Jane Groenewegen

I knew that was coming and I will only make one more supplementary. As the Premier, will the Premier commit to having input on our Caucus agenda from the Cabinet side now, agree to bring forward to the Caucus, together with the Regular Members, the exploration of opportunities for the Caucus to consider more than what we have typically in the past?

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In my Member’s statement today I talked a little bit about consensus government. The headline in today’s Yellowknifer is “McLeod Reigns Supreme,” with a picture of Premier McLeod above the headline. I think we need to maybe inform the media a little bit about how consensus government works, because we elect people to that side of the House and I don’t think that they are reigning. I think we have honoured them with the role of leadership in our government and we want to be there to help meet the needs of our people together, together with them.

I’d like to ask Premier...

Mr. Speaker, could I please seek unanimous consent to conclude my statement?

---Unanimous consent granted.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Since we are talking about protocols and kind of laying the protocols and groundwork for protocols going forward for the 17th Assembly, when the Premier just shared about his meeting with the grand chief and a little bit of the content of that and the invitation to go to Fort Providence, it kind of reminded me of a protocol that is very dear to my heart, and that is when people in communities, whether it be the town council, the hamlet council, an NGO, want to entertain or host or bring a Cabinet Minister or the Premier into their community, that they make the MLA the...

Those are all good ideas. Not only does it give Members on this side a chance to participate and support Cabinet Ministers and the Premier in the fulfillment of their roles, but it also gives a valuable insight to Members on this side. Many of these young Members will eventually be on that side. It’s a shadowing that I think benefits everybody.

When we arrive here and we do choose our leadership, seven of 19 go to the Cabinet room and 11 of the 19 go to the Regular Members’ Caucus room. There is not, in my opinion, enough of hearing everybody’s voice. You could be an amazing voice at the...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and thank you, colleagues. Consensus is not clearly defined in the NWT Act. There is room for improvement. We have discretion, and we have the latitude to change the way we do things and to improve them, and I look forward to working with Members of this House to accomplish that in the next four years. Thank you.

As we move forward, I look forward to using my experience, my 16 years of experience in this Assembly to back up Regular Members, Cabinet Ministers. I’m looking forward to a term where Regular Members can become even more involved in the roles of the Assembly and we can work together more collaboratively.

I did want to put that explanation on the record today and say that I do appreciate having my voice on this side of the House as well. There are lots of pros and cons to being in the Executive Council. One of the pros to being a Regular Member is that you can stand up in the House and you can...

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I move, seconded by the honourable Member for Thebacha, that the Honourable Jackie Jacobson of the electoral district of Nunakput do take the chair of this House as Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It’s my pleasure today to welcome two community leaders from Hay River: local businessman and Hay River mayor, Kelly Schofield.

Also from Hay River today, Mike Maher, who is a business development officer for ITI, the public administrator for the Hay River Health Authority, and the deputy mayor of Hay River.

I’d also like to recognize my very long-serving constituency assistant, Wendy Morgan.

Could I also please recognize, although she’s not my constituent she is my hero, Cece McCauley, the head of the Northwest Territories chapter of the Women Warriors.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. First of all today I would like to thank the residents of Hay River South for electing me to the Legislative Assembly for my fifth term. I would like to thank my campaign team for their support and I would like to thank my husband, Rick, and my children, who helped me and supported me in getting here again.

I would like to congratulate all Members who were elected to the 17th Legislative Assembly; particularly I would like to congratulate my new colleague for Hay River North, Mr. Robert Bouchard. We’ve been getting to know each other a little over the last few weeks and...