there for all of us, to help us in demystifying that and to make sure that we know a lot of this ends up being smoke and mirrors. If we truly in our hearts did what we thought was most important and best for our constituents, then the rules and the procedures and those things really would find their way and we'd find our way through that maze and he'd be there to help and guide us.

I know so many of us on this side of the House have been to David's office to consult on procedural advice, usually trying to find some way to ever so carefully stick it to the government, if that's a parliamentary phrase. I'm not sure, Mr. Speaker. I apologize if it isn't. David's always been there with procedural advice and always cautioned us that he'd be giving exactly the same advice to Cabinet on the matter should they be coming and knocking on his door. I've always respected that about David, Mr. Speaker.

I know that he's one of the longest-serving Clerks in the country. He's well regarded around the country. In other jurisdictions, people have a lot of respect for him and certainly appreciate his efforts over the years. There's clearly a lot of love for David in this room and in this building. He will be truly missed, but I suppose, Lisa, Judith and Kate, we're giving you your father and your husband back, but make sure that you allow him to come and visit. We've got a spot for him here. Thank you.

---Applause

To the motion. The honourable Member for Nunakput, Minister Steen.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I too want to express my support for this motion and take the opportunity to express my gratitude to Mr. Hamilton for the services and assistance he's given me as a Member over the past eight years. I'd like to express my appreciation for the advice he's given us, in Caucus, as a committee member and in this House. I know that it's helped us to arrive at some very controversial decisions and it's helped us, as well, to make some very wise decisions. I also would like to express my gratitude to my constituents for helping me help them. Thank you.

---Applause

Thank you, Minister Steen. To the motion. The honourable Member for Great Slave, Mr. Braden.

Mr. Speaker, my earliest days around here were largely coloured by my rash decision or volunteerism to take on the duty as chair of Caucus. I volunteered for that. Well, I thought, I've run a few meetings. I think I can run a meeting. Guess what? I found out that I really didn't know how to run this kind of meeting with 18 of my colleagues here, all of us chomping at the bit to get going. If I hadn't had Mr. Hamilton's steady, guiding, cool hand it would have been a much more terrifying experience than it was. With you, I shared his good counsel and I've appreciated it very much, Mr. Speaker.

David and I also shared a Sunday morning habit, not every Sunday on my part, but he was frequently working here on Sunday and this was when I would like to come in and he always had a few minutes for me to come down and sample his coffee. We would get into some meandering discussions now and then on various, marvelous points of philosophy, but we also found ourselves getting right into the nuts and bolts of what was in front of us that day and very often, I think, making some good plans or some good starting points. I'll miss that Sunday morning coffee.

Mr. Speaker, what I would like to really highlight is Mr. Hamilton's unerring ability and that gift, I think, that he has for treating every one of us equally and giving us all the grace of his fullest attention. I note his tolerance, I'm sure, at times, but he never discounted me or any of my ideas or any of my inquiries or any of the worries that I took to him. I've seen him in the hallways and the meetings here. I don't know of anyone that he has not given his fullest attention to. In this environment, I think that's, as I say, a rare gift and one that I've tried to learn by.

Mr. Speaker, this is not good-bye. It is certainly good luck as we in this Assembly and, I think, the people of the Northwest Territories will continue to enjoy and benefit from Mr. Hamilton's experience because he continues on as the Chief Electoral Officer for the Northwest Territories. So, in that sense, indeed it is not good-bye, but it is very much good luck and thank you, David.

---Applause

Thank you, Mr. Braden. To the motion. The honourable Member for the Sahtu, Mr. Kakfwi.

Mahsi. To the motion. The honourable Member for Hay River South, Mrs. Groenewegen.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I will also be speaking in support of the motion. I followed territorial politics fairly closely, but my first real personal encounter with David was when they were having the opening of this beautiful facility. I wasn't an MLA yet and he was overseeing all of this and was trying to make sure that nobody crashed the party. I was trying to figure out a way to crash the party for the opening because I thought I should. Anyway, I did, but I remember he wasn't too impressed. I regarded him with a large role, actually, in the establishment and upkeep of this very beautiful facility that we work in. He has an appreciation for very fine things and I think that is very much reflected in the way this building is and the way it looks and continues to look even after being in service for this number of years.

The first night I arrived in Yellowknife -- coming in here was pretty scary, as my colleagues said -- one of the Deputy Clerks picked me up. I can't remember, I think it was David Inch. He picked me up and we had a big party at the Hamilton's for all the new Members coming in eight years ago and it was very nice. We got to know everybody on an informal basis and they have extended that hospitality to the Members of this legislature over the years.

David has provided continuity. Politicians come and go, but there has been a continuity. Sometimes we get into meetings where we're all over the map and we're not sure what we're doing. Some pretty outrageous things are flying around. Then David walks into the room and brings a voice of reason to help us somehow crystallize and articulate what we want to do and what we want to say.

So, as some of the Members have mentioned, I'm sure that Mr. Hamilton has seen it all. I must tell you, when I first came here, for about the first five years, I always called him Mr. Hamilton and I'm not sure why because he's actually about the same age as all the rest of us. Except maybe Brendan...

---Laughter

...who's only been an adult for eight years.

---Laughter

There has certainly been a kindness there and support and encouragement that's helped me do my job. I also wanted to say, thank you for the kindness you've extended to my family, to my children, to my husband when they've come here to visit. They've really appreciated that. As you go on to the next chapter of your life, Mr. Speaker, I'd like to wish our Clerk all the best. Thank you.

---Applause

Thank you, Mrs. Groenewegen. To the motion. The honourable Member for Thebacha, Minister Miltenberger.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I, as well, would like to rise to speak in favour of this motion. This Legislative Assembly, as we all know -- as we prepare to launch off on elections, some of us, and some on to the rest of our lives -- is a place of change and transition. For the last 20 years Mr. Hamilton has been a fixture, but now it's his turn to make the move out the doors of the Assembly into the real world to become a semi-civilian once again.

In his time he's seen dozens of us come and go, but there's only been one Clerk. So this is change. I know he's working hard on his Master's degree, he just has to finish his thesis. I also know he staying on as Chief Electoral Officer and from my own personal experience as MLA, especially in the 13th Assembly, I know that the Chief Electoral Officer has a lot of influence and can play a very important role in an MLAs life. So he will be keeping his finger on the pulse.

I'd like to wish him nothing but good health and happiness in all the things that he does after here and thank him for putting up with me and for all the assistance he's provided over the years. Thank you.

---Applause

Thank you. To the motion. The honourable Member for Tu Nedhe, Mr. Nitah.

To the motion. The honourable Member for Inuvik Twin Lakes, Minister Allen.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I, too, will support the motion. It is often difficult to follow up on so many accolades that the Clerk has received. I think it's important for me to let you know that I have a special note framed in my mother's house in Inuvik that says that two Aklavik boys have come a long way and certainly, prior to David's arrival in Aklavik, I was escorted out to school so I didn't get a chance to know him in those days. When I did get elected for the first time in 1999 and first came to the Assembly in 2000 I, too, was intimidated and in awe of such a special place and special time in my life as the newly-elected Member for Inuvik Twin Lakes.

Mr. Hamilton, on behalf of my constituents I want to say this has been a special and very gratifying experience for myself and I want to convey my congratulations on behalf of my riding. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

---Applause

Mahsi. To the motion. The honourable Member for North Slave, Mr. Lafferty.