Mr. Braden, you will certainly be missed and I'll miss you.

I want to thank you all for your hard work in committees, especially Mr. Braden and his hard work in committees especially on the Liquor Act and the WCB legislation. Good luck and best wishes to you, Bill and Val and your family, as you venture off in a new direction.

To my other colleagues, I want to thank you for helping me be an effective Member of this Assembly. I'd like to wish you all the best in the upcoming election, those of you who are seeking re-election. Should my constituents give me another opportunity to represent them once again in this House, I look forward to working with you again after the election.

Our work here as Members is made so much easier by the dedicated staff we have in this building. I want to thank each and every staff member for all of their help the past four years. The Clerk of the House, Mr. Tim Mercer, is to be commended for the first-rate staff and services that this building has offered Members...

---Applause

...all the way from the Clerk's office, research, the library staff, security, corporate services, the cleaners and the cafeteria staff.

I just wanted to also thank my constituency assistant, Lynda Comerford, for her four years of dedicated service to my office. She has been truly a great employee and I'm very lucky to have had her as my constituency assistant.

Mr. Speaker, I'm very honoured to have been a partner in governing this great territory the past four years. The future is very bright. As a territory, we have so much to look forward to. We are moving ahead on devolution and resource revenue sharing negotiations and, as we know, this government has done a great deal in advancing our position and we are close to getting a deal done.

The next government is going to need to find peace with our regions and our aboriginal governments. We cannot afford to have differences that lead to inaction. We need to work together to achieve results for our people. We cannot work in isolation. We must work with one another because we need one another. We need to examine what public government is going to look like here in the Northwest Territories 10 years from now, 20 years from now. Mr. Speaker, my advice would be that we should not deviate from our current consensus style of government until all outstanding issues of land claims and self-governments are dealt with. My fear is any shift toward party politics will further alienate the Government of the Northwest Territories. Mr. Speaker, we will need to take a look at reinventing ourselves and including everyone in a discussion that will lead to a Government of the Northwest Territories that everyone will, and should be, comfortable with.

As the government moves forward, there are issues that will be need to be addressed. The first order of business for the new government should be a zero-based budgeting exercise so we get a grip and a handle on how effective our current spending patterns are. Also, the work must continue on the review of boards and agencies. The 16th Assembly must conclude this important piece of work. Also, work will need to be done to develop a new corporate capital planning program with more accurate cost and time estimates.

Mr. Speaker, the environment, of course, should and will be front and centre, with new legislation, hopefully coming in the 16th Assembly, like SARA, the Wildlife Act, and hopefully these things will be moved forward. The next government will again have to balance resource development and opportunities for our residents with protecting our environment. Mr. Speaker, I'm a big supporter of the whistleblower legislation that is coming forward and should be pursued by the next government. The next government will also have to come up with a plan to tackle addictions. We need to put more resources in place that will benefit those needing the help. Programming and education should be the primary focus of the next government's dealing with our addictions issues. The next government will need to continue to address the high cost of living and look for ways to help residents cope with that cost of living.

Certainly challenges lie ahead, Mr. Speaker; that is true. But our economy is strong; our people are getting stronger, and we must look to the future with great interest. The future of this territory and our people require all of us working together to ensure that opportunities are provided for anyone and everyone who desires them.

Thank you again, Members, for your indulgence this afternoon. Mahsi cho, Mr. Speaker.

---Applause