Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I was inspired by our Members to start beginning to use our mother tongue, so I want to use part of my language here.

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(English not provided)

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In my language, Mr. Speaker, I want to just let the Members know that I said to thank the good Lord, thank the Creator for today, and that I will speak today on behalf of my people who put me here. I know life is difficult for all of us, and I will do my best to speak for you. I'll give you a voice in the House today. So that's what I said in my language.

I want to say that, Mr. Speaker, in my Member's statement that an elder has told me that if you know the land, you will know the people. I really didn't understand what the elder was saying: to know the land you would know the people. It was not until I started working in this job here as Members, and also scarce and previous Members, that you get to know the people. But when you go into your small communities and meet people from different regions, you get to know the land, you get to see the beauty of the Northwest Territories and the resources and the richness in the values and the way of life they live and the hardships they've come through. They always look at us for work and they call us...(inaudible)...big boss. So they always look to us to give them a better life, and I think that's the whole essence of people sending us here.

I want to say in the Sahtu it's a little different in that you're paying the high prices and that we know what is best for us, and I think this government is starting to work in that direction to give us that type of respect and dignity to elders to have a life that we deserve, like the rest of Canada and the Northwest Territories. Mahsi.

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