Thank you, Member from Great Slave. Member from Yellowknife South.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I also have some thank yous I'd like to take the opportunity to share today. Firstly, this campaign period was, of course, delayed because of the wildfires and the evacuations, and I want to start by saying thank you to all of those who supported our efforts in responding to the wildfires, from the firefighters to those who stayed here in Yellowknife to support efforts in Yellowknife to protect the city, the EMO staff, city emergency staff, and so many public servants and volunteers all working together. So much was accomplished, and I am very grateful for everything they did in keeping all of us and my residents and my constituents safe.

I also do want to extend a great thanks to my neighbours, friends, and constituents here in Yellowknife South. Although I was acclaimed, it still is an opportunity for me to go door to door, to do the forums, to check in with people, and I know that many people had a very hard four years and a very hard summer in particular. It was difficult to come off of that for all of us, but I must say that the opportunity to check in with people and receive their response, their support was tremendous, to hear their encouragement was very helpful because politics can be a bit exhausting at times and very emotional, but it is done for the sake of those we represent. And so to have them give me their encouragement and support was something I am deeply grateful for and want to share that with them. So thank you to my constituents.

I'm also wanting to take the opportunity to thank my campaign team. People perhaps don't realize that even when you're acclaimed you do have to prepare for the campaign, you don't know you're getting acclaimed, and I had people standing ready behind me all the way through and I'm very grateful to them.

And last but not least a thank you to my family, my parents, my spouse, my children, my chosen family here in Yellowknife - all of them give me such support and such joy, it makes doing this job easy. And with that, a Happy Holidays to all those here and safe travels to those who have to return home. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Member from Yellowknife South. Member from Kam Lake.

Thank you, Member for Kam Lake. Member from Inuvik Boot Lake.

Mr. Speaker, first and foremost thank you to the voters of Inuvik Boot Lake. Obviously without you, I would not be here, and I certainly appreciate you putting your trust in me to come down here and work on your behalf.

Congratulations to the Premier and the new Cabinet. I look forward to working with you in the coming four years.

Thank you to my team. Nobody can do this by themselves. Running a campaign, as we all know in this room, is very time consuming. So for all my friends, my team, my official agent Peter Clarkson, and so many -- I wish I could name them all -- that check in on my mental health, that do the little errands sometimes that you just don't get time to do and continue to reach out and offer to do -- to get my 17-year-old unstuck when he takes my car and runs into a snowbank when I'm not there, so it's been so -- it's been amazing. The people of Inuvik, of Inuvik Boot Lake, my friends, my family, it's just been incredible, and I thank them all very much.

My children - Hayley, Tyler, and Will, my wife who is my rock, who is my sounding board, who keeps me grounded, thank you so much.

And I look forward, again, to working with you all in the coming four years. As we take our break, have a very Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, and thank you very much.

Thank you, Member from Inuvik Boot Lake. Member from Mackenzie Delta.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. First of all, I'd like to thank the constituents of my riding, Mackenzie Delta, from Tsiigehtchic, Fort McPherson, and Aklavik. I'd like to thank them for giving me this opportunity to represent them in this 20th Assembly of the Northwest Territories.

Furthermore, I would like to congratulate the Premier-elect and the Cabinet-elect for a successful campaign, and I look forward to working with you for the duration of this Assembly.

And I'd like to also congratulate my colleagues, the Regular MLAs, who will be trying to keep the executive accountable to their tasks.

And, finally, to the residents of the Northwest Territories, I wish you all the best for this holiday season and best wishes for the new year. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Member for Mackenzie Delta. Member from Inuvik Twin Lakes.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And congratulations, again. Congratulations to our Premier-elect and to all the executive that were elected. And everybody that put their name forward, the one thing that I do believe is that every single speech that we heard yesterday, we all sit around this table, this room, wanting the best for the Northwest Territories. So I am hopeful, and I am happy that we're all in this together.

I'd like to thank my family who are -- who's always got my back, my husband and my two children, my constituents because I wouldn't be here without them. And although I've been elected to the executive, that's not going to change how I've interacted and how my office can assist you. And so that's one thing that I just wanted to make sure that all of my constituents know that they still will be represented.

I'd also like to just thank all of the people that I had on my team as well. My official agent, Janelle Wainman. She has been my friend since she was born, because I'm older than her, so she is one of my very first friends, and she's always been that friend and so I'm glad to have been able to have her for this election and last election by my side as my official agent, even though Denny tried to steal her. And to those elders that gave me advice along the way, not just in this election, throughout my past term and even, you know, the thing is when you're raised by elders -- and that's how we are in the communities -- it doesn't matter how old we are, so I stand here, I had advice from a very strong elder yesterday, and I thank her for that. And I will take her advice and I just want to make that known for her. Because that's what we do as people, we listen. We take the information. And our elders know best. And, you know, that's how we are going to work together as a 20th Assembly. So I want to thank you again, Mr. Speaker, and I look forward to the 20th Assembly working with you all.

Thank you, Member from Twin Lakes. Member from Yellowknife North.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I am grateful to be here and to take on this role and embrace the challenge that we have before us. I want to thank, first of all, my constituents of Yellowknife North for opening their doors to me on countless cold November days and sharing with me so many of their hopes and their fears and their frustrations, especially after what has been a very tough year for many. I truly learned so much. And even though I came in with my platform and my ideas, through those conversations I truly did learn and grow and shift and keep writing and keep changing some of my perspectives as I went along, and I hope to continue to do that throughout the life of this Assembly.

