Thank you, Mr. Roland. I’ll go to the seconder of the motion, the Member for Frame Lake, Ms. Bisaro.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my political experience with Mr. Whitford does not go back as far as the Premier’s, but I feel that Mr. Whitford is a lifelong Northerner, born in Fort Smith and spent a lot of years here in Yellowknife, and I think of him as a product of a young and developing NWT. He’s a product of our education system and it’s proof to me that we have one of the best education systems around.
I think his commitment to the NWT and to the people of the NWT is unparalleled. I don’t think that there are many people who have shown the kind of commitment that he has shown to us and to our people.
It has been said that he is the best possible advertisement for NWT tourism. I think anybody who visits our Territory who is not an NWT resident and runs across our Commissioner, or our ex-Commissioner unfortunately now, I think they have been exposed to a part of the NWT that they wouldn’t get if they hadn’t run across our Tony. He is to be commended for that.
Mr. Whitford’s all-around character is very well suited to both politics that he was involved in for so many years and his most recent post as Commissioner. He is very outgoing. He is a very happy person. He certainly makes people feel at ease. I know that he has done that for me a number of times. Certainly I and I expect all Members are going to miss his smiling face and his upbeat attitude, because I don’t think I’ve ever seen the Commissioner down.
I would like to say thank you, Tony, for your years of service. I look forward to occasionally seeing you at the Clerk’s table. Thank you.
---Applause
Thank you, Ms. Bisaro. The honourable Member for Thebacha, Mr. Miltenberger.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Many good things come out of Fort Smith and one of those good things has joined us in the gallery today: Mr. Whitford.
---Applause
I haven’t done a full count, but it is my bet that there is no other Northerner that has had as many jobs tied into this Legislature as Mr. Whitford, as an MLA, as a Minister, as a Speaker, as the Sergeant-at-Arms and as our Commissioner all tied into this Legislature and the place that he has devoted a lot of time that he has upheld the honour of and that he truly loves dearly.
I, as well, over the years, since I came here in 1995 have taken to eating regularly with Mr. Whitford. Now that he is a struggling pensioner, he has asked me not to forget him. I want to commit publicly in this House that we will still continue to break bread, but I will try to time some of the meals for when the pension cheques come in because he still will have to pay his way. As he is fond of saying, there is no free lunch.
But it has been, over the years, an honour and a pleasure to serve with Mr. Whitford. While I say he is from Fort Smith, he truly is a Northerner for all of us. Thank you.
---Applause
Thank you, Mr. Miltenberger. The honourable Member for Hay River South, Mrs. Groenewegen.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It is a privilege and an honour to stand in the Assembly today and pay tribute to Mr. Whitford. I knew Mr. Whitford before I came here as an MLA 15 years ago when I used to come here on various causes and crusades to lobby the government about things. That was back when he was an MLA. He probably remembers me from those days too.
As Mr. Miltenberger has said, MLA, Minister, Speaker, Sergeant-at-Arms, Deputy Commissioner, Commissioner, now honorary officer of this Legislative Assembly, very much deserved. He is the type of person that can be many things to many people. He can be the person officiating over a marriage ceremony. He has married many people in the Northwest Territories. I believe he is even known to some as Santa Claus, I think, in Santa Claus parades. I believe that is correct. People have known him as Santa Claus.
Maybe you had to be here to understand this story, but one really funny thing happened one time when Mr. Whitford was in the Speaker’s chair and, for some strange reason, Member MLA Brendan Bell decided to go up and speak to him while he was sitting in the Speaker’s chair. I have never seen that happen ever before, that he went right to the top of stairs and stood there right beside Mr. Whitford. Mr. Whitford was conducting the business of the House so he had to wait for a few moments. He was just standing there beside Mr. Whitford sitting in that chair. One of my colleagues leaned over to me and said, oh my gosh, Jane, Brendan thinks that Tony really is Santa Claus...
---Laughter
...because of the chair, the way he was sitting in the little line-up. Oh my gosh. We laughed very hard. Maybe, like I said, you had to be there.
