Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I want to start off by just reflecting on the words of hope and collaborative leadership and also words of eagerness to get to work that we've heard here today from multiple colleagues. I share in that sentiment, and I am glad that that sentiment continues today throughout our statements.
I want to start off by thanking the residents of Kam Lake who, without their confidence, I would not be standing here today, and I am very grateful for their confidence in my ability to serve them for another four years.
You know, when we talk about serving our neighbours, our friends and our family, Kam Lake is very much all of those things for me, and I can tell you there's nothing more difficult than literally knocking on your older brother's door during a campaign period because if you want someone that's going to hold your feet to the fire pretty hard, it's going to be your older brother. So thank you to him for always holding me accountable.
I would also like to thank, at this point, my constituency assistant Leslie Straker who, for the last four years, has been absolutely dedicated with pride and joy and a ton of integrity to the people of Kam Lake and serving them for any of their needs and doing anything she can to make their lives even a little bit easier. So I have so much gratitude for the love that she brings to this job. And I thank her for that.
I'd also like to extend my utmost gratitude for what I consider one of the greatest supports for my ability to do this job, and that is my support network which is built up of my parents, my husband's parents, my in-laws, and also my friends who are able to pick up my children for me so that I can do this job and to make sure that they get to hockey practice and stuff like that, and so I have the utmost gratitude for people who continue to support all of us in the work that we do because while this is of service to the people in the Northwest Territories, we rely on the North, people of the Northwest Territories, to be able to do this job to the best of our ability.
Mr. Speaker, I couldn't say any thank you's without then thanking my children who are my biggest weakness and my greatest strength. And they are Jackson, Owen, and Dalyn, and also their father Jeffrey Bowden who is joining us here today. And without him, I wouldn't have had the courage to do this job and I wouldn't have the courage to keep doing this job. So I thank him for his unwavering support and patience. And thank you, Mr. Speaker, for sitting there today.
