Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, today wraps up what has been a demanding and at times a difficult session. It has been a bit of a long haul, but looking back, we have made some significant accomplishments.

All Members of this House should be able to look back with some pride at the achievement of the budget. It may not be exactly what any of us had in mind at the outset, Mr. Speaker, but by defending our different perspectives, and through good-faith discussions and negotiations, we made progress and achieved an overall success. We have committed money to establish a 911 service after it was talked about for years, we can take pride in fully funded junior kindergarten, and it is important that we reinstated funding, at least for now, to the teacher education and social work programs at Aurora College.

This session wasn't just about passing a budget, though, Mr. Speaker. It was also about communication between the two sides of this House and with the public. I believe we made progress there as well. We have to keep working to make the relationship between Cabinet and Regular Members become the cohesive one that I know all of us believe it can and should be.

The residents who elected us are counting on us, Mr. Speaker, to continue to move forward on the many issues and challenges that face us. We must continue to work to make the Northwest Territories competitive on the national and international stages. We can do that by building on our strengths and assets.

Our products and resources are world class, Mr. Speaker. Yes, I am referring to our mineral wealth, which is rich and largely untapped. I am also including our renewable resources: an under-developed fishing industry in one of the largest lakes in all the world, and forests that would lend to a healthy reforestation opportunity that would continue the development of wood products and support the biomass industry. Our land, water, skies, and culture are the basis of another world-class industry that is just beginning to be realized, and that is the tourism sector. The Minister spoke about this earlier today.

Our people are another world-class resource, Mr. Speaker. Northwest Territories businesspeople are resourceful and hardworking. Our tradespeople are second to none. Our artists, filmmakers, authors, and musicians are emerging and accomplishing great things on the national and international stages. Of course, our furs garner the highest prices in the world markets. Mr. Speaker, I seek unanimous consent to conclude my statement. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

---Unanimous consent granted