Thank you, Mr. Speaker. One of the joys of working alongside like-minded MLAs, especially in committee, is that on occasion all our compass headings point in the same direction and the motion before the House today is a testament of this resolve.

Early in our mandate as a committee, we took it upon ourselves to ask some fundamental questions as what singular activity could we do to change the lives of Northerners. Although we have a motion brought forward by Mr. Nadli and seconded by Ms. Bisaro, which we thank, if there was ever a motion brought before the House penned as one voice, moved and seconded as a body, this would be such a motion. Armed with determination and in conjunction with all our statutory obligations, this committee rose to the occasion and tasked itself with wanting to urge the government to prepare a legislative proposal and an introduction of a bill before the end of the 17th Assembly. To save time

and money, but not compromise quality, the committee prepared with in-house resources a report pursuant to Motion 12-17(4) for the research, review and analysis on establishing an office of the ombudsman for the Northwest Territories.

I want to thank personally the hard work of Ms. April Taylor, committee researcher, who we owe a huge debt of gratitude in preparation of this said report.

---Applause

Through research, thorough analysis, written communication, engaged dialogue and a town hall meeting last Monday, we find ourselves today at a most critical juncture in time. A time, which we have all embraced throughout our journey as post-devolutionary participants of the 17th Legislative

Assembly, enabling Northerners to take charge of decisions affecting them has been the vision of a new and prosperous territory with each Member of this Assembly standing proud alongside our

Premier in support. Clearly, the next evolutionary step is to enshrine this opportunity of success and to put Northerners in control of their destiny with the proper tools of opportunity, opportunity that supports the guiding mechanisms of accountability and transparency like no other.

With newfound responsibilities in its path of maturity, so does a government faced with more complexity and sophistication in its path. Now, more than ever, so too will there be need of navigation through complex myriads of appeal mechanisms, untested policies and legislative gaps for the people it serves.

Now is the time for this government to join together with Regular Members and all Northerners to forge a pathway of a proper support mechanism working alongside our current oversight commissions of privacy, equal pay, official languages and human rights. In fact, there exists a huge opportunity for the creation of a one-stop single-window government accountability office, an office that could house all levels of commissions with the addition of an ombudsman.

This government accountability office concept would set the core standard of accountability and transparency and could conceivably be the true hallmark of a post-devolutionary legacy.

This is what the people want. This is what the people expect. Today, this is what we ask. I’ll be supporting this motion. Thank you.