Good afternoon, colleagues. Please join me in thanking elder Lillian Elias in leading us in prayer today.

Before we begin, I want to take a moment to acknowledge the wildfires and flooding impacting our communities across the territory. If you or your community has been impacted by the fires south of the lake, or by the flooding in my riding, please know that our thoughts are with you all. If you are impacted, I encourage you to work with local emergency officials.

I want to personally thank the leaders and staff, people who have been working tirelessly to help the affected residents. If you have not been impacted but you want to help those who are, I encourage you to make donations and reach out to those who are providing assistance. As Northerners, we help each other when and how we can. We are here for each other.

Colleagues, we have not been together in this House since March 30th, 2023, and I am pleased to welcome you back. It's great to be here. Although we have not met in this House in nearly two months, I know you have all been busy in our committees, have met numerous times, and have travelled and discussed legislation with residents. Cabinet Members have been busy with the ongoing operations of government. Each of us has been occupied with the needs of our constituents, the people who elected us and whom we represent in this Chamber. Colleagues, I hope you were also able to find time to connect with your family and closest friends, the people who support us as we work for the people of the territory.

Springtime in the Northwest Territories is a beautiful time. The days are getting longer, the birds have returned from the south, and the waterways are opening up. I know a lot of you and your constituents have been out on the land taking part in the spring hunt. I wish everybody success and safety on the land. And I hope you get a good tan like I did over the spring.

Colleagues, please join me in welcoming our pages to the Chamber. It is an honour to share this space with our youth. Mahsi.

Not only are we welcoming youth into this Chamber as pages for this sitting, but we also recently hosted our 19th Youth Parliament. It was inspiring to hear our youth read their statements and debate motions in this Chamber. Our Youth Parliament is a wonderful program that I am very proud of, and I want to thank the staff who made this successful again this year. I have said many times that I believe our youth are our future. Based on what I seen and heard during our Youth Parliament, I am confident our future is in good hands.

I would also like to welcome our interpreters back to the Assembly and thank them for their work. Our languages are vital to us as Northerners. They tie us to our culture and to the land and to one another. Our interpreters make it possible for us to use, strengthen, and honour languages. During this sitting, I am honoured that we will be able to provide interpretation into the following languages: Dene Suline Yatie, Inuvialuktun, Dene Kede, Dene Zhatie, Tlicho Yatii, and French.

Now, colleagues, it is my duty to advise the House that I have received the following message from the Commissioner of the Northwest Territories. It reads: Dear, Mr. Speaker, I wish to advise that I recommend to the Legislative Assembly of the Northwest Territories the passage of Supplementary Appropriation Act (Infrastructure Expenditures), No. 2, 2023-2024; and, Supplementary Appropriation Act (Operations Expenditures), No. 1, 2023-2024, during the second session of the 19th Legislative Assembly. Yours truly, Margaret M. Thom, Commissioner.

Thank you, colleagues. Ministers' statements. Deputy Premier.