Please be seated. Members, ladies and gentlemen, before we begin today, I would like to draw your attention to some important visitors in the gallery. I would like to welcome the Premier of the Northwest Territories and former Member of Inuvik Boot Lake, Mr. Floyd Roland.
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I’d also like to draw your attention to a former Member of the Legislative Assembly for the ridings of North Slave and Monfwi, Mr. Henry Zoe.
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Ladies and gentlemen, I would like to draw your attention to two officers of the Legislative Assembly with us here today: Ms. Sarah Jerome, the NWT Languages Commissioner…
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…and Mr. David Brock, the Chief Electoral Officer for the Northwest Territories.
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It is my duty at this time to inform the House that the Commissioner of the Northwest Territories is not prepared to deliver an opening address until such time as you have appointed a Speaker. I will now open the floor to a motion for the appointment of a Speaker. Mrs. Groenewegen.
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.
The motion is in order. The motion is not debatable. The motion is carried.
---Carried
I will ask the mover and seconder of the motion to escort Speaker Jacobson to the chair.
---Applause
It’s pretty good here.
---Laughter
Thank you, colleagues. Today I wish to begin by welcoming everyone to the Chamber today as we open the 17th Legislative Assembly. I’d like to extend my sincere thank you, on behalf of all Members, to the Dettah Drummers for their prayer song, to the Most Reverend Murray Chatlain, Bishop of the Dioceses of Mackenzie-Fort Smith, for leading us in prayer, and to Mr. Floyd Adlum of the NWT Pipe Band.
Honourable colleagues, I would like to thank you all for the trust you have placed in me by choosing me to serve as your Speaker for the 17th Legislative Assembly. As the first Inuvialuit Speaker in this Legislative Assembly…
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…I accept this honour with both pride and humility.
It is important for me today to acknowledge the members of my family who have been such an inspiration to me throughout my political career and brought me to this place: my father, Jimmy Jacobson; and my uncles Buck Storr, the former mayor of Aklavik, my uncle John Steen, former Member in the 8th Assembly, and Vince Steen, former Member in the 13th and 14th Assemblies. Their thoughts and words will continue to guide me in my new role.
It is a great honour to represent the Legislative Assembly of the Northwest Territories. I commit to each of you that I will carry out the duties of Speaker to the very best of my abilities. I will work hard to uphold the rights and privileges of all Members and to help each of you to carry out your duties as Members of this Assembly. Most of all, however, I commit to uphold and protect the dignity of this institution in my actions and decisions.
I would like to take this opportunity to thank former Speaker, Mr. Paul Delorey, for his excellent counsel and guidance during the 16th Legislative Assembly. I was fortunate to be able to watch and learn from Mr. Delorey. You can be sure I will be taking the knowledge and wisdom of those Speakers before me to guide me in my new role.
My first obligation is to preside over the House in a manner which will ensure that the rights and privileges of all Members will be upheld. I am committed to maintaining the order and level of decorum that will allow each of you to carry your duties to the best of your abilities.
Two of the most important and fundamental rights you have is the right to freedom of speech in your debates and the freedom from interference in carrying out your duties. I commit to do the best to uphold those rights for all Members, as well as the rules and procedures of this House.
I’d like to speak to my constituents of Nunakput. I’d like to thank you for allowing me to represent you for the second term of the Assembly. I’m proud to be the Speaker, but I’m equally proud to be the Member for Nunakput. I want to reassure you that I will be still voicing your concerns just as loudly in this Assembly, but you won’t be hearing me make Member’s statements or asking questions in the House. As the Speaker I have direct access to the Premier and the Ministers of this government, and you can be sure that they will be hearing from me about any of the concerns of my constituents. I’ll be there for you for the next four years. I’ll continue to fight for your best interests, like housing, health care, education, and always my favourite, the Tuk-Inuvik highway. In the coming days I hope to spend even more time in the communities of Nunakput, listening and talking with you all.
Colleagues, I’d like to take this time to express my thanks to my family. To my wife, Jenny, a true partner. She supports me in so many ways. I wish also to thank my children.
Any Member of elected office knows only too well the burden that we place on those at home. The support and encouragement of our family and friends is what allows us to continue to do the work that we do. We have to express our gratitude. We don’t express our gratitude often enough. So, to the family and friends, a heartfelt thank you.
