Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I want to say in my language... [English translation not provided]
I want to say in my language that, really, this person that we’re talking about is really good, Mr. Speaker. In my language that means a lot, that Mr. Whitford, Tony, when I became the MLA and I remember him telling me I’m going to visit each of the communities of the Northwest Territories. And I sat here and said, yeah, right. You know? Throughout the years Tony talked about different communities and when he’s going to come into the Sahtu. Then, lo and behold, one time last year, or I think it was the year before, he showed up in Tulita. “Hey, Commish,” I said. And he said, “Yeah, I was just driving in from Deline. I was in Colville Lake.” And he’s all excited. He’d just come out of Chief Albert Wright School. And I said, “Doggone it, that guy said he was doing what he was going to do. Now that’s the Commissioner,” I said.
He is truly the people’s Commissioner. The people were excited when I went to different communities, they talked about our Commissioner. And he always digs in his pocket and he hands out pins, and he gives you pins. So I want to say how much the people in the Sahtu appreciate our Commissioner coming into our schools. Certainly, to our elders, he would sit down and talk with them. That’s a real Commissioner to me. The new Commissioner is going to have a hard act to follow.
Mr. Speaker, Mr. Commissioner then left Tulita driving his red truck, then he went out and I said, “Gee, it was too bad we didn’t have time, you know, if I knew you were in town, to have some tea with me.” So I drove back to my house and not even about 15 minutes later there was a knock on my door and it was the Commissioner there. He said, “I can’t leave, it’s too beautiful.” So I put some tea on and fried up one of the best Sahtu moose meat and we ate. We had a good meal there in Tulita and talked and had some bannock. He talked about my mother and how he knew my mother. That was something that’s very special to me. It stuck with me for a long, long time. I wanted to say that even though the Commissioner has made a lot of trips
and he sacrificed, I know one of his boys, you know, and he exemplifies the type of parents he came from. It says a lot about your children.
Mr. Speaker, I want to also say one thing on a personal note. Some 19 years ago, Mr. Whitford said something to me when I was 19 years old that a lot of 19 year olds like myself did not want to hear. He really helped me in my life and I actually owe my life to him because of what he said, which I didn’t want to hear at that time. Now I want to say thank you very much, Mr. Whitford, for telling me and being brave enough and honest enough to tell me what I needed to hear at that time, even though I didn’t want to hear it. Here I stand today thanking my friend, Mr. Whitford. Mahsi.
---Applause