Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I want to follow up on the Premier’s statement earlier today and Mr. Menicoche’s statement. I appreciated those.
In this Assembly and throughout the community, we often hear the happy news of awards being conferred upon citizens who are selected for individual distinction. Acceptance remarks of people receiving these awards are so similar they’ve almost become standard phrases in our language.
They usually say something like “I’d like to thank all those who made this possible.”
The awards themselves are important. I believe strongly in saying thank you to the people and groups who improve all our lives. By the nature of awards, these gestures recognize that the results have an above and beyond quality that are distinctive and distinguished. As the individuals who receive the awards almost invariably say, “I couldn’t have done it without…”
It’s all the people who share in the accomplishment but may not formally get an award who I would like to recognize today. That’s the other phrase you usually hear, “the people are too numerous to name.”
Here in the Northwest Territories, I believe our close sense of community and common fellowship has blessed us with a special endowment of high achievers, contributors and willing partners, and I see many in the House and in the gallery today. The quality of our community life is one of the things we savour most, and the high quality of the continuing extra effort, compassion and decency is what makes this life so rich.
Occasionally, special efforts will result in the conferral of an award. We have many great community leaders and many whose lives of continuous achievement are worthy of recognition. These are occasions to say thanks and to count our shared blessings.
Today, as we come to the end of the Queen’s Jubilee year, I ask this House to join me in saluting all those unnamed citizens and groups who make the NWT such a great place to live and work. All their contributions create this society where great things are possible. Mr. Speaker, here’s to them.