Thank you, Mr. Speaker. First of all, I would like to commend all those who put their names forward for Premier and for Cabinet.
I’d like to take this opportunity to thank my family and all my campaign workers and supporters and advisors. I was lucky enough to get 100 percent support, as indicated by my colleagues that got acclaimed.
I really want to thank the constituents of Yellowknife South for their support and their encouragement to put my name forward to run for Premier.
I’d like to congratulate you on being chosen to represent us as Speaker.
I want to thank all the Ministers that have been elected to Cabinet. I know we’re going to have a very busy four years.
Once again, I would like to thank all the Members for their support in electing me as Premier. I look forward to working with each of you.
To the people of Fort Providence, I’m looking forward to coming back soon to visit.
Thank you, Mr. McLeod. The honourable Member for Hay River North, Mr. Bouchard.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I rise here for the first time as MLA for Hay River North. As you told me on one of the first times I met you, I’d be nervous the first time. I am a little shaky. I’m nervous because it’s an important position.
I’d like to thank the constituents of Hay River and my family and friends. I look forward to working with you all, over the next four years. I know we have lots of hills to climb, but hopefully we get over them easily. Thank you for your time today.
Thank you, Mr. Bouchard. The honourable Member for Weledeh, Mr. Bromley.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to begin by offering my congratulations to you, Mr. Speaker, to Premier-elect Bob McLeod, and to all Cabinet-elect Members on their selection to these important leadership positions. These responsibilities are not lightly earned, and the new incumbents bring many skills and considerable experience and knowledge to their jobs. I look forward to working with you.
It is a great honour and privilege to be representing and working on behalf of the people and interests of Weledeh and the Northwest Territories. I thank the voters and pledge my dedication to them.
I also want to express my appreciation to all those who contributed by putting their names forward for election throughout the NWT, with particular mention to Mr. Mark Bogan, who ran in Weledeh.
I am humbled by the amazing support, skills, time and contributions that I received from my campaign team. I recognize that they gave up valuable time from family and personal lives, from fall harvesting season and from their working lives for my campaign. The contributions were many and varied, and many people in community groups and various governments shared their insights and advice.
I would particularly like to thank my family, starting with my wife, Marianne. All other comments combined, I couldn’t do it without you, Marianne. My mother, Barb Bromley, the leader of the Bromley clan, and all of my extended family who’ve had a hard time lately but they’ve been a huge support and offered a lot of encouragement.
I am looking forward to working once again with all Members of this Assembly and being a voice at the table for residents of Weledeh and for all residents of the NWT. I will be seeking renewed commitments to healthy families and healthy communities through new and more effective governance, and I will continue to bring accountability to every part of this work to the degree that I am able.
I want to acknowledge the wonderful performances and the prayer song by the Dettah Drummers and the Weledeh School Choir.
I also want to thank all the previous Members of the 16th Assembly, especially those that aren’t on the floor of the House with us today; in particular, Premier Roland.
I see I’ve just got a few seconds left. I want to particularly acknowledge my campaign manager, Ann Peters, and many of the volunteers that helped me out once again.
Thank you, Mr. Bromley. The honourable Member for Thebacha, Mr. Miltenberger.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’m the MLA for Thebacha and I’ve been here now five times. I can tell you I’ve never been acclaimed.
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But I’ve made it through. I’d like to thank the constituents of Thebacha. I have the benefit of working with one of the best campaign manager/constituency assistants in the business: Ms. Denise Yuhas.
I’d, as well, like to congratulate my colleague, the long-serving, long-suffering Member for Hay River South, who has been here for as equally long as I have.
I’d like to, as well, pay my best respects to the outgoing Premier, Premier Roland. He and I have ridden the political trails together for 16 years. He’s going to park his political horse in the barn for a while and head to Inuvik, and I’d like to wish him happy trails and I know that we will be seeing each other in the future.
Mr. Speaker, to you, Premier McLeod, Cabinet Ministers, I wish you all the best and congratulate you. All the Members as well, and, of course, my family. I’d like to thank them as well.