It has been a privilege. They say you can tell a lot about a person by how children view them. I have to say that my daughter Gillian has always been a fan of Mr. Whitford. She has loved him. Every time we get to a social function, she wants to have her picture taken with him, so we have quite a succession of pictures. I think that speaks very well of the character of the man that we are honouring today. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
---Applause
Thank you, Mrs. Groenewegen. The honourable Member for Mackenzie Delta, Mr. Krutko.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I also had the honour and privilege of serving with Tony in the 14th Assembly and, more importantly, also as his Deputy Speaker, but I think also as part of the arrangement with Tony is that one thing Tony always did and made sure of is when he travelled, he made efforts to go meet with our elders in the elders’ homes, go into the schools and meet with the students and talk to the people in the community. He was very approachable in all cases. He always made an attempt to partake in community events, but more importantly, everybody throughout the Territories didn’t call him sir or Commissioner. They called him Tony.
Tony is basically known throughout the Northwest Territories and elsewhere. I think that simply the efforts that he has done and the lives he has touched also can extol ourselves here as legislators but extol it over the House and the offices that he has held.
With that, Tony, thank you for everything. I look forward to seeing you serve in the House again, as you said, as a table officer. Thank you.
---Applause
Thank you, Mr. Krutko. The honourable Member for Yellowknife South, Mr. Bob McLeod.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I have had the good fortune of knowing Tony Whitford for many years from back in the ‘60s in Fort Smith. I have a number of stories but I was going to save most of them for tonight at the dinner.
I guess some of the most memorable moments with Tony was when he first got elected as Minister. He came and stole my secretary at that time. During the height of the anti-trapping campaign by the European Union, the Legislative Assembly assembled a team of MLAs to go to the European Union to counter this proposed boycott and I had the good fortune to travel with Tony Whitford, Silas Arngn’naaq and a couple of other MLAs. We got to go to a northern European Union country. The first country we landed in was Denmark. We got in in the afternoon and we were going to go and have dinner. We all started walking. Tony took off. He was way ahead of us and it looked like he was laboured in walking and having problems walking. We all said, what is the matter with Tony? What is wrong with him? We went up to him and he was in a courtyard and he had a picture in his hand and he was looking at the skyline and he said, “My brother was here at the end of the war in 1945 and he got his picture taken here. I just want to see if this is the same spot,” and he had the picture. We looked at it and we saw the skyline and he said, “Now I have to find a blonde lady to get my picture taken with her.”
---Laughter
Sure enough, this one lady walked by. We stopped her. He said, “Can I get my picture taken with you?” She looked at him and said, “Sure.” So he had a picture to match his brother’s.
I think that Tony Whitford is perfect as Commissioner. His whole career was built towards fulfilling that job. I am very pleased to recognize him. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
---Applause
Thank you, Mr. McLeod. The honourable Member for Kam Lake, Mr. Ramsay.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It is a great honour and a privilege to stand up in the House today and extol what it means to be a friend of Tony Whitford.
I first met Tony when I grew up with his sons, Blair, Ian and Warren. I played hockey with Blair for a number of years and went to school with Blair. I first knew Tony as a dedicated hockey dad. He was there watching many of our games at the time. It goes back a number of years now. It is hard to believe that time has gone by so fast.
I guess I owe a great deal to Mr. Whitford. If it wasn’t for his retirement in 2003 which provided me the opportunity to become a Member of this House and represent the great riding of Kam Lake, I wouldn’t be standing here today perhaps. I owe that to Tony. Thanks for retiring, Tony, in 2003.
---Laughter
I do want to wish you all the best in all of your pursuits. I think many people have learned a great deal from Tony, myself included. I used to work at the Legislative Assembly when Tony was a Member. Tony is just a likeable, jovial guy. People want to be around him. He has a contagious type of character. He makes people, as other Members have said, feel at ease. He has a way about him that just makes people feel good about being in his presence.
It certainly is an honour to be here today to say these words about a great man. He was a great Commissioner, a great politician and I hope to see him around the House. I’m very supportive of Tony becoming an honorary table officer of this House. That’s a great honour for a great man. Thank you.
