Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I first want to start off saying it’s been an incredible honour to be here for the last 12 years. The journey as being the MLA for Yellowknife Centre has always been an exciting one. Some days have been more fun than others, but I can tell you, all Members of this House can agree it’s a passionate challenge we all do.
Most of my colleagues – except for the two lucky ones here – we will all be putting their case to the constituents once again, hoping for another mandate, if their support thinks I’m worthy.
I have to stress wholeheartedly that I’m grateful for my supportive home. I couldn’t do this job, like my colleagues have said, without my wife and my two sons, McKinley and Hudson. When I was first elected 12 years ago, I had one wife. I didn’t get 12 family members like the Minister just said, but I had one wife and a two-year-old son. We used to come here every day and I’d be tripping over Thomas the Train and little cars and things. It evolved into two sons and we were playing trains on the weekends sometimes, as I’m supposed to be reading my briefing stuff, but we always found family time. That’s what we did and we evolved, not quite how Mr. Nadli described it, but we devolved and evolved our relationship here and I brought my kids into it from the start. It’s interesting, as they continue to be some of my most passionate and greatest supporters.
Like my two colleagues next to me, I do want to talk about some of the reflections and highlights over this last term. I think it’s important to talk about devolution. I will start with devolution. Devolution was certainly an incredible first step on the journey and the aspirations of the people of the Northwest Territories. It was a rough ride, but by all means, as I have described it before, Home Rule was an important step for this territory to take and I’m glad we took it. I’m glad we took it in this Assembly so we can look back and say we finally did it. How many successful Assemblies previous to us tried to get it done? This is the first one that we can actually say we have the key to the cars, the keys to our own destiny and we’re driving forward.
Over the last four years, we’ve continued to see challenges with addictions and it does bother me seriously. I wish our territory could do more. I know, no matter how much money we throw at the problem, it may be challenging. We need to address these problems. I have to admit that I was very glad to see, the other day, that the Mental Health Act has finally gotten through. It will make a difference in people’s lives and saving lives.
Mr. Speaker, I seek unanimous consent to conclude my statement.
---Unanimous consent granted