Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I would like to take a few minutes to speak about the 15th Assembly and those who will serve in it.
Mr. Speaker, today I would like to thank the constituents of Hay River South for electing me to serve for this my third term in the Assembly. I want to tell them that I'm here to serve everyone.
It's been a busy few days since we gathered back here, welcoming former Members, meeting new Members and selecting colleagues to serve in positions of leadership. I would like to congratulate you, Mr. Speaker, on your election and I wish you well in your new role. I would like to congratulate the honourable Member for Weledeh in his successful bid for Premier, and I wish him and his new Cabinet a productive and rewarding term.
I'm impressed with the new Members who were elected to this Assembly. It's a relatively young group and already I see much promise and potential. The average age of the Assembly seems to be getting younger all the time, or maybe it's just that I'm getting older all the time.
---Laughter
I'm looking forward to the next four years. We have a lot of work ahead of us, but it promises to be an exciting time in the history of the political, economic and social development of the North. I'm looking forward to exploring ways of working effectively together. Within the context of consensus government there is room for creativity, innovation and putting this Assembly's own signature on how we want to accomplish our objectives on behalf of the people of the North. There are some emerging themes about the style that I briefly want to mention and hopefully will find support to develop more in the days ahead. Everyone elected to this Assembly is a leader in their own right. Everyone comes with unique backgrounds, experience and skills, and I want this Assembly to display respect for these talents and abilities through true consensus and inclusive leadership. We are only 19 Members, we need to harness and engage the energy and enthusiasm of all Members to achieve the best outcomes for our people. I want to see us embrace this inclusive leadership. We need to set an example of it amongst ourselves and further extend it to the way in which we work with other governments and community leaders. When we do this, Mr. Speaker, the potential for the Northwest Territories will be unlimited. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
---Applause