---Applause
Thank you, Mr. Ramsay. The honourable Member for Deh Cho, Mr. Michael McLeod.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It’s not very often in this House we get so many MLAs say nice things about one person.
---Laughter
Mr. Speaker, I have also had the honour and the privilege of serving with Tony and working in this House in his position at Sergeant-at-Arms, and then when he became an MLA, and then a Speaker.
For me it was always interesting to talk to Tony because he’s actually a walking history book. I wanted to talk about issues about Highway No. 3 when we were in the Members’ Lounge and then he started talking about when he was building it and driving a Cat and pushing down trees when they were building the road. So he had a lot of information. He was interesting to listen to on every occasion.
He’s probably spoken more French in this House than anybody else in recent history, not always the best French, but...
---Laughter
We tried a lot of times to try to speak the Newfie French and I think my speaking was more peppered with ums and ahs than actual French words, but he always took the time to respond to me accordingly.
I think some of the things that I’ll treasure the most is being able to have Tony give advice and a lot of times just to listen to some of the issues. It’s not an easy place to work and to have a Speaker that’s willing to talk to you and listen to what you’re going through. In return we have to listen to his corny jokes, but it was all in fun, and I want to wish him all the best. I want to wish him all the best of luck in his future endeavours. I’m sure there are many things he still has out there as goals and I also want to thank him for the time that he spent in this House and with us. Thank you.
---Applause
Thank you, Mr. McLeod. The honourable Member for Nahendeh, Mr. Menicoche.
Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. I rise also to commend Tony for his outstanding work as our Commissioner for the past five years. I’d like to acknowledge his commitment and his charismatic nature. I think when he first became Commissioner he actually came up to me and said there’s one place I haven’t been to yet and it was Trout Lake. He did make it to Trout Lake and he did get to see Joe Punch in that community and I’d like to thank you for that.
I like Tony’s story. It’s about a dream that not only youth have, but any youth listening, I can say that dreams still come true. Tony told me this story about when I think he was working with Stu Hodgson, he said he liked the job he’d done and I think he said I can do that job, I want to do that job and, Mr. Speaker, eventually he did do that job. I’d like to say without a second thought that he did an outstanding job and in his gentlemanly way. So with that I commend him very much and wish him every success in all his future endeavours. Mahsi cho, Mr. Speaker.
---Applause
Thank you, Mr. Menicoche. Before I go to the next Member on my list, I’d like to recognize the presence of Deputy Commissioner Margaret Thom who just joined us in the gallery.
---Applause
To the motion. The honourable Member for Monfwi, Mr. Lafferty.
You almost forgot me there. [English translation not provided]
Mr. Speaker, I would just like to say thank you to Mr. Whitford for being an ambassador of the Northwest Territories. You know, you can’t really say no to an elder when an elder asks you to include him in a journey we have with our portfolios. When I first became Minister of Education, Culture and Employment, visiting the schools and gradation dates and so forth, when I first met Tony and we sat down, of course he told so many stories at that time too, but he asked me if I could include him in my journey and I couldn’t say no to an elder, so I said okay, Tony, I will certainly include you in all the journeys that I will be taking, and I did. He graciously accepted almost every trip that we’ve taken to the communities.
Mr. Speaker, some of the great examples is the welcoming. When Mr. Whitford goes into a community, you can feel the love in the community, the attraction and the respect, lots of respect in the community, whether it be the young, the community members, the elders and just conversing back and forth with an elder. I sit and watch because he’s my elder and I like to look up to my elders. So I watch and observe and I’ve learned a lot of things from Mr. Whitford. He goes into one of my communities and converses back and forth with a 90-year-old elder and I just watch in curiosity of do they know what they’re talking about? You know, they are conversing back and forth in Tlicho and English.
