Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, it's my opinion that buildings are far more than bricks and mortar. They can breathe life into our community and certainly a policy like this will breathe life into the institutions we know as government.

Mr. Speaker, a public art scale of this mass will change the culture and the way we do business and although it looks like a little piece of paper, I think it goes far beyond that. It will define us for generations to come.

From my time being a Member here for the last three years, the Leg is truly an example of doing things right and doing them upfront as opposed to trying to fix the problem later. How many times have I stood in the entranceway of this Great Hall and people from around the world, not just the Northwest Territories, come in and say they are in awe that an Assembly would take this

much attention to taking and embracing its community. So from the wood trim to the things that have been mentioned such as the backdrop in the aisle, people notice that. I think it really breathes life into our institution.

I would like to see Cabinet support this. The Premier has quite clearly said the Cabinet's intent is they like the idea. I am sure they will go back and assess it as they may. Cabinet always finds money when they want to do something. This is something that will create a legacy for everyone, not just Cabinet, not just this side. This will be here for generations to come.

Mr. Speaker, I often look around this Assembly and see that we are missing the 200 to 300 to 400-year-old piece of item, that piece of furniture that was dragged across the country. It had Sir John A. MacDonald's boots on it. It got chipped on its way over by maybe Premier Ralph Klein, who knows? We don't have infrastructure here that creates legacy, but an arts policy will create a legacy 200 or 300 years from now. We will be looking at how smart this Assembly was to put culture and art in its buildings. We will be able to look much further into the way the people enjoy working in buildings and enjoy visiting buildings that have an artistic flare to them.

Mr. Speaker, in short, I truly believe art defines us. It is the essence of what it makes us truly be from day to day. It's a policy that we need to embrace and I certainly fully support it. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

---Applause