Shane Thompson

Ladies and gentlemen, I'd like to thank our elder that has come back, Member from the 18th and 19th Assembly. As we have done with our traditional, our opening, you know, guiding words, the blessings, I'd like to thank Mr. O'Reilly for actually being here today. You know, being an elder, he left us, but we still appreciate all his work that he's done for us in the 18th and 19th Assembly. So thank you very much, Kevin.

Today is going to be very hard for me, as I do a celebration of life for Isadore Simon. I was very fortunate to call him and Lucy, mom and dad. He was born on November 7, 1945, in Rocher River, NWT to Charlotte Simon and David King. Isadore was raised in Rocher River by Joseph Jerome and Charlotte. Isadore had TB at a young age and when he was released from the hospital, he lived with the Dumels who took care of him. Isadore lived there until he was forced to relocate to Fort Resolution after the school burnt down.

Isadore was taught his tradition skills of hunting and trapping by his stepdad...

Ladies and gentlemen, with a deep heart I will be doing this eulogy. Vincent James Bertrand was born in Yellowknife on September 4th, 1985, to parents Norma Bertrand and Melvin Timbre. When Vince was younger, his dad would make him a toboggan out of cereal boxes and pop cans. Vince would play outside for hours pulling his toboggan with his toys inside of it.

Vincent grew up in Fort Liard and was raised by his grandparents Mary Jane and William Bertrand. His grandfather William gave Vince his traditional name of SehSeh. Vince loved spending his time with his grandparents and traveling with them...

Good afternoon, colleagues. As we are all aware, the Arctic Winter Games were held in the MatSu Valley in Alaska. The Games will mostly take place in the Valley's two largest cities, Palmer and Wasilla. Just an hour north of Anchorage, separated by 16 miles, they serve as a major hub of commercial, tourism, and recreation. The games are being held March 10th to the 16th. We will witness approximately 2,000 participants, coaches, admission staff, and officials from eight contingencies attend these games.

Colleagues, I'm very proud to say we have nine athletes representing five sports, one coach...

I'd like to thank Karen Mitchell for the blessing today.

Colleagues, when you think about snowboarding, you think about mountain, ski resorts, but it is a sport that has taking hold in the Northwest Territories. It is a great opportunity to observe youth being youth vulnerable, risky, daring, adventurous, and being silly. It is amazing watching youth making memories and, more importantly, with friends. Beyond the warm clothes and wintery ambience lies a culture that you need to see to appreciate.

In the North, you must find a creative way to get the participants on top of the hill. Sometimes it takes hiking up the hill to go down. Other times, it's...

Thank you. I'd like to thank Marc Casaway for the prayer this morning.

I'd like to thank Mary Jane Cazon for the opening blessing here.

Members, before we begin, I would like to welcome the Honourable Jenna Sudds Minister of Family, Children, and Social Development to the Legislative Assembly. I would also like to welcome back to the Assembly our MP Michael McLeod, a Member of the 14th, 15th, and 16th Assembly as well as a former Minister in two Assemblies. And he was my Minister and my boss, so. As well, my former colleague in the 18th and 19th Assembly, Mr. Kevin O’Reilly was my sat beside each other for four years, and he asked a whole bunch of questions in...

I'd like to thank Annie Inuktalik for the opening blessing.

Members, I want to go back to my original words to you when I first took this Chair. I promised to do everything in my power to be a Speaker that enables indepth debate of ideas; a Speaker that enforces the rules; a Speaker that allows for freedom of speech that respects order and decorum.

Members, healthy debate will often come close to the line and in some cases the line is crossed. If you are unsure, watch the reaction of Members. You will see on the faces of others that your remarks have crossed the line and caused disorder. You...

Good afternoon, Members. Two weeks ago I had the pleasure of attending the Paul Stipdonk Memorial Soccer Tournament. It was the second time since the pandemic they cancelled the previous tournaments. As I stated previously in this House, this tournament is a bit unique in that they don't keep score, teams are mixed up, and we do not have winners or losers. The focus is on the youth having fun and playing the sport; something that the namesake was all about.

Besides playing the sport, the youth are given the opportunity to attend a skills competition event on Saturday. This year, we had athletes...