---Laughter
But they are, they’ve been conversing for almost an hour. Later, I usually go see Tony; what are you guys talking about? You know, great things we talk about, the previous history, where we’ve been, bush camps and whatnot. I asked the lady, the elderly lady, same thing. There was communication happening. That’s how magical his touch was. He just opened doors to the whole Northwest Territories. He was a great ambassador. He still is. He still will be for the Northwest Territories. I mentioned in my Tlicho language whenever you are somebody special, somebody big, such as the Commissioner, yes, your term is up, but at the same time when you go into communities people will still remember you as Commissioner or grand chief or Premier. It’s always been the case in our traditional history of the Dene people.
Mr. Speaker, I just want to close off by saying it has been a great pleasure, Tony, working with you and we will continue to work with you in a different format. But at the same time, as human beings, we continue to love each other, work with each other. I wish you all the luck on the next journey that you will walk on. So, mahsi, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Lafferty. To the motion. The honourable Member for Yellowknife Centre, Mr. Hawkins.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, quite simply, I can’t say I have known a better man. Mr. Whitford is truly an honour to know and a blessing to get to know. I’ve had the good fortune, like many Members, colleagues and friends of this House, to know Mr. Whitford and I look forward to knowing more about him as the years go on.
I’ve known him for awhile and one thing seems to be clear everywhere I go is the fact that he’s certainly a man of the people. And if not one more step I could take and say he truly is a man of the people and the people love him. Anywhere I go I see him as such a natural. He could be anywhere. He could be talking to students. He could be talking to elders, like it was mentioned before. He could be talking to somebody at the hospital. He could be talking to somebody who just stops him on the street. I’ve heard stories about how he bumps into somebody who’s just moved to Yellowknife and he walks over and he says, “Hey, how ya doin’? My name’s Tony Whitford.” And sure enough, they get talking about something and he goes, oh, I know a story about that. And that’s who he is. Not many people can do that. He’s one of those special characters that is such a gentle character. You know, he can talk to anybody and they always feel warm and special that after they’re done that conversation that he took the time and you can always feel the heart-to-heart connection this man has for people.
I’ve had the awful occasion of following this man on speeches, because he throws such a great speech and he gets the crowd roaring and excited. He’s a tough man to follow, I’ll tell ya. But I’ve also had the pleasure of following his bad jokes with my bad jokes in Rotary. He used to be known as the king of bad jokes in Rotary until I came along and joined Rotary years and years ago. But his gentle character always came up to me when I’d tell a bad joke and I’d be fined in Rotary. He wouldn’t let me share that crown alone and I’m very thankful for that.
Again, his character is always reaching out to people and that’s something that really touches both me and I can tell you it’s also very important to my wife, because she thinks extremely highly of him as well.
Mr. Speaker, the last number of years Mr. Whitford has lived across from my house on Matonabee Street. We all know Mr. Whitford likes to walk around, walks all throughout the city and stuff, and I always liked it when he’d walk by and go, “Good morning, Hawk. How ya doin today?” And he’d always wanted to know what’s happening and he genuinely would stop and reach out and ask what’s happening in the government, what are people saying. Then my usual assumption was right: he was either walking to work or he was walking to Tim Horton’s, and that’s probably where we’ll see him quite often after this.
Mr. Speaker, in the summertime at my house I hold a community pig roast. Again, the unusual character that we just don’t see often enough is he’d come to my house while we were having a community pig roast, he’d roll up his sleeves and he’d get right in there and he goes, “Can I cut the pig with ya?” And he’d take over and he’d push me out of the way and he’d be hacking away and be feeding the kids the little pieces of pig and all excited and people would be coming around. It was such a great thing. I want to make clear that you’re certainly always welcome at my house, always.
Mr. Speaker, he’s certainly a man of great distinction and I can’t say it clearer than that. His character is a raw commodity that I wish we saw more often. I know this motion states that he will be our honorary table officer and the funny thing is he’s probably the only guy that I know who will take the Assembly up on that offer. So I would encourage the Clerk’s office and certainly the Speaker’s office to start thinking about getting him ready for a robe and, who knows, before long we’ll be hearing orders of the day and hearing Mr. Whitford’s voice calling out the orders of the following day.