The 17th Legislative Assembly is a new beginning for some and an opportunity for others to continue the work we have already started. It is also an opportunity to make a difference. I pledge to support you in your efforts. I ask you, and will continue to ask, that you always treat each other in this institution with the dignity, respect and compassion that is rightfully so. I pledge that I will work hard to maintain the trust and confidence that you placed in me today.
Mr. Clerk, would you ascertain if the Commissioner of the Northwest Territories, the Honourable George L. Tuccaro, is prepared to enter the Chamber to address the Assembly.
I’ll ask you to rise for the entrance of the Commissioner and remain standing while the national anthem is performed by the Weledeh Catholic School Choir and the Dogrib Choir.
Thank you very much. Please be seated.
It is once again a pleasure and an honour for me to be in this House. I’m pleased to welcome you to the First Session of the 17th Legislative Assembly of the Northwest Territories.
I would like to offer my congratulations to the returning Members, three of whom were acclaimed, and to the newly elected Members of this Legislative Assembly.
I would like to welcome all guests to the public gallery and those who are watching the proceedings on television.
I’d like to congratulate Mr. Jacobson on his election as Speaker. The Members of this Assembly will be well served by the good judgment and experience you bring to this vital position. I wish you the best and have every confidence you will be successful in your role as Speaker.
Members of this House will face many challenges during their four-year terms. My good wishes are extended to all Members and I’m confident that each of you will serve your constituents and the people of the Northwest Territories to the very best of your abilities.
I would like to acknowledge and thank the spouses and family members for the love and support you provide these Members. That is so important in the work that they will do for the people of the Northwest Territories.
I will offer you this, as I recall the very good work of the late Jack Layton: “Inspire to serve, and serve to inspire.”
I’d like to offer my warm congratulations to Gerry Kisoun of Inuvik who, on Monday, was appointed by the federal Minister of Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development, the Honourable John Duncan, as our new 14th Deputy Commissioner of the Northwest Territories.
---Applause
At this time I would like to acknowledge and thank Margaret Thom of Fort Providence, who served for the past six years as Deputy Commissioner of the Northwest Territories.
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We are looking forward to joining the rest of Canada in celebrating the Diamond Jubilee of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth, in 2012.
Mr. Speaker, before declaring open the First Session of the 17th Legislative Assembly, I’d like to invite all Members and visitors in the public gallery to a reception in the Great Hall when the House adjourns, and I invite everyone to stay for the swearing in of the Executive Council at three o’clock this afternoon.
As Commissioner of the Northwest Territories, I now declare open the First Session of the 17th Legislative Assembly of the Northwest Territories. Thank you, merci beaucoup, mahsi cho, quanani, koana.
---Applause
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’m very grateful and humbled to have been elected to my third term. The feedback and support I received from my constituents during the campaigning was invigorating. I thank them deeply for their kindness and encouragement. The wonderful people of Nahendeh reminded me why we do this job, and I am sure that my colleagues had similar experiences in their ridings. We must remember what we heard and learn as we get down to business.
It is true that I would have very much liked to serve as Premier or in Cabinet. I profoundly thank all Members and constituents who supported me in that effort. But to all my colleagues and friends in this House, I want to add that I’m very proud to have raised some important issues and received your serious consideration. This is how our system works and I am glad that I could contribute to its success.
I look at our new Cabinet and I feel good about it and I see that it reflects the collective wisdom of this Assembly. Of the six Members, three are Cabinet veterans. The other three are new to Cabinet, but they are experienced MLAs and gentlemen all. From my heart, I congratulate all the Members of our new Cabinet. I also thank the other candidates who provided us with such strong choices.
There’s no shortage of talent among the Regular Members. I am proud to count myself among them. Again, I see a great mix of experience and promising new voices in this House. I’ll look forward to working with you all in the next four years. Mahsi cho.
Thank you, Mr. Menicoche. The honourable Member for Monfwi, Mr. Lafferty.
Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. [Translation] I would like to say something. I want to say thank you to all our visitors. You have to say thank you very much. I am representing Monfwi region and I would like to say thank you to all the people in that region, and we also have to remember the people that we sit with. But I am also married; I have a wife and children. I would like to say thank you to all my family and also I would like to thank my mother and my father who are in the audience. I also have a lot of Tlicho citizens in the audience. So I would like to say thank you very much for their support.
