Jane Groenewegen

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It’s my pleasure today to recognize in the gallery, as I mentioned in my Member’s statement, my very long-serving constituency assistant Wendy Morgan, who is no longer a resident of Hay River South, I am sad to say. Hay River’s loss was Yellowknife’s gain, but she still is my assistant and I appreciate her very much. She is more than an assistant, she is my very good friend. I’d also like to recognize my husband, Rick, in the gallery tonight, who doesn’t often make it up here. We’ll be heading home tomorrow, honey. Get the campaign signs ready.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Last but not least, report on transition matters.

As the 16th Legislative Assembly draws to a close the Standing Committee on Priorities and Planning continues to monitor several ongoing issues and initiatives with government-wide implications. The committee wishes to take the opportunity through this transition report to highlight areas that we believe will require the continued attention of our successor committee in the 17th Assembly.

The Standing Committee on Priorities and Planning includes all 11 Regular Members of the Legislative Assembly. The committee’s role is...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Yesterday I took the opportunity to thank my colleagues on the Cabinet side of the House and I have a few more people I’d like to thank today.

I’d like to thank you, Mr. Speaker, for the 12 years that you have served and contributed to this Assembly and the people of Hay River and the Northwest Territories. They say you don’t get to choose your relatives, you don’t get to choose who your other partner’s going to be from the community you serve from if there are two, but I am pleased to say that we have become friends and you have done an amazing service to this Assembly...

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I move that we report progress.

---Carried

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. That concludes the report of the Standing Committee on Priorities and Planning Report on Transition Matters. Therefore, I move, seconded by the honourable Member for Kam Lake, that Committee Report 11-16(6) be received and adopted.

Mr. Speaker, I would also like to thank my family. My husband, Rick, is in the visitors’ gallery today. Last weekend we celebrated 34 years of marriage. When you do the math, 16 of those I’ve been here, and some people would say that’s the success of the whole thing, right?

---Laughter

That’s nearly half of my 34 years of marriage I’ve been doing this, but he has been my biggest supporter and I do thank him very, very much for that.

To my constituents of Hay River South, I’d like to thank them for the honour of representing them in this House. I am proud of what we’ve accomplished. We’ve got a...

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. The wish of the committee is to deal with Bill 9, Wildlife Act, and Committee Report 7-16(6), Report on the Review of Bill 9, Wildlife Act. Thank you.

Lastly, I would like to thank Minister Jackson Lafferty who took on two very important departments in our government, two in our social envelope, two very challenging departments: Education and Justice. I know that he had a passion, as well, for these two departments. Like I said, very challenging departments but he took them on. He did well and he served all of us very, very well in these capacities.

On behalf of Hay River South, I would like to thank this Cabinet, these Ministers, for the way that they treated my constituents and the constituents of the North.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I move that we report progress.

---Carried

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I was not going to speak to this motion, however, I feel that to say nothing, the possibility to be misunderstood in not supporting this motion is a real possibility. I will speak to it very briefly.

I think that I could categorically say that there is no one who is a Member of this Assembly who does not believe that in order to advance the agenda and the aspirations of Northerners this government needs to find meaningful ways to work together and collaboratively in a spirit of cooperation with Aboriginal governments. But this motion, albeit allows for a forum to discuss...