So, Mr. Speaker, in closing, again, he’s a great friend. He will always be the Commish to me and my family, especially myself. I have been truly blessed by knowing this man and I consider it an honour. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
---Applause
Thank you, Mr. Hawkins. The honourable Member for Weledeh, Mr. Bromley.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, let’s not forget Mr. Anthony W.J. “Tony” Whitford, the environmentalist.
---Applause
And I mean that as the best kind of environmentalist. This is a person who simply personifies environmental responsibility. He’s not out there harping and hollering like we real greenies; he’s out there doing. We see him with his walking shoes on just about all the time, making his way from point A to point B and on the way picking up the bottles and turning them in and donating to a cause, and picking up garbage and so on. He’s been telling me about his 12-inch insulated walls on his new house. So I just want to make sure that we recognize that.
There’s another aspect of that and I know that he likes to eat local foods. My one regret as a politician is that I wasn’t here earlier, because I keep hearing these stories of wafting odours of an entire side of buffalo floating down the hallways of the Assembly. I seem to have missed that tradition.
I think with just a split second’s consideration, all of us will recall and know and feel how important family is to Tony, and the very human aspect of this person in his recognition of how important family is to every one of us. We all make sacrifices and I know he has had to make a lot to serve the public as he has and I want to recognize that.
And last and not the least important is I want to welcome Tony to Weledeh by saying, on behalf of all my Weledeh constituents, that we thank him from the bottom of our hearts for all the services he’s done for the people and the land of the Northwest Territories. Mahsi.
---Applause
Thank you, Mr. Bromley. The honourable Member for Great Slave, Mr. Abernethy.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, similar to my colleague Mr. Ramsay, I grew up with Mr. Whitford’s sons, and even as a young man it was clear and obvious that Tony is a great Northerner and that he is an inspiration to us all. I’d like to take this opportunity to thank him for his honesty, for his compassion, for his decision, for his long service, and most important, for his wonderful stories. Tony has been, is, and always will be, an important part of this Legislature and the Northwest Territories as a whole. Thank you.
---Applause
Thank you, Mr. Abernethy. The honourable Member for Sahtu, Mr. Yakeleya.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I want to say in my language... [English translation not provided]
I want to say in my language that, really, this person that we’re talking about is really good, Mr. Speaker. In my language that means a lot, that Mr. Whitford, Tony, when I became the MLA and I remember him telling me I’m going to visit each of the communities of the Northwest Territories. And I sat here and said, yeah, right. You know? Throughout the years Tony talked about different communities and when he’s going to come into the Sahtu. Then, lo and behold, one time last year, or I think it was the year before, he showed up in Tulita. “Hey, Commish,” I said. And he said, “Yeah, I was just driving in from Deline. I was in Colville Lake.” And he’s all excited. He’d just come out of Chief Albert Wright School. And I said, “Doggone it, that guy said he was doing what he was going to do. Now that’s the Commissioner,” I said.
He is truly the people’s Commissioner. The people were excited when I went to different communities, they talked about our Commissioner. And he always digs in his pocket and he hands out pins, and he gives you pins. So I want to say how much the people in the Sahtu appreciate our Commissioner coming into our schools. Certainly, to our elders, he would sit down and talk with them. That’s a real Commissioner to me. The new Commissioner is going to have a hard act to follow.
Mr. Speaker, Mr. Commissioner then left Tulita driving his red truck, then he went out and I said, “Gee, it was too bad we didn’t have time, you know, if I knew you were in town, to have some tea with me.” So I drove back to my house and not even about 15 minutes later there was a knock on my door and it was the Commissioner there. He said, “I can’t leave, it’s too beautiful.” So I put some tea on and fried up one of the best Sahtu moose meat and we ate. We had a good meal there in Tulita and talked and had some bannock. He talked about my mother and how he knew my mother. That was something that’s very special to me. It stuck with me for a long, long time. I wanted to say that even though the Commissioner has made a lot of trips and he sacrificed, I know one of his boys, you know, and he exemplifies the type of parents he came from. It says a lot about your children.