I hope that we will do well this year. We want to work together for the next four years. That is our job that we will be doing. From here and on, I would like for us to move forward in a positive direction.
In the North there are a lot of things that we’re worried about. In the North we have to support one another in order to accomplish a lot of these things that we have to work on together. We also represent 33 communities. So we have to support one another and work together. That is why we are here.
I’m so happy to be in amongst these MLAs here. They also have the same feeling; they want to support each other and to move ahead for the next four years in this House. So I would like to say thank you and I would like to thank all the visitors, our families and friends and all the Members. I’m so happy that we had a good opening with this 17th Assembly. Let’s move forward in a positive way. Thank you.
The Member for Tu Nedhe, Mr. Beaulieu.
Mahsi cho, Mr. Speaker. [English translation not provided.]
I’d just quickly like to thank the constituents of Tu Nedhe, Fort Resolution and Lutselk’e. Although I was acclaimed, it was due to the large support that I received from the people in both communities as I went around to the communities, both communities several times over the last four years and essentially I guess almost campaigned for four years as my style was to go out and visit the people. It seemed the people responded well to that and I got, from what I see, almost unanimous support in the communities. So I’d like to thank them for their support. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Beaulieu. Member for Sahtu, Mr. Yakeleya.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I, too, want to thank the constituents of the Sahtu for bringing me back to the Assembly here, to the House, to represent them.
First, I want to thank my cousin who ran in the same riding as I did, the campaign. My cousin and I grew up together. We come from a large family, a family that supports one another. I want to thank him and his wife and his children. I want to thank him on behalf of my family. I said in Tulita, when we put our names forward as candidates, the families are with you, the children are with you, and you, yourself, you do the work, but there’s people supporting you.
I want to thank all the Members here. It takes a lot to put your name out in public with other candidates and do the best job that you see and hear from your constituents and how you want to articulate your visions, your goals, your aspirations, to make the government work for them and be their government. For the people who came out and voted and for the people who looked to you and said yes, you are the one who can take my voice to the Assembly and to the government.
I think about the people in Colville, Fort Good Hope, Norman Wells, Deline and Tulita. They see us making a difference in their lives, the ones who are less fortunate, the ones who are having a hard time. They see us as a light and hope to make a difference in their life.
People in my region want a highway. That would save a lot of heartaches and would help us. They are looking for those types of initiatives.
The people in Norman Wells want to make sure they have stable fuel energy. Things like that, people bring to you.
I want to say congratulations to the Premier, the Cabinet, Mr. Speaker. Good luck. We want to work with you, and in a short couple of days we’ll get down to the nitty-gritty of moving this government forward. I look forward to working with you over the next four years. Mahsi cho.
Thank you, Mr. Yakeleya. The honourable Member for Deh Cho, Mr. Nadli.
Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. [Translation] I would also like to say thanks and I am glad that I am able to be sitting amongst you to represent my riding in Fort Providence, Enterprise, Hay River. They are the communities that voted me into this position and we have a lot of work ahead of us in the next four years. We also want to work for the betterment of our constituents and everybody in the Northwest Territories.
So I’d like to say thanks that I’m sitting amongst you again. The things that I feel are important to work on and we are all pretty much in the same boat. Who is going to be heading the head of the boat? We have to know who is, who our leaders are and there might be some rough waters for the future, but if we work well together, we will be able to represent our riding as good as we can.
Today, right now, it’s getting to be winter. In the past our ancestors were prepared for a rough winter and gathered food and preserved stuff, and we also wonder where we will be hunting and where we will be able to find moose, and these are the things that we knew in the past as Dene people. We work together well. We also have to think how we are going to be working well together with that in mind. [Translation ends]
…support also at the same time for our issues, concerns, dreams and desires and, of course, needs and wants of our constituents. There are common issues that we need to work on and build a sense of unity of working together, ensuring we all work for our constituents at the same time for the betterment of the Northwest Territories. Mahsi.
Thank you, Mr. Nadli. The honourable Member for Inuvik Twin Lakes, Mr. McLeod.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. This being the first day of the Assembly, I think it’s appropriate to give thanks to those folks who were instrumental in us getting here. First of all, I want to thank my wife, Judy, and my kids. Judy is sitting up in the gallery and I don’t want to look up there or I’m not going to be able to finish my statement. I want to thank them for their support, their support the last 32 years; it’s much appreciated.
