Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In seven days the map of Canada will be changed for the last time this century. I would like to speak on how we got where we are today. The creation of Nunavut is the latest step in political growth for Canadian citizens. The Northwest Territories has gone from being known as Rupert's Land and being the so-called property of Hudson's Bay Company to the evolving political entity it is today.
At one time after the sale of Rupert's Land to the Government of Canada in 1870, the Northwest Territories also included the Yukon, Alberta, Saskatchewan, most of Manitoba, northern Ontario and northern Quebec. The last Arctic islands were added in 1880.
In 1898 the Yukon became a separate territory. In 1905 the boundaries were changed again as the provinces of Alberta and Saskatchewan were created. In 1912, in a spectacular land grab, the borders of Manitoba, Ontario and Quebec were extended northward to their present boundaries.
The last change of the map of Canada occurred in 1949 when the province of Newfoundland joined Confederation. After the creation of the provinces of Alberta and Saskatchewan, it would be many years before northerners would have a say in the running of the Northwest Territories. Members of the territorial council were appointed southern bureaucrats until 1941 when Jock McNiven from Yellowknife was appointed to the council. In 1951 the Northwest Territories Act was amended to allow three elected Members from the Mackenzie district to sit on the council. Gradually the Northwest Territories Council came more representative of the people it served. In 1967 the Ottawa bureaucracy moved north to Yellowknife. Many people will remember the benevolent dictatorship administered by the late Stewart Hodgson. Discussions were made on the spot with little or no regard for the legislative process.
This gradually changed until 1975 when the first fully elected territorial council since 1905 took office. The Commissioner, however, was still in charge of handling arenas and schools when the mood took over him. This gradually changed with elected Members starting to take over the responsibilities for the departments and sit on the Executive Council which was the equivalent of today's Cabinet.
The Commissioner, however, was still in charge in handling arenas and schools when the mood took over him. By 1979, five elected Members were on the Executive Council which constituted a majority. In 1984, the Commissioner, John Parker, announced that he would no longer sit in the House and participate in debate in order to promote a responsible elected government. In 1986, Mr. Parker gave up the chairmanship of the Executive Council.
In the meantime, forces were gathering in the east. Since the mid-1960s, there were Inuit and even some government bureaucrats that believed in a separate territory for the eastern part of the Northwest Territories. By 1970, many more Inuit had become to believe that the Yellowknife-based government was not responding to their needs. We Inuit have achieved our goal. Nunavut will be a reality. We will miss dealing with our western colleagues on a regular basis. We wish you and all the residents peace and prosperity in the years to come. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
--Applause