Mr. Speaker, I want to also say one thing on a personal note. Some 19 years ago, Mr. Whitford said something to me when I was 19 years old that a lot of 19 year olds like myself did not want to hear. He really helped me in my life and I actually owe my life to him because of what he said, which I didn’t want to hear at that time. Now I want to say thank you very much, Mr. Whitford, for telling me and being brave enough and honest enough to tell me what I needed to hear at that time, even though I didn’t want to hear it. Here I stand today thanking my friend, Mr. Whitford. Mahsi.
---Applause
Thank you, Mr. Yakeleya. The honourable Member for Nunakput, Mr. Jacobson.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Today I am happy to rise up as a Member of the Legislative Assembly and thank Mr. Whitford for all the commitments he has done for the people of Nunakput and all the youth in the schools, because I was home after session and my daughter came running up to me. Hey dad, where is this guy? She pulled out the pin. It was Tony’s pin. She forgot your name, Tony, but I don’t think she will after I told her a story and pulled a book out. She will ever be in debt to you and she will always remember you -- all the youth in Nunakput -- and you coming and visiting and taking the time and being a big supporter of the Junior Ranger Program. Thank you.
This winter, you know we are renaming our good friend Roy Ipana’s arena. I often walk in. I spoke on behalf of the Premier for a good friend, Roy Ipana. Tony was there. It made it more special for us to see the renaming of the arena in Inuvik on behalf of a good friend.
I know the youth will miss you, Tony. Over the last two and a half years, myself being a Member, anytime I had questions in regards to anything, thank you very much. Quanami.
Thank you, Mr. Jacobson. The honourable Member for Tu Nedhe, Mr. Beaulieu.
Mahsi cho, Mr. Speaker. I, too, would like to acknowledge Tony Whitford and recognize him for all of his tireless work working for the people of the North, working for the Assembly and I think that Tony did truly work for the people of the North. It seemed like everywhere I travelled -- I have been to all of the communities in the North also -- everywhere I have travelled, it seems like people know Tony.
I don’t even know how I got to meet Tony, actually. One day I just knew him. Maybe that is a way in which Tony presents himself to people. It seems like when you meet Tony, you actually already have known him.
I believe that Tony is a wonderful man. He is a real good person to speak to, sit down and talk to him on almost any topic. I think that is a reason there has been so many things bestowed upon him like the work that he has done, like the work that he is doing with the Commissioner or what we are doing today. I think it is a fitting expression of gratitude from the Legislative Assembly to name him honorary officer of the Legislative Assembly. I would like to thank Tony for all of his work in the past. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
---Applause
Thank you, Mr. Beaulieu. The honourable Member for Inuvik Twin Lakes, Mr. Robert McLeod.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Listening to all of the Members speak, I don’t think there is really much more I can add. What I am quite surprised about is, is there anything you haven’t done? I hear Michael talking about you driving a Cat. I think when we were in Inuvik for an elder’s speech one time, you actually worked on the utilidor in Inuvik. That is why I was thinking there is nothing this man hasn’t done.
I just met Tony recently. I haven’t had an opportunity to know him that long, but you meet him the first time and he just makes you feel like you have been friends forever. I appreciate Tony. He conducted himself in a way that I think we should all strive to do. I think people in the Northwest Territories are going to miss you as Commissioner. I think you will always be Commissioner. If we had our way, we would name you Commissioner for life.
I thank you for the service you have provided. I look forward to seeing you come into the House and all the other things that we will probably get to see you do, pass you on the street and pass you at Tim Horton’s. Best of luck to you and thank you so much.
---Applause
Thank you, Mr. McLeod. The honourable Member for Range Lake, Ms. Lee.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I rise to join my colleagues of the Assembly today to recognize and honour the Honourable Anthony W.J. Whitford as he moves into the next chapter of what has been one extraordinary life. I know he will embark on his next chapter with as much joy, enthusiasm, love of life, love of people and a strong sense of public service.
Mr. Speaker, I don’t think we could measure how much it means to him to be designated as an honourary table officer of this Legislature, as no one loves and can love this Assembly as much as he does and he has done over the years. One only has to see the smile and the twinkle in his eyes from the moment he walks into the House to the minute he leaves, whether it is as a Sergeant-at-Arms, a Member, a Minister, a Speaker, or the Commissioner of the Northwest Territories.