There is one person; when the Bishop made a prayer, and I thought about it, the wisdom of Solomon, definitely the patience of Job and a heart of Mary, my wife.
Thank you, Mr. Miltenberger. The Member for Inuvik Boot Lake, Mr. Moses.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’d like to use my first of many Member’s statements to recognize three extremely brave individuals from Inuvik. Teddy Angasak, who is only 11 years old, put his life in danger to save his siblings during a recent house fire. His actions demonstrate the courage and the true human spirit at its best. As he is recovering from sustained injuries, I wish him all the best in a speedy recovery.
Constable Todd Glemser and Constable Andrew Aucoin, two RCMP officers who also put their lives at risk in going beyond the call of duty in their rescue attempts.
My condolences to all the families across the Northwest Territories who have lost loved ones. Our hearts and prayers are with you all.
Mr. Speaker, I’d also like to take this opportunity to thank the people of Inuvik and many supporters across the Northwest Territories for having confidence and trust in me and allowing me to represent them in the Legislative Assembly. Special thanks goes to two individuals in particular, and those are my parents, who have had support behind me right from the start. I think they were pretty surprised, too, when I got in here.
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Martha and Winston Moses.
As we move forward in the 17th Legislative Assembly, I look forward to working with all of the leaders across the Northwest Territories, our elected leaders and our leaders at the community level in Inuvik and the Northwest Territories to make the Northwest Territories a healthy, developed and prosperous territory for one and all. Thank you, Mr. Speaker, mahsi.
Thank you, Mr. Moses. Member for Yellowknife Centre, Mr. Hawkins.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker, for the opportunity to give a Member’s statement today. First off, I’d like to congratulate you in taking the helm of the Assembly. I look forward to your leadership in the Assembly for the next four years. I’m quite pleased that you’ve assumed this role and I feel I have every confidence in what you’ll be doing for us here in the leadership role.
Mr. Speaker, next I’d like to acknowledge the constituents of Yellowknife Centre, and sincere thanks goes out to them for the opportunity to serve them in this 17th Legislative Assembly. Yellowknife Centre, in my belief, although I may take exception to the riding of Thebacha, of course, but I believe Yellowknife Centre is one of the toughest ridings to run in in the Northwest Territories. I’ve been successful in three races and I’d like to say that I’d like to acknowledge the hard work always put forward by the competitors. Then, that said, I’d like to acknowledge the work and effort put forth by Arlene Hache, who was my competitor and I’d like to tip my hat to her for running a good campaign.
Mr. Speaker, you can’t run a campaign without friends, volunteers and supporters, and I have a lot of them and I wish I had more than two and a half minutes to thank each one of them individually, but I don’t. But I’m sure with their respective appreciation, I’d like to focus in on the thanks to my family. In particular my wife, who is my best friend, my partner in any situation here, and without her support and love we could never do this job. I have to acknowledge that a little further by saying that I needed her permission in order to run again, because I can tell you any smart man knows they should talk to their wife before they make a decision of this magnitude before they jump in. Continuing on that vein, my two children, both McKinley and Hudson were quite interesting campaign crusaders. My nine-year-old and my six-year-old were out with me knocking on doors, delivering brochures and they were pretty excited to be part of the process. I should highlight my mother, Terry, and my dad, Kim, for their steadfast support throughout the campaign.
Mr. Speaker, I couldn’t have done that without my wife, as I mentioned, and I want to say that the two of us, when we went door to door, took copious notes on many different issues that were brought forward by the Yellowknife Centre constituents, and just to name a couple: addictions, poverty, Aurora College and, certainly, economic growth were central themes. They weren’t the only ones and there were a lot of things we took notes on that we’ll be carrying forward over the coming days and years.
Thank you, Mr. Hawkins. Item 5, Recognitions of visitors in the gallery.
Colleagues, I’d like to direct your attention to the presence in the visitor’s gallery of the Consul General of Japan, Mr. Susumu Fukuda, accompanied by his wife, Mrs. Fukuda, and the Consul of the Economic Section, Ms. Sugiuyama. Welcome.