I want to thank the residents of Inuvik, constituents of Inuvik Twin Lakes, the faith that they’ve put in me to once again be their representative. I look forward to being a good quality representative for the next four years.
I want to thank the Members of the Assembly for the trust that they’ve shown in electing me to the Executive Council. I am very honoured and humbled by it.
Finally, I’d like to thank Mr. Floyd Roland for his time here and his mentorship when I first came down seven years ago, wondered what I got myself into. He told me what I got myself into, and seven years later and I’m still here, so I appreciate that, Floyd, and I look forward to passing on some of that experience to the new Member for Inuvik Boot Lake.
Lastly, I would like to say, as of tomorrow, you can start on your list. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. McLeod. The honourable Member for Range Lake, Mr. Dolynny.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to take the opportunity to thank the people of Range Lake for trusting me with their confidence to represent them in the 17th Assembly.
More importantly, I would like to thank my wife, Cindy, and my two boys Tanner and Bronson, for sacrificing much time and energy during the electoral process. It is never an easy journey to get here, believe me.
As a pharmacist, I have been serving the needs of health care for thousands and thousands of Northerners for almost two decades and I have been honoured to do so. My commitment to being amongst you here today is to serve to the best of my ability the people of Range Lake, but more importantly, all the people of the Northwest Territories. Mahsi cho.
Thank you, Mr. Dolynny. The honourable Member for Mackenzie Delta, Mr. Blake.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to take this opportunity to thank the people of the Mackenzie Delta for their continuous support as the Member of the Legislative Assembly. I’d also like to thank my family for their continuous support.
Also, I’d like to congratulate yourself, Mr. Speaker, and also the Premier, Mr. McLeod, and our Cabinet Members and the other MLAs here. I look forward to working with you all in a positive relationship and the staff of the Legislative Assembly. Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Blake. The honourable Member for Hay River South, Mrs. Groenewegen.
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 we’ve been having a lot of fun. I may have some competition to being the class heckler here.
Mr. Speaker, I’d like to congratulate you on being elected as the Speaker for the 17th Assembly. My congratulations to Bob McLeod, Premier-elect, for the 17th Assembly, and my congratulations to all of the new Cabinet Ministers who will be sworn in later today.
Mr. Speaker, I’d also like to use my Member’s statement today to answer a question that has been out there on the minds of a few people, not the least of which are my constituents.
People have been asking five terms, which has never been done before – Mr. Miltenberger and I are the first two to forge that envelope – a woman representing the second largest community in the Northwest Territories, and some people say a couple of brain cells rambling around in my head, so why not run for Cabinet. Maybe people don’t realize this, but we have a convention here in our Assembly of regional representation in Cabinet: two from the north, two from Yellowknife, two from the south, and one Premier at large.
When it was determined that Mr. Miltenberger would not be our new Premier, being from the south I had a choice to make. Mr. Miltenberger had 10 years of experience in the Cabinet. He is known for his amazing work ethic and a very bright man, and a friend to Hay River. Mr. Tom Beaulieu has been my colleague for the last four years but I’ve known him for many years, a former resident of Hay River with family there, also a very competent person who represents a small community. I believe that the small communities should be well represented in our Executive Council. I was very pleased to see both of these gentlemen representing the Members for Hay River South.
I’m going to have to be the first one to seek unanimous consent to conclude my statement.
---Unanimous consent granted.
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 express your opinion on behalf of your constituents on any subject and I value that very greatly.
Thank you, Mrs. Groenewegen. I’d like to tell the audience in the House, if you could turn your phones off. There’s no cellular service in the House. Moving on. The honourable Member for Great Slave, Mr. Abernethy.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’d like to congratulate you on your new role in the Assembly. I know you’ll do it justice.
I have a lot of thank yous I’d like to do today and I’d like to start off by thanking my constituents. I had a really good time in September, getting out to re-engage with a number of you and meet the new constituents in the Great Slave riding. I’m honoured to serve on their behalf for the next four years. I appreciate all of their support.
I’d also like to thank my campaign team. In my mind, I had the best campaign team there was. I also had a lot of fantastic volunteers who came out and gave me their time and their energy. We had a smooth running machine that got the job done. Without them I wouldn’t be here today.
I’d also like to thank you, my colleagues. I’d like to thank you for your support yesterday and I look forward to working with each and every one of you over the next four years. I look around this room and I see 19 great individuals who are committed to working in the best interest of the Northwest Territories and all of its people and I’m honoured to be here standing amongst you. I look forward to the next four years. We have a lot of work to get done and I know together we can get it done.