It has been a singular honour for me to have worked for and worked with Anthony W.J. Whitford and to be able to witness the twinkles firsthand. I have also witnessed him at his most angry and distressed firsthand within this Legislature. In those moments, he also speaks with his eyes and his twinkle. To know Tony Whitford is to know the different languages the twinkle in his eyes speak.
Mr. Speaker, I don’t remember the first time exactly when I met Mr. Whitford, but every encounter, every hug, every phone call, every lunch, every meeting and every trip I have had with him over the years have enriched my life personally and professionally. I worked for him and other MLAs as a researcher at the Legislature back in 1989 to 1991. I still remember when he offered me the job of being his EA when he became the Minister of Health and Social Services. I was so excited and scared when he offered me the job, when I was 27 at a celebrity auction at the basement of Yellowknife Inn I spent $3,500 that night, the money I didn’t have. He was the first Minister of Health from Yellowknife. I am honoured to share in his company as another Minister of Health from Yellowknife. Health and Social Services portfolio back then was as hot as it is now. Eleven months as an EA to the Minister of Health then I am sure has prepared me for my current job.
I was also his EA when he served as the Minister of Transportation. I don’t know if it is the same now. I must ask Minister McLeod, because when he changed the portfolio to Transportation, everything got more richer and lucrative.
I still remember the occasion when we got to go to the communities of Chesterfield Inlet, Repulse Bay and Coral Harbour to open their community airports. On the way to the airports, the deputy minister of Transportation handed him three big cheques that he was going to hand out in each community. We opened the community airports at every stop and there was a huge feast and celebration. I don’t remember doing much of that as the Minister of Health.
Mr. Speaker, there were some dark moments too. I remember when he was the Minister responsible for mine safety, when I had to relay the message that there was a major blast under the ground of Giant Mine on that dreadful day on September 18th.
I don’t know if Mr. Whitford is responsible for me going into a political life. I won’t saddle him with that, but, Mr. Speaker, I have no doubt that he taught me well.
Mr. Speaker, I had the joy of serving as his colleague when I became an MLA in 1999. Everyone knows and everyone said that he is a great storyteller. I am not, but I am a great rememberer of stories told by other great storytellers. So every story he has told me over the years, I have remembered them. I have retold them. Thanks to his great stories, I almost sound wise and interesting to some very innocent people.
It is true, Mr. Speaker, he has done everything good and worthy in the Territories; the Member for Inuvik Twin Lakes is right. I have been to the smallest community in the Northwest Territories, across the country, even to meet the Queen with Mr. Whitford.
Mr. Speaker, he’s been a carpenter, a social worker, he worked for NTCL, he worked as a coroner, he’s a mayor, he’s Commissioner, he’s built the Highway No. 3, he built the utilidors in Inuvik. I think the man has had at least nine lives and there’s nothing good that he hasn’t done and no one I think he has not met in the Territories. All across the NWT, throughout Canada and around the world, anybody who has ever met him loves him and remembers him and talks of him.
I know it’s been said that he loves everyone and loves politics, but I think there’s a caveat to that. I know he doesn’t love everything about politics. He entered and left politics always being positive, even when I thought, as his EA, he could get more into the attack mode, but he wanted to do things differently. I know that people think that he loves everybody, but I think there is a caveat to that. Yes, he loves almost everyone, but he doesn’t like chronic complainers or people who are negative, because I have seen him say it like it is when he’s at Tim Horton’s. So we know Mr. Whitford as a man of integrity, a man who loves this Legislature. He loves people of the North, and I know that he’s going to open a very exciting chapter as he moves on.
I am grateful for all of the experiences I have had, and that I will continue to have, and I join the Members of this Legislature in congratulating him on his extraordinary life and all the work that he has done for this Legislature, and we wish him well. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
---Applause
Thank you, Ms. Lee. Before I go to the mover of the motion, colleagues, I’m going to break with tradition just a bit. As Speaker, I have never spoken to a motion before the House or stated my support for one. I hope Members will forgive me for saying that this motion has my full support.
