Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Politics were new to me and I want to offer some brief and random comments on the experience of the past four years.
People ask me, so, Bob, do you enjoy it? I always reply that I am not sure “enjoy” is the right word, but the job is fully engaging, it uses whatever you can bring to the table.
Another motivating aspect is that being at the table, your voice must be heard. People can choose to ignore your input or disagree with it or use it to modify their own thoughts, but fundamentally the electorate has provided you with a voice and this must be fully valued.
First, as Stephanie Nolen, a Globe and Mail foreign correspondent speaking on CBC’s program “Ideas” last night said, you must show up. This is equally true in politics. You must be at the table to use the privilege the electorate has provided you.
With this in mind, I want to deeply thank the citizens of Weledeh who have given me this opportunity and this trust. It has been an unimagined honour to serve as MLA for Weledeh and all people of the Northwest Territories. I thank the constituency assistants who have worked so hard for me and you, starting with Mr. Craig Yeo, my longest serving CA. We are a team. I thank Lani Cook, Julian Morse, and briefly Jaya Bastedo served early in my term. Similarly, I have found the Legislative Assembly staff the most extraordinary workers I have ever seen.
The late leader of Canada’s official opposition, the Honourable Jack Layton, has been a mentor to many politicians. On the business of doing politics, his fine last words serve us all: “My friends,” he said, “love is better than anger; hope is better than fear; optimism is better than despair. So let us be loving, hopeful, and optimistic and we’ll change the world.” I thank Mr. Layton for his service to the country and especially for his championship of those most in need. I offer my condolences to his family, friends, and comrades, and give thanks for his contribution to improving Canadian society.
Finally, with much love, I thank Marianne, to whom I owe so much, and all of my extended family for their support.
Mr. Speaker, to you and all my colleagues I say mahsi.
Thank you, Mr. Bromley. The honourable Member for Great Slave, Mr. Abernethy.
Mahsi cho, Mr. Speaker. Over the last eight years I have spoken often and determinedly on many issues, but today I will speak on the very reason I am here: the people of Nahendeh.
It has been an honour and a privilege to serve my constituents and I thank them for the confidence they have shown in returning me for a second term. I believe I have carried out my duties to them with energy, commitment, and dedication, and that I have worked hard to bring their issues to the attention of Ministers and this House, and that I have responded promptly to their inquiries and requests for assistance.
This October I will be asking the voters of Nahendeh for a third mandate, and should I be re-elected, I want to assure them that I will continue to be reliable, approachable, and to work hard on their behalf using my experience that I have gained as MLA for the last eight years.
We have won many improvements to our community services and infrastructure, but there’s still a long way to go. We need schools in Trout Lake and Nahanni Butte. Our highways, with their bathtub-sized potholes, need attention. Better housing with an appeal system. Better delivery of our health care. I hope to be back here this October to continue these battles on behalf of the Nahendeh people.
I wish Mr. Premier, Floyd Roland; and Mr. Speaker, Paul Delorey; and MLA David Krutko their best in retirement from public life. They have done well to serve their constituents and the people of the NWT. It was indeed an honour to serve with them in this Legislature.
I would also like to thank my children, Candace, Diedra, and Keone, for their love and support to me as a father and understanding the work as an MLA has sacrifices for a personal life.
I would also like to thank my constituency assistant, Pearl Norwegian, whose support I am very grateful for.
Also to all my family and friends, mahsi cho.
Thank you, Mr. Menicoche. The honourable Member for Kam Lake, Mr. Ramsay.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As this is the last day we will all be together in this House, I wanted to take this opportunity to thank some people.
First of all, thank you to the constituents of Kam Lake who four years ago returned me to the role of representing them, their families, and businesses here in the Legislature as the MLA for Kam Lake. It continues to be an honour and a privilege to serve you.
To my colleagues -- and I will start with those I know have decided to pursue other ventures -- Mr. Speaker, it has been a pleasure working with you over the past eight years. I have enjoyed our time together on the Board of Management, and your dedication and devotion to this House and the role of Speaker is to be commended. I wish you the very best, Mr. Speaker.
To our Premier, Mr. Floyd Roland, whom I firmly believe got into politics for all the right reasons: to serve the people of his riding of Inuvik Boot Lake and eventually all the residents of this territory.
Most recently, that role as Premier -- the “Big Job,” as he called it the other day -- even though we were at odds on some decisions over the years, I want to say to him that I admire his ability to stand up for what he believes is right. He’s been at this for 16 years and I want to thank him very much for the service not only to his constituents but to the people of the Northwest Territories, and wish him well in all his future endeavours.
To my colleague Mr. Krutko, who has served this House in many capacities over his 16 years of service, I want to say that committee meetings will not be the same without you there, sir.
