Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I, along with my colleagues, want to offer my condolences to the people of Nunavut. I’m glad the Premier said some words for them. At this time they certainly need our prayers and our support.
When I heard the news I was taken back, because some time ago I was involved in the incident in Fort
Good Hope and it’s very heavy on the hearts of people, the families, the grandparents, people right across Canada. I can’t imagine what the people up in Resolute Bay are going through. At this time today, they need our support. They need our prayers from this Legislative Assembly. They need our help over there to get them through some of the very difficult things that are going to happen in the coming year.
I want to say this: I know there are things in this Assembly that we need to deal with that are very important, such as the wildlife, such as the cell phones, such as the issues on health and education, but today I thought when I stepped outside, when I got on the plane this morning in Tulita, today is that we can put aside those differences, put aside and offer our energy and support to the people in Resolute Bay, to the people up in Nunavut, to help them get through this tragic event. There are questions that are going to be answered. Questions of why the good Lord let this happen, God. These things that they need our help with.
I want to say on behalf of the Sahtu people, that we offer our support to those people, and also to our friends; as the Premier said, Smiling Jack. I was telling my wife, what next? I offer my condolences to his family, also, on behalf of the Sahtu, and all for the supporters of Mr. Layton and the recent election that he came north here and he certainly was a man to be admired bringing his party up to a stature that nobody thought could happen. Smiling Jack did it and he did it above all, and he did it on behalf of his own beliefs and values and principles.
I want to say this in my Member’s statement that we offer our condolences to the people in Resolute and also to people Mr. Layton has left behind.