As I said, Mr. Speaker, I think it's because we are used to it that so many of us forget it. But when I talk to Members of provincial legislative assemblies, they are astounded to hear about the power of Regular Members. When I tell elected officials from other jurisdictions that when I was Regular Member I worked with other Members to get the government to make significant changes to budgets, like adding $1 million to a program that all Regular Members agreed should be a priority, they're incredulous. In a party system, that could never happen. Members would not be able to vote according to whether a proposal or legislation was good for their constituency; all votes would be controlled by party discipline. I still don't think we need that in our small jurisdiction. We need to be able to work together in the interest of our constituents.
Some have called for open committee meetings, and I agree that government should do as much as possible in public, but there has to be some balance, of course. Budget issues will always have to be considered behind closed doors or it would be impossible for the government to disclose all the information.
So, Mr. Speaker, I have no doubt that our consensus system will continue to evolve over time. Subsequent governments will make decisions about what it should look like. Right now, the system we have isn't perfect, but in my opinion it's better than the alternatives I see across Canada.
Mr. Speaker, being a Member of this Assembly has been a great experience. Over the years, I have chaired and participated in many committees. I am proud of the achievements. There has been a tremendous amount of legislation that has been passed over the last 16 years, way too much to mention, but our human rights legislation is a very good model for the rest of Canada and I am proud of the role I played as a member of committee sitting on the other side and seeing that come forward.
The same can be said for the Protection Against Family Violence Act. Those two acts speak to what this Legislative Assembly and past Legislative Assemblies have seen as important in protecting the rights of individuals and those who may not have access to protection in other ways.
I have also been very pleased, Mr. Speaker, to be on Cabinet for two terms. Over the years, I have had a lot of different responsibilities. I am especially proud of the time I have had as Minister of Education, Culture and Employment. What I found really interesting in reading a study not long ago, Mr. Speaker, is that in Canada the average span of time that a person spends on Cabinet as
an active Member in Canada is about four and a half years. So typically, a Cabinet Minister doesn't have a long tenure, doesn't have a long life as a Member of government. However, I have been really lucky in that I got to spend four years in the mid-90s as Minister of Education and then come back in this term as Minister of Education. So some of the changes that were instituted early on in the '90s, we are getting to see the results for now.
One of the most critical decisions that have been made by government over the years was to proceed with grade extensions. It was a controversial decision when it was proposed in the early '90s. There were significant arguments about whether or not they actually provide a good level of education in the smallest communities. But we are seeing now, Mr. Speaker, that it does work. We are seeing the grad rates have increased over the last 12 to 15 years to the same levels that what took between 30 and 50 years in other areas of Canada. We still have a long ways to go, but, Mr. Speaker, we have demonstrated that we are on the right track. We have seen tremendous growth in participation.
I am also really pleased that we have been able to achieve significant changes to the Income Support Program. Again, this is a program that provides assistance to those who are most in need in our society and helps to demonstrate the compassion this government has for those who are dealing with poverty issues.
Mr. Speaker over the years, I haven't always been able to resolve issues for constituents, but on many occasions a quick phone call has resolved things while a few have taken longer. I have to say that my biggest regret in deciding not to run again revolved around two outstanding issues that have not been resolved: the transfer of the Con lands to the city and resolution of the infrastructure problems in Northland.
Mr. Speaker, I know that the Minister of MACA is interested in resolving the Con and Rycon situation. I know that residents there want ownership of their lots and I hope we will see the transfer process started before the election, but I know it's going to take longer than four weeks to get done so it will not happen during the life of this government.
Mr. Speaker, I have also been very pleased by the recent actions of the City of Yellowknife to help the residents of Northland to develop a plan to resolve their water and sewer problems. I can only hope that the next MLA to represent Frame Lake will be able to see a joint response between this government, the city and residents to resolve that issue.
Mr. Speaker, in 16 years in this position, I owe a lot of people thanks. I have been here for so long I couldn't possibly list them all by name or I would be getting close to that three hour and 20 minute record. Obviously, in a system like ours, you don't do the work here alone. I have counted on the assistance and help of colleagues. It has been a tremendous experience over the years working on different committees with Regular Members, who worked, as I have, for two terms with Cabinet. I have really enjoyed the last four years working with this Cabinet and wish all of the Members well in their future for those who are seeking re-election and those who are like me and are moving onto other challenges.
I have also enjoyed a tremendous amount of support from the staff in this Assembly. Going back 16 years, there has been almost complete turnover in staff. I have seen almost every position filled by different faces, but the competency and the level of support either by the Clerk's offices, research and library staff, administrative staff, they have all provided tremendous support to me and to others over the years and I thank them for that.
In the eight years I have been Minister I have also found that the public service is incredibly dedicated. I know it's too often too easy for the public to take shots at the public service, but I know how many of my staff show up for work at 6:00 or 7:00 in the morning often seven days a week. I have been proud to have the people support me in the departments who have put in those extra hours and make sure things are done when they should be. Whether it's clerical staff, directors, ADMs, DMs, I have been impressed by the work ethic we have by the public service. I would say that our public service in the North is second to none.
Mr. Speaker, I would also like to take a moment to say a special thanks to those who have worked in my office while I was Minister. My executive assistants, especially over the last four years; Katherine Robinson and Alison Welch; the executive secretaries, Kathy Wind and Heather Bibby. Over the 16 years I have had more constituency assistants than I could mention, but Pearl Benyk has been the one who has been most recent and has lasted the longest. I thank her for the work that she's done in helping me keep my constituents informed about the work that we do here.
Mr. Speaker, to be effective in this job, you need not only the support from your colleagues, constituents and staff, but even more you need support from your family. Mr. Speaker, it's probably no secret to people who know Eileen, but my wife has never really been a fan of me being a politician.
---Laughter
Pretty well every election, she has said that she prefer that I not run. But once the race was on and the papers were filed, she was always a formidable part of the campaign team. I appreciate that.
Not only has she helped during campaigns, once elected, Eileen has always supported my political activities. She even had to take over running my business. That meant she had to run her jewellery store as well as operate a staff intensive 24/7 operation like a radio station. Then, after she started running two businesses, we had a son. So now she had three jobs and all of them full time. While, as she occasionally pointed out, just occasionally, I only had one job.
---Laughter
And this one job meant that I travelled a lot. So I wasn't there when Tyler was sick and she still had the two businesses to run. It eventually got to the point where Eileen decided something had to go. Thankfully, it wasn't me.
---Laughter
---Applause