Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, running for public office is not an easy thing to do and it’s something that I’m sure all of you in here put a great deal of thought into it. I think you’ll find that when you talk to most people that run for public office, it’s not as hard on them as it is on their family. With that, I have to thank my wife, Judy, for her continued support.

I have to thank the people who worked hard on my campaign. Three years ago I ran in the by-election and I had a few people jump on board and support me throughout the by-election, and more so in this recent election that we just went through. I have to admire their loyalty and their belief in me.

I don’t intend to let them down, Mr. Speaker. I will be down here. I’ve told the people in Inuvik that I will be down here pounding the table, bringing their issues forward. It’s a personal sacrifice that we and our families make and it’s a sacrifice in more ways than one to be on this side pounding the table, making sure our issues are brought to the forefront.

I want to congratulate you, Mr. Speaker, in your selection and I’m sure today, being the first day of session, you’re going to cut us a little slack. I’d also like to congratulate Mr. Roland on his election as Premier. The Cabinet Ministers, I’d like to congratulate you on your appointments to Cabinet later on this afternoon. My Social Programs colleagues, I’ll be holding the fort on this side of the House for you.

This is a big day, Mr. Speaker, for the Members of Cabinet. They’re all being sworn in later on today. I thought it was best that we just do the thank you today. After today, you will be sworn in, and starting tomorrow we’re going to be all over you. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

---Laughter

---Applause

Speaker: MR. SPEAKER

Thank you, Mr. McLeod. Members' statements. The honourable Member for Sahtu, Mr. Yakeleya.

Norman Yakeleya

Sahtu

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I wanted to, first of all, thank my family back in Tulita and the people and my family members in the Sahtu region for supporting me. Mr. Speaker, without them, we say our family is so important to our life, more so in the job that we do today as MLAs, as Ministers, as Members of the Legislative Assembly. My family members are there at the end of the day.

I want to also thank my friends and thank my ready campaign team, which we had a break from the campaign thanks to the gift of the Sahtu people for acclaiming me as their representative in this Assembly. I really say it’s a gift and I really want to thank the elders who spoke for me in my term as an MLA. I thank the people from the bottom of my heart to be given an opportunity at that time to take some time because of this work that we do -- a lot of time is spent away from our families -- and to really have the opportunity to go into the bush and spend some time with my family, take my little boy and my wife and go in the mountains and do some hunting up there for them. I really appreciate that as a gift from my people in the Sahtu region.

Mr. Speaker, I said the elders are the key to my representing the people in the Sahtu and the one person that I really, really regretted yesterday, in terms of the work that went on yesterday, was my mother. I wanted to really see or hear and to physically make that phone call and tell her that all her hard work and sacrifice that she did when we were young, that she could be thanked from the bottom of my heart. I said a prayer last night: I thank Mom wherever you are for guiding me and for persevering in her discipline to us in terms of getting the best in life. You have to work hard on that.

Mr. Speaker, for that, I want to say to all the young people in the Sahtu region and the people in the Northwest Territories: Dream big; dream the dream that you want to be in life because it could happen with hard work, education, hard, good values to live by. I want to say that, Mr. Speaker. Thank you so much. Bye-bye.

---Applause