I want to thank my campaign team for supporting me literally every step of the way, walking to all those doors with me, and challenging me when I needed to be challenged.

And I also especially want to thank my partner Eric who has never failed to bring out the best in me, keep reminding me who I am and what I need to do to be the best that I can.

I want to congratulate our new Premier and our new Executive Council. I have full confidence that we're on a good track.

And I finally just want to wish everyone a Happy New Year and hope that 2024 will be a fresh start. I know there's many things that many of us want to leave behind in 2023. And so may 2024 bring all of us love and support from our family, our friends, and community members and our colleagues. May 2024 bring all of us safe and warm homes, good health. May it bring us clean air, clean water, healthy land. May it bring us successful harvest and hopefully a good berry year. May it bring us safe travels and may 2024 bring us joy and peace in our hearts. Mahsi. Thank you.

Thank you, Member from Yellowknife North. Member from Yellowknife Centre.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Before I begin, I wish to acknowledge you as our incoming Speaker. And I also wish to take the opportunity to acknowledge the Premier and the incoming Cabinet. We have a lot of hopes and ambition for the 20th Assembly. I believe our trust is well placed, and I look forward to seeing how it rolls out. That said, I did want it officially on the record, Mr. Speaker, that no one could ever say I didn't say anything nice about this new Cabinet and leadership, so I truly do deeply wish them well.

Mr. Speaker, my comments will be today specifically about addictions and aftercare. The North is unfairly and disproportionately plagued with addictions, be it alcohol or drug problems. It has plagued our families. It's taking the souls of our loved ones. You know, some may say they're lost, frankly. We know where they are and many of them are in the ditches of emotion. They're trapped in these cycles and terribly in these spins of destruction. We must find a way to help and support them.

There's been numerous calls about addiction treatment programs. I have been one of those echos for years. I believe that we need to move forward.

We've heard countless calls from regions wanting to see regional programs in our communities. Indigenous governments want us to support them on these regional programs. And whether the treatment programs are on the land programs, we must do what we've been called to do, which is to help save and serve our people.

Mr. Speaker, we must not give up. And frankly, I will not give up on this issue until we find some more action.

Now, someone will always say we don't have any money for that and that may be a fact. But we should be finding money because we need to be making smarter choices. I'm prepared to give up one kilometre of highway or two kilometres of highway, or whatever it takes, to make a better choice by saving people and making sure they're healthy. But if we don't have the addictions aftercare, some of it, not all of it, is for not. And to me, it would be a misstep to go halfway. We need to follow through on the full process by helping people by providing an opportunity. Again, programs and aftercare, whether it's on the land or certainly the right support system so we can complete the package.

And lastly, Mr. Speaker, I wish to thank the constituents of Yellowknife Centre. I wish to thank my wife, her wise counsel constantly, my children, and all the people, including my new family here in the Assembly. I have no doubt that we will be working hard and well for each of us and our communities and our regions for the betterment of people of the North. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Member from Yellowknife Centre. Members' statements. Member for Hay River North.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I also want to take a moment to thank my constituents and the people of Hay River. You know, we've had a tough few years in Hay River. It's almost surreal when you think about what has happened. And, you know, even though I'm in a new role now, I want my constituents to know that I will continue to work to address the issues that we're facing now and to prepare so that we don't have to face those issues again in the future. So that work will continue, and that's my commitment, Mr. Speaker.

I want to thank my family for the support they've given me. And I want to thank everyone's family here actually. I don't think people realize the toll it takes on a family when you run for office and when you're in office, and so they carry a lot of that weight and I think they deserve -- that deserves to be acknowledged.

I also want to congratulate all of the Members elected to the Executive Council and all the new Members, all of the re-elected Members. You know, this is quite an adventure that we're all embarking on, and I know we're all looking forward to it.

And, finally, Mr. Speaker, I want to thank you for stepping up and putting your name forward. This role is so important; the role of the Speaker is so important. I've already seen changes that you've implemented, and we're only a few minutes into our first sitting here. And after working with you for the last four years, I know your values and I know your work ethic. I know that the House is in good hands, and I appreciate that. So thank you, Mr. Speaker. Thank you.

Thank you, Member from Hay River North. Members' statements. Recognition of visitors in the gallery. Member from Great Slave.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to recognize my good friend and previous director of Cabinet communications, Mr. Shaun Dean. Thank you for being here today.

Thank you, Member from Great Slave. Member from Yellowknife Centre.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I too wish to acknowledge a constituent, Mr. Shaun Dean. Thank you to the Member for Great Slave for acknowledging him as well. Many people know, and some do not know, he has served many an Assembly quite loyally for many years. I wouldn't quite go generations, but I would certainly say he's been an important fixture of the Assembly, and that should never go unacknowledged, his hard work and dedication. And he recently retired only a couple years ago. Frankly, I never thought he would retire. But that said, thank you, Mr. Speaker. And thank you, Mr. Dean.

Thank you, Member from Yellowknife Centre. The Member from Yellowknife South.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I want to acknowledge my parents. Ed and Bev Wawzonek are in the gallery here today to actually watch what the Assembly looks like. Thank you for coming.

And, Mr. Speaker, I have one more acknowledgement. I don't see my young page in the room right now, but I know he's around. Ben Mager is a resident of Yellowknife South. We are always very grateful to have the pages here with us. Thank you.

Thank you, Member from Yellowknife South. Member from Thebacha.