Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, today wraps up what has been a demanding and at times a difficult session. It has been a bit of a long haul, but looking back, we have made some significant accomplishments.
All Members of this House should be able to look back with some pride at the achievement of the budget. It may not be exactly what any of us had in mind at the outset, Mr. Speaker, but by defending our different perspectives, and through good-faith discussions and negotiations, we made progress and achieved an overall success. We have committed money to establish a 911 service after it was talked about for years, we can take pride in fully funded junior kindergarten, and it is important that we reinstated funding, at least for now, to the teacher education and social work programs at Aurora College.
This session wasn't just about passing a budget, though, Mr. Speaker. It was also about communication between the two sides of this House and with the public. I believe we made progress there as well. We have to keep working to make the relationship between Cabinet and Regular Members become the cohesive one that I know all of us believe it can and should be.
The residents who elected us are counting on us, Mr. Speaker, to continue to move forward on the many issues and challenges that face us. We must continue to work to make the Northwest Territories competitive on the national and international stages. We can do that by building on our strengths and assets.
Our products and resources are world class, Mr. Speaker. Yes, I am referring to our mineral wealth, which is rich and largely untapped. I am also including our renewable resources: an under-developed fishing industry in one of the largest lakes in all the world, and forests that would lend to a healthy reforestation opportunity that would continue the development of wood products and support the biomass industry. Our land, water, skies, and culture are the basis of another world-class industry that is just beginning to be realized, and that is the tourism sector. The Minister spoke about this earlier today.
Our people are another world-class resource, Mr. Speaker. Northwest Territories businesspeople are resourceful and hardworking. Our tradespeople are second to none. Our artists, filmmakers, authors, and musicians are emerging and accomplishing great things on the national and international stages. Of course, our furs garner the highest prices in the world markets. Mr. Speaker, I seek unanimous consent to conclude my statement. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
---Unanimous consent granted
Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and thank you, colleagues. Lastly, in challenging times, the road will sometimes be bumpy, Mr. Speaker. Solutions can be found if we apply our assets, human or otherwise. I look forward to the road ahead as we continue to deliver on the mandate commitments to best serve our residents. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Masi. Members' statements. Member for Sahtu.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, today we conclude our winter session. With it we conclude our 2017-18 budget.
I know that some of my colleagues here and some residents we serve may view our work as incomplete.
Not all needs were met.
Not all needs can be met.
Together we achieved the budget that will bring services to Northerners, especially Northerners in critical need, like our elders, our youth, our people with housing needs, and our people living below the poverty line.
We are also seeing some important investment in major highway infrastructure projects.
Although I would like to see this kind of spending brought to the Sahtu region, I am still glad to see the new projects that have come forward.
That is because, as MLAs, we work hard to move the NWT forward together, to serve the best interests of our people.
Remember, each day in the House, we are all reminded that we are here to work for the benefit of all our people. Those aren't just words.
So, Mr. Speaker, although session may be coming to a close, our work will not stop. Members will go back to their respective ridings and connect with their people and hear their questions and concerns. Committees will keep working on the legislation and progress before them. That includes review of the government's public account in April, so stay tuned. I know that the departments will keep on working, too. After all, the government is still facing a big backlog of work on federal acts and regulations that were mirrored in devolution.
Our growth as a territory depends on the work, Mr. Speaker, and successful economic development depends on what that work can do, such as -- Mr. Speaker I seek unanimous consent to conclude my statement.
---Unanimous consent granted
Thank you, colleagues. Such as:
Clarify regulatory and permitting processes;
Give certainty around land access;
Engage with all stakeholders; and
Strengthen us against the ups and downs of national and global markets.
We need that work. We need to collaborate and strategize. Why? Because, at the end of the day, we are very vulnerable to those ups and downs. When it comes to what we produce, whether it is diamonds, oil and gas, fish, timber, or tourism services, our products are only as valuable as consumers' desire to purchase them.
To weather these storms, we will need to work together, like we did for this budget. It will be difficult and have challenges on differences, but we have already proven that we can work together. Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.
Masi. Members' statements. Member for Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh.