The last group I’d like to thank are my family. My rocks. My mom and dad are in the gallery. Without them I wouldn’t be here either. Literally. Thank you for that.
They’ve taught me well. They’ve given me the values that I have. They’ve made me the man that I am today. Mom and Dad, I love you and thank you for everything.
I’d also like to thank my wife. She’s my other rock. She’s the love of my life and without her helping me on the campaign team, being there with me every day, I don’t know where I’d be. I’d like to thank her as well.
Thanks to all of you for being with us here today. I look forward to the next four years.
Thank you, Mr. Abernethy. The honourable Member for Frame Lake, Ms. Bisaro.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I rise today to say a few thank yous as well. First and foremost I want to thank the constituents of Frame Lake who re-elected me. Merci pour votre confidance; thank you for your confidence that you exhibited in me as your MLA and in the job that I’ve done on your behalf for the last four years.
My thanks to the other two Frame Lake candidates: Mr. Duff Spence and Mr. Bernard LeBlanc. Members of this House are well aware of the sacrifices that must be made by anyone who runs for elected office. We give up our lives for some four to six weeks in August and September. Unsuccessful candidates get no reward for that effort.
I need to thank, as well, all those who assisted me with my campaign. My campaign manager and good friend, Mr. Joe Auge; my official agent, Mr. Don Babey; all of the volunteers who assisted me over the life of the campaign and, in particular, my team of advisors.
When you’re a transplanted Northerner like me, your friends tend to become your family. I have to thank my northern family who were totally supportive of me in my campaign.
Last but not least, I need to thank my own blood family who travelled north to help me out with the both moral and physical support in the last week of the campaign.
An election campaign is a strange animal, an activity unlike any other life experience. It’s a valuable experience, but oh so stressful. It’s also all-consuming. Candidates start the race at full gallop. It’s an unusually hectic pace and we keep that up for a month and then suddenly stop. How normal is that? It’s not normal. NWT residents should show their appreciation of each and every candidate who submits themselves to such an abnormality.
Congratulations to you, Mr. Speaker, to the Premier, and to the Members of the Executive Council who were elected yesterday. As I said yesterday, this 17th Assembly needs to do things differently if we expect to re-engage our constituents and voters. We have four years to produce results. I look forward to working with the Members of this Assembly, working together – as was mentioned many times yesterday – to get some concrete results.
Four years ago on opening day I said, “I look at the Members assembled in this House and I see great opportunity. I think we can do good; I think that we can achieve results; and I think if we work together, it will be for the betterment of the NWT and all of our residents.”
Ms. Bisaro, your time for Member’s statement has expired.
I seek unanimous consent to conclude my statement.
---Unanimous consent granted.
The same sentiment applies today. I sure hope that this Assembly will be successful at bettering the lives of our residents.
Thank you, Ms. Bisaro. The honourable Member for Kam Lake, Mr. Ramsay.
Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. I’d like to take this opportunity today to thank the constituents of Kam Lake for all of their support over the past eight years. It certainly remains an honour and a privilege to serve as the MLA for Kam Lake in this House and I’m looking forward to being the MLA for Kam Lake in the 17th Legislative Assembly.
To my family, friends and supporters, I also thank you very much for everything that you have done in helping me get to where I am today.
Also to my colleagues who are here in this House, I want to thank you very much for putting your trust and faith in me, in selecting me to serve this House as a Member of the Executive Council. I will always strive to do my best to serve this House.
We’ve been back here at the Assembly for a couple of weeks now and I also want to take this opportunity to thank the Clerk of the Legislative Assembly, Mr. Tim Mercer, and the very capable and professional team he has assembled here that have helped guide all Members through the orientation sessions.
Also, Mr. Speaker, I’d like to congratulate you on your selection as Premier – or as Speaker of this House. I’m getting ahead of myself. To Mr. Bob McLeod, Premier-elect, congratulations. I look forward to working with everybody over the next four years.
I also wanted to mention that over the next four years it is possible, with the Members that we have assembled here today, to make the Northwest Territories the best that we possibly can by all working together and I look forward to doing just that.
Thank you, Mr. Ramsay. The honourable Member for Yellowknife South, Mr. Bob McLeod.