---Applause
With your indulgence, colleagues, I would like to read into the record a message from Her Excellency Governor General Michaelle Jean.
It reads:
Dear Mr. Whitford: I was very pleased that we were able to meet at a recent Conference of Lieutenant Governors and Commissioners in Vancouver, which took place just prior to your retirement. Your trademark Metis vest has been a reminder over the years of your welcome presence at these meetings!
Your tenure as Commissioner of the Northwest Territories was certainly the crowning point of a career marked by public service and testifies to your strong sense of dedication to Canada and to the North. Whether as a Cabinet Minister, as Speaker of the Legislative Assembly or as a Marriage Commissioner, you always undertook your responsibilities with great commitment and enthusiasm. Your warm camaraderie and passionate devotion to encouraging community development will long be remembered by all those whom you served in various capacities over the years.
I know that my colleagues at Rideau Hall join me in wishing you every happiness and success in the future. Yours sincerely, Michaelle Jean.
---Applause
With that, I will go to the mover of the motion for some closing remarks. Mr. Premier Roland.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As we have heard from all Members of this Legislative Assembly, including yourself, many stories and the history of Mr. Whitford throughout the Northwest Territories. Indeed on the trips I have been at and he has been a part of, he seems to always know someone in the crowd. That has always impressed me with that ability to speak to people and touch their lives.
There are so many stories. Mr. Miltenberger leaned over to me as we listened. He said, “For all of the stories we have heard and as many of us have heard around this table, he really must be 150 years old or something like that to have done and achieved all that he has done in the Northwest Territories.” But we know he is much younger than that. In fact, his many walks, at times he would be walking out to the airport terminal and back just to stay fit and trim so that as he came into this Assembly to assent to bills, he would do so looking fit and trim as our Commissioner.
There is so much more, I think, one can say. There are so many more people in the Northwest Territories I am sure that would express their gratitude to Mr. Whitford. I would like to thank all of the Members of this Assembly for saying all the things that they have and put them on record for the history of the Northwest Territories. This is one of the, as we have heard from a Member, rare times that all Members of the Legislative Assembly have talked so positively about one individual. I would like to thank the Members for that.
To further mark the record of the history of the Northwest Territories and the history that Mr. Whitford has played in this, I request a recorded vote.
---Applause
Mr. Roland; Mr. McLeod, Deh Cho; Mr. McLeod, Inuvik Twin Lakes; Mr. McLeod, Yellowknife South; Mr. Krutko; Mr. Bromley; Mr. Abernethy; Mr. Menicoche; Mr. Ramsay; Mrs. Groenewegen; Mr. Beaulieu; Mr. Hawkins; Mr. Jacobson; Ms. Bisaro; Mr. Yakeleya; Mr. Lafferty; Ms. Lee; Mr. Miltenberger.
All those opposed to the motion, please stand. All those abstaining, please stand. Okay. Results of the recorded vote are: all those in favour is 18; opposed, none; and abstaining, none. The motion is carried unanimously.
---Carried
---Applause
The honourable Member for Mackenzie Delta, Mr. Krutko.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I seek unanimous consent to deal with the motion I gave notice of earlier today.
---Unanimous consent granted
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
WHEREAS Tabled Document 62-16(5) has been tabled in this House;
AND WHEREAS Tabled Document 62-16(5), Northwest Territories Water Stewardship Strategy, requires detailed consideration;
NOW THEREFORE I MOVE, seconded by the honourable Member for Weledeh, that Tabled Document 62-16(5), Northwest Territories Water Stewardship Strategy, be referred to Committee of the Whole for consideration.
Thank you, Mr. Krutko. The motion is on the floor. The motion is in order. To the motion.
Question.
Question has been called.
---Carried
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I move, seconded by the honourable Member for Deh Cho, that Bill 10, Supplementary Appropriation Act (Operations Expenditures), No. 1, 2010-2011, be read for the first time. Thank you.
Bill 10 has had first reading.
---Carried
The honourable Minister of Finance, Mr. Miltenberger.