---Laughter
---Applause
Mr. Krutko is a devoted champion for his riding of Mackenzie Delta, to his constituents, and in fact the small communities across the Northwest Territories. He’s going to be sorely missed.
To my other colleagues in this House, I thank you for all you have done to help improve this great territory of ours. Shortly we will all be out on the campaign trail in our respective ridings and I want to wish you all the best.
None of us would be able to do what we do here in the House without the help and advice of our staff, and I want to thank, first of all, Mr. Tim Mercer, Clerk of the Legislative Assembly, for the professional team he has assembled here in the Clerk’s office, corporate services, research, and library services. I also want to thank the Sergeant-at-Arms, Mr. Brian Thagard; our security staff; and the staff in our cafeteria.
I seek unanimous consent to conclude my statement.
---Unanimous consent granted
In closing I must thank my constituency assistant, Ms. Lynda Comerford. Lynda has been with me since the day I was elected in 2003. I believe she’s the second-longest serving CA in the building. She puts in a great deal of work for me, my office, and the constituents in Kam Lake. I want to thank her very much for her eight years of service to my office.
Once again to everybody, it has been a pleasure and an honour.
Thank you, Mr. Ramsay. The honourable Member for Hay River South, Mrs. Groenewegen.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Yesterday I took the opportunity to thank my colleagues on the Cabinet side of the House and I have a few more people I’d like to thank today.
I’d like to thank you, Mr. Speaker, for the 12 years that you have served and contributed to this Assembly and the people of Hay River and the Northwest Territories. They say you don’t get to choose your relatives, you don’t get to choose who your other partner’s going to be from the community you serve from if there are two, but I am pleased to say that we have become friends and you have done an amazing service to this Assembly over the years. I thank you for that.
Also, I would like to thank my colleague Mr. Krutko, one of the four in this Assembly who have now served 16 years, for his unwavering commitment and giving a voice to Northerners in this House. I had the privilege of serving as Deputy Speaker when Mr. Krutko was the Speaker. We travelled a little bit together. It was a little bit confusing to people, because everybody thought I was his wife. They didn’t understand that he was the Speaker, I was the Deputy Speaker, and we tried to get them on the straight and narrow on that.
Mr. Speaker, to my colleagues on this side of the House, it was a privilege. I thank you for allowing me to serve as the chair of the Priorities and Planning committee. We laughed this morning about that. We said there were a couple of times when they wanted to throw me out, but we persevered together and I do thank them for that very, very much.
Also, to the staff, Mr. Ramsay has articulated the staff under Mr. Mercer’s guidance. I would like to especially thank the Deputy Clerk, Mr. Schauerte, who was a smiling face when I entered this building 16 years ago, and has served as the clerk to the committee that I chaired of Priorities and Planning. Mr. Schauerte has not seemingly aged a day, in spite of all the stress we’ve put him through, which is remarkable in and of itself.
Mr. Speaker, I’d like to thank my constituency assistant Wendy Morgan. We have been a team for over 12 and a half years, and she has been such a support to me. They say that a constituency assistant is someone who helps the Member in the performance of their duties, and Wendy has gone way above and beyond the call of duty in supporting me in my role as the Member for Hay River South, and I thank her very much for that, as I know do the constituents of Hay River South for her generosity and concern. When I have not been around, she has listened to their issues and helped me to convey them on their behalf.
Mr. Speaker, I’d like to seek unanimous consent to conclude my statement.
---Unanimous consent granted
Mr. Speaker, I would also like to thank my family. My husband, Rick, is in the visitors’ gallery today. Last weekend we celebrated 34 years of marriage. When you do the math, 16 of those I’ve been here, and some people would say that’s the success of the whole thing, right?
---Laughter
That’s nearly half of my 34 years of marriage I’ve been doing this, but he has been my biggest supporter and I do thank him very, very much for that.
To my constituents of Hay River South, I’d like to thank them for the honour of representing them in this House. I am proud of what we’ve accomplished. We’ve got a few more things to do and I will be offering my 16 years of service back to the people of Hay River South again in the upcoming election on October 3rd. Thank you.
Thank you, Mrs. Groenewegen. The honourable Member for Tu Nedhe, Mr. Beaulieu.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’d like to use my final Member’s statement to thank a lot of people over the last four years.
Firstly, as I entered this building I thanked the citizens of Yellowknife Centre, and I’d like to begin the same way by finishing this term by thanking the constituents of Yellowknife Centre, the many friends and the seniors who constantly provide advice and support through the years. As we all know, we deal with challenging issues and sometimes very emotional and stressful issues, and many of my constituents have provided much needed advice and support through those and have been the guiding light and certainly the compass rose to many of the issues that I’ve had to seek advice, to get direction and make sure I’m responding appropriately.
