Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’d like to thank Premier Bob McLeod for bringing this motion here today. I would like to thank our seconder, Madam Groenewegen, for allowing this to be debated here today.

We’ve got a lot of dignitaries and guests here today. I want to earmark the fact that we have a lot of signatories here for the Devolution Agreement and I want to thank them for joining us here today, and we have a lot of other distinguished guests. I appreciate everyone taking time out of their schedule to be with us here.

We’ve heard the word “historic,” we’ve heard the word “epic,” and I think I am going to add the word “legacy” to the amount of adjectives we’ve heard about today’s events. We’ve also heard terminologies used, even today here and even in media. Is today more of a symbolic or is it more of a legally binding motion that we’re bringing to the floor of the House, and this is only a few people that can think in that capacity? I will answer that question, but I will do so later on in my delivery here today.

I do want to first and foremost commend the Premier. As mentioned by the seconder, it takes strong leadership, determination and will to guide an organization of this magnitude with so many moving parts, so many levers, and to create this focus and to provide the NWT with such a great opportunity. I want to commend and thank the Premier for his steadfast determination. It takes a lot of will, and thank you for doing so.

I realize there has been a lot of legal and technical work over the years, too many years to count, but I realize that there has been lots of work on things like the consistency of the terms used and all the provisions that were required to meet for us to debate today.

There are way too many champions out there for me to mention here today. They all know who they are, and I think, for myself as a Member here, I’m sure many speak in the same vein. We want to thank you for your devoted attention and help on this subject.

I further realize that there will be ongoing negotiations as we progress along the journey of devolution, and I view today, like many, as just one of those steps in moving forward on this journey. However, there are still some concerns out there. You’ve heard a few already today. Ms. Bisaro brought a few here, and I want to add a couple more.

In terms of observations that we note at this juncture, there is still grave concern on a number of waste sites this government may be responsible for, and so I hope that the residents of the NWT will be continually updated throughout this process. This has been very loud and clear through many of the negotiations and many of the consultation information sessions. Therefore, I challenge the Premier and his team to keep this issue in the forefront as we move through this journey over the next couple of months.

The other thing that has been kind of an issue for me personally, as well as a lot of my constituents, is – and again, right from the very beginning, I have made it quite clear – this government knows that I haven’t been a big fan of the 5 percent cap. Yet, in the same breath, I have been given some comfort, knowing that these shackles will be looked at at some time in the future as we become more productive in our resources and our resource extraction. Again, whether I’m still in office or not, I will keep watch on this one for sure, and I will hold the government of the day accountable, ensuring that the residents of the Northwest Territories will be keeping our fair share of royalties in the future.

Now I’d like to go back to my earlier question. Is this motion on devolution today symbolic or is this in some capacity a legally binding motion of the House? I would probably like to answer it probably this way: Are we prepared, as residents, to live

with the status quo? I think many here, and I think many residents have told us, I don’t think they are prepared to do so.

We also heard, is devolution being done at any cost? I don’t believe this is the case. I believe there has been a lot of effort, as I said earlier, and you will probably hear it from my colleagues today, a lot of effort has gone behind the case to support that. If one wants to believe we are symbolic in gesture today, this may be legally correct, but I’m sure historians will judge our voice today as having had direct significant political impact on its success.

Before I leave this topic, it’s been said by many, but it is worth repeating and I’d like to say this again, this was not the greatest deal of all time for the Northwest Territories, but it is a good deal for the NWT and I am confident that it will ensure our economic future in the years to come.

With that, I give my commitment to this House that I will be supporting this motion.