Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I just request a moment of the committee’s time as we wrap up our final budget of Environment and Natural Resources. As we’ve been doing, we appreciate all the questions and feedback and support from Members. As I’ve been sitting here in the House and at the table again, I’ve been thinking I’ve been doing this, this is my 20th budget, my 14th as a Minister and my ninth as Environment Minister. I’ve served with some of you four years, some eight, some 12 and my longest-serving travelling companion, Madam Groenewegen from Hay River South, 20 years.
I just wanted to reflect that I’ve been thinking back over those years, the up and downs, the peaks and valleys, and there’s a Welsh word that comes to mind that captures this little moment, if I may request the indulgence of the House, and it’s hiraeth, a type of homesickness for somewhere you can’t return to, the nostalgia and grief for lost places of your past. I think back to some of the things that Mr. Bromley said and I can remember in my life up here when the days of caribou were plenty, when life was different. We’ve moved on to a whole new world and there has been enormous change over time. Sometimes we look back and all we can think about is some idealized version of what we remember about the places that really never were. I think if we look back through the lens of reality, we’ve done a lot of good work and I’ve always appreciated the support that ENR has got in this House. I wanted to express that gratitude on behalf of myself and the department. As we look forward to the 18th Assembly, I look forward to that continued support to the department when we next appear before this Assembly and this august body in this wonderful place of the people. Thank you.
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