Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, today marks International Women's Day, and the theme this year is "Be bold for change." The Northwest Territories certainly has no shortage of bold women leaders who have made an indelible mark on our political landscape, from Lena Pederson, our first elected MLA in 1970, at a time when the territory was just beginning to form responsible government, to Ethel Blondin-Andrew, the first Indigenous woman elected to federal parliament in 1988 and later federal Cabinet Minister. In 1991, Nellie Cournoyea was appointed as the first female Premier of a territory and the second woman Premier in Canadian history. We have often made great strides in the continued effort towards gender equality, but, unfortunately, we still have a long way to go.

According to the 2016 census, over 21,000 people in the NWT, or half the population, Mr. Speaker, are women, although this House only has two sitting Members. That is only 10 per cent. We can and must do better.

Mr. Speaker, we have seen a number of strong women leaders, of course, but also behind the scenes. The people who are deputy ministers or chiefs of staff, our advisors, these are leaders, as well, and they deserve recognition, as well. My own mother was a chief of staff to a federal minister at one time and a constituency manager at other times. Everything I learned about politics, I learned from those experiences. I remember going to her office at lunch and watching CPAC, taking breaks from high school. Those experiences were very formative for me and shaped me, but all of that is about getting an appetite for politics, and grass-roots activism is a sure enough way to do that. So I challenge all Members of this House to get out and knock on doors and bring young women with you and women who are interested in running for office. Let them become your volunteers. Let them see what it takes to be an MLA. Give them the confidence and ask them to run because, Mr. Speaker, women's rights are everyone's rights, and we as men in this Assembly have just as much to gain by seeing more women represented in the next Assembly. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.