Thank you, Mr. Speaker. October 31st. Halloween. All Hallow's Eve. A day and night of magic and mystery when ghouls and goblins walk the streets and astronauts roam the earth. Growing up, Halloween was always one of my favourite times of the year. I can still remember the smell and feel of the pumpkin guts as my siblings and I carved jack o'lanterns, roasting seeds and burning our fingers playing with candle wax after our mom clearly told us not to.
This year the children of the Northwest Territories will experience a different kind of Halloween, one filled with numerous doses of hand sanitizers, masks that have nothing to do with their costumes, and innovative ways of candy delivery, such as chutes or honour system bowls where our youngest citizens will have their ethics tested. Do they take more than what they're allowed to, or do they follow the rules?
In my neighbourhood, I don't generally get a lot of children come my way on Halloween. Preference is given to the areas with higher density housing, efficient and smart thinking on the part of the kids. This speaks to my engineering heart, so I don't take the lack of interest in my neighbourhood personally.
Mr. Speaker, on this day before what is arguably one of the most popular holidays of the year, I wanted to take a moment and wish everyone a safe and fun celebration. I am so pleased that, despite the strange, new world that we find ourselves in these days, we continue to live our lives and allow our children to build their own memories, like those I remember fondly from my own childhood. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.