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At this time I’d like to recognize Lieutenant-Colonel Keith MacNeil, Joint Task Force North, and Chief Superintendent Wade Blake with the RCMP “G” Division. Welcome.
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I’d also like to recognize the Premier of the Northwest Territories and former Member of Inuvik Boot Lake, Mr. Floyd Roland.
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Former Member for North Slave, Mr. Henry Zoe.
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The Languages Commissioner for the NWT, Ms. Sarah Jerome. Welcome.
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Chief Electoral Officer, Mr. David Brock. Welcome to the House.
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I’d like to recognize my CA in from my home community of Tuk, Ms. Donna Bernhardt.
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And my two sons, Matthew and Mitchell. Welcome to the House.
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And my good friend and colleague who we work hand in hand, the mayor of Tuktoyaktuk, Mr. Mervin Gruben. Welcome to the House.
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I see another family relative, Mr. Charles Klengenburg. Welcome to the House.
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Mr. Hans Lennie and his wife. Welcome to the House.
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The Inuvik Dancers.
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I’m kind of nervous, so if I miss anyone, I’m very sorry. But, everybody, welcome to the House and to the Chamber. I hope you’re all enjoying our proceedings. It’s always nice to have an audience here.
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Sorry, one more, my good friend, Ms. Cece McCauley. Welcome to the House, Cece.
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Mr. Bob McLeod.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’d like to recognize constituents from Yellowknife South, Peter Vician, Don Gillis, Morven MacPherson. I can’t see everybody here, so I hope I don’t miss anybody. I see Allen Stanzell as well. I know he’ll phone me and give me heck if I don’t recognize him, so I’d like to recognize Mr. Hockey, Ed Jeske.
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Thank you, Mr. McLeod. Member for Yellowknife South, Mr. Hawkins.
Centre. You’re always right, Mr. Speaker, don’t worry.
---Laughter
It’s the only way to do this. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I have a list and I’ll run through them really quickly. Certainly I’d like to acknowledge Sandra Taylor, president of the YK Seniors; Vivian Squires, executive director of the YK Seniors. Thanks, Mr. McLeod, for recognizing Ed Jeske, Mr. Hockey; Chief Superintendent Wade Blake; Jenny and Dave Tucker, neighbours up there; Phila Fyten, she works with the Commissioner’s Office; Floyd Adlem, who was our piper today; Monique Marinier, that would be Tom Beaulieu’s partner; Lorraine Phaneuf, executive director of the NWT Status of Women; Lydia Bardak, city councillor; Henry Zoe, a former Member. Again, I apologize, like other Members, if I have missed anyone. Thank you everyone for coming today.
Thank you, Mr. Hawkins. The honourable Member for Weledeh, Mr. Bromley.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I won’t recognize people by name, but I want to recognize quite a number of Yellowknife city councillors here today, union leaders, non-government organizations, and I see some First Nations chiefs in the crowd as well. I know there are many members of Weledeh in the crowd. Welcome all.
Thank you, Mr. Bromley. The Member for Tu Nedhe, Mr. Beaulieu.
Mahsi cho, Mr. Speaker. I’d like to recognize a couple of people. There’s no one in the audience from Res or Lutselk’e, but I’d like to recognize my sweetie, Monique Marinier, and also my cousin Alfonse from Whati.
Thank you, Mr. Beaulieu. The honourable Member for Thebacha, Mr. Miltenberger.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’d like to recognize my wife, Jeri Miltenberger; one of the best deputies I’ve worked with in ENR, Gary Bohnet. I’m assuming back here there might be other deputies, Sandy Kalgutkar, and possibly Deputy Minister Debbie DeLancey.
Thank you, Mr. Miltenberger. Member for Sahtu, Mr. Yakeleya.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’d like to recognize all the dignitaries in the House today and I’d also like to recognize my constituents from the Norman Wells Land Corp, President Cece McCauley-Hudson. I also want to recognize His Worship Mayor Dudley Johnson from the Town of Norman Wells. I recognize my cousin Ilene Roth.
Thank you, Mr. Yakeleya. The Member for Range Lake, Mr. Dolynny.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’d like to say welcome to recently re-elected Mr. Todd Parsons, Mary Lou Cherwaty, Amanda Mallon, Ann Costache, Yvonne Quick. I’m sorry if I’ve missed people from behind I can’t see.
Thank you, Mr. Dolynny. The honourable Member for Nahendeh, Mr. Menicoche.
Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. …(inaudible)…constituent in the gallery. I apologize if I missed anybody else. Ms. Veronica Grossetete from Fort Simpson.
Thank you, Mr. Menicoche. The Member for Monfwi, Mr. Lafferty.
Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. [Translation] I would also like to recognize some visitors in the gallery. My mother and father, who are Dora Marie and Maurice Lafferty, and my brother, and all the people who have supported me from Monfwi region. Also, there are a lot of Tlicho citizens from the Monfwi region. I would like to have them recognized in the gallery.
Thank you, Mr. Lafferty. Mr. Robert McLeod.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’d like to welcome my wife, Judy, to the gallery. It’s a very special day for me today. I’m 51 years old. I’m still a grandson. I have my grandmother in the gallery.
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I’d also like to recognize Margaret Gordon and Cheryl Wright, constituents of Inuvik Twin Lakes. Sarah Jerome is a constituent of Inuvik Twin Lakes.
Behind me I think are the Inuvik Drummers and Dancers. I’d like to recognize them, especially the ones from Inuvik Twin Lakes.
Thank you, Mr. McLeod. The Member for Inuvik Boot Lake, Mr. Moses.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to welcome all Inuvik members here to the gallery here today. The Inuvik Drummers and Dancers, of course, who are going to put on a great performance later on for us.
I’d also like to recognize William Greenland, a relative, and also I’d like to recognize Dave Reid, president of the NWT Teachers’ Association, and elder Sarah Tingmiak, who has done a lot for our community.
Thank you, Mr. Moses. Member for Hay River South, Mrs. Groenewegen.
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, Mrs. Groenewegen. Member for Hay River North, Mr. Bouchard.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’d like to recognize a couple of constituents as well. The acting president and CEO of the Power Corporation, Emanuel DaRosa.
Also a long-term resident of Hay River and part snowbird, Tracy Therrien.
Thank you, Mr. Bouchard. Member for Great Slave, Mr. Abernethy.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’d like to recognize a few constituents of the Great Slave riding: Bill Aho; Todd Parsons, who is the president of the UNW; Bren Kolson; Ilene Roth; David Brock; Kathy Paul-Drover; Bronwyn Watters; Penny Ballantyne; Paul Guy; Gary Bohnet; Mike Aumond; and my beautiful wife, Carolyn Smith; and, of course, my mom and dad, although they’re not from the Great Slave riding they’re up there too, Dick and Loretta Abernethy.
Thank you, Mr. Abernethy. The honourable Member for Frame Lake, Ms. Bisaro.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I think we’re going to have to call Great Slave the DM riding. I have one DM I’d like to recognize, constituent Dan Daniels, deputy minister of Education, Culture and Employment. Constituent Lyda Fuller, who is the executive director of the Yellowknife YWCA. I’d also like to recognize a good old – not in age – friend, Ms. Debbie DeLancey. It’s good to have you back, Debbie. Lorraine Phaneuf and Annemieke Mulders from the Status of Women Council of the NWT. I’d also like to recognize Al Shortt, chair of Yellowknife Education District No. 1. Welcome all.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I give notice that on Monday, October 31, 2011, I will move the following motion: Now therefore I move, seconded by the honourable Member for Nahendeh, that the Member for Yellowknife South, the Honourable Robert R.A. McLeod, is hereby chosen to be Premier and a member of the Executive Council of the Northwest Territories.
At the appropriate time I will be seeking unanimous consent to deal with this motion today.