Mr. Speaker, it’s very important to me to thank my best friend in the world. That would be my wife, Susan. She’s always been there through and through. She is the ear I bend at the end of the day, sometimes explaining what happened at work, and I ask, like, what the heck is going on. And she says the same type of response, but she’s been the pillar of the whole reason why I’ve been here. Without her on the team, I mean, it’s tough to do this job as it is.
To my two children, who I was able to get in their seats sitting attentively today, that would be McKinley and Hudson. You know, being an MLA is a difficult challenge as it is, but I think it goes unspoken many times about how challenging it is on the families and the children. Sometimes we don’t spend enough time together, but I do try to spend as much time as I can with them and I try to be as good a dad as exceptionally possible. It doesn’t mean I can’t spend more time, but I do promise that we do try as much as we can.
Mr. Speaker, some of the most memorable days this term I would say all started here working with some of the people in this Assembly. Ironically, some of the most stressful days have been working with the same people around this room in this Assembly. But to that, I won’t spend a lot of time thanking everyone individually, but I would just say that it’s been challenging; but I would also say, in some respects, it’s also been rewarding working with everyone.
Mr. Speaker, just highlighting a couple things: It’s been a privilege to see what we’ve been able to do on supplementary health benefits, the dementia centre, e-petitions, the downtown clinic, and even distracted driving, to name a few. But it’s been great that we’ve been able to move so many initiatives forward.
Mr. Speaker, the work needs to continue. There’s a fair bit of work left on the agenda to do, even though our days are short, so I just want to say and end with this, Mr. Speaker, as I see my time coming up, I just want to say thank you to the citizens of Yellowknife Centre and I look forward to seeing you on the doorsteps very shortly, and I appreciate every bit of advice, support and direction you’ve given me to date and in the future.
Thank you, Mr. Hawkins. The honourable Member for Nunakput, Mr. Jacobson.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. First of all I’d like to recognize the Members who will not be seeking re-election. I’d like to recognize yourself, Mr. Speaker, for your work and leadership as Speaker and to say we all recognize the hard work you’ve been doing on behalf of your constituents in your role as Speaker.
I also want to recognize cousin David Krutko.
---Laughter
I think David has the world record for asking questions in the Legislative Assembly and Committee of the Whole. I was going to say I was going to miss his questions. On second thought, I don’t think I’ll say that. I’ll say I’ll miss his accompanying me on several business trips annually.
---Laughter
Also I want to recognize Premier Roland, his leadership. We played hockey together on many occasions. I also wish to recognize his willingness to make tough decisions when called upon and when required. I wish all three of you the very best.
Also I want to take this opportunity to announce that I will be seeking re-election as the MLA for Yellowknife South in the 17th Legislative Assembly. It’s been a well kept secret, although I’ve tried to announce it four or five times in different venues.
---Laughter
So hopefully this time it will stick.
Listening to my colleagues today, it comes to mind why we all ran in the first place. In my case, I ran because I felt I could make a difference for the people in Yellowknife and people in the Northwest Territories. I tried to think why do we run again, and I think we all run again because we want to help people, and we can help people, and we all realize that there’s a big job left to be done and we want to be part of it.
I want to thank my family, friends, supporters, constituents of Yellowknife South for the honour of serving them as MLA. I want to recognize the work of my office staff: Katherine Robinson, Hilda Camirand, and my CA, Darlene Mandeville.
Thank you, Mr. McLeod. The honourable Member for Inuvik Twin Lakes, Mr. Robert McLeod.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. They say time flies when you’re having fun. They also say time flies when you pass 40. I’m not sure which of the two applies here but I can’t believe how quickly the last four years have gone.
It’s been an interesting four years and, as we’ve heard, we’ve had a few Members... Mr. Speaker is not returning. We appreciate the work you’ve done. Mr. Krutko and Mr. Roland, as somebody referred to the two old bulls, they’re not coming back. I wish you all well.
To my colleagues, I wish you all well. Those that are seeking re-election I look forward to the opportunity, with the blessing of the residents of Inuvik Twin Lakes, to serving with you again.
I have to thank my staff, Robert and Heather, and Leah up in Inuvik. They do a lot of work on your behalf and it’s their job to make you look smart. Sometimes they have to work really hard at it.
I really have to thank the residents of Inuvik Twin Lakes. I’m very grateful and humbled by the opportunity they’ve given me, and the support and encouragement I’ve gotten from folks back home. It’s not always what you want to hear, but sometimes they tell you the truth and it’s a good thing.
We all realize as politicians that we’re in this arena a lot and we spend a lot of time away from home. Our families are the ones that have to go without us for long periods of time. We’ve heard a couple of Members touch on it. I have to thank my family. They’ve been a big support. When I