Marsi cho, Mr. Speaker. Today I want to speak about our most important resource in the NWT. You might be thinking, yeah, we've got diamonds, which are valuable; we have gold, yes; and let's not forget the oil and gas industry; but that's not what I'm referring to today.
Mr. Speaker, the most importance resource I am speaking about is our youth. Our youth are our future. Without them, the work that we are doing right now will be for nothing. It has been said that it takes a village to raise a child, and I firmly believe that we must put as much support as possible from all of us to teach our children and give them as strong a foundation as possible to prepare for adult life. Let's face it, some of these students will be sitting here one day, in our chairs.
Unfortunately, due to COVID-19, high school graduates everywhere had to endure unique and unusual challenges in their final year of high school. However, and I am speaking to the students now, I know that this whole experience will make you stronger and wiser as you continue on your journey.
With that, Mr. Speaker, today, I would like to celebrate and honour all of the high school graduates in the constituency of Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh. I have reached out to the principals in each school, and their names include: Tamara Enzoe-Dagg from Lutsel K'e Dene School; Kiana Lafferty from Lutsel K'e Dene School; Lillyan Lockart from Lutsel K'e Dene School; Greg Villeneuve from Deninu Kue; Aaron Flunkie-Mantla from K'alemi Dene School; Caylynn Crapeau, Dettah, St. Patrick's High School; Darian Erasmus, Ndilo, Sir John High School; and Ethan Black, also Sir John High School.
Lastly, Mr. Speaker, I would like to end on a quote from a really good book that I plan to give to the graduates. It's called "The ABCs of Adulthood," and here's an excerpt from this book: "Risk. 'Nothing ventured, nothing gained' has been around since Chaucer, but just because it's become a cliche doesn't mean it's not still as true today as it was in those times. In just about every realm in your life, love and work in particular, you must take risks. Yes, you might speak your love out loud and have it not reciprocated, or you might try to cure cancer and fail. You might go on 50 dates that suck, but kids, you cannot reach the summit of Mount Everest until you have stumbled over a whole mountainside of rocks and ice."
Mr. Speaker, I want to thank all the teachers, principals, and staff for helping these kids move along their journey, and I want to finish off by saying we're all very proud of you, and we wish them all the very best in their future endeavours. Marsi cho, Mr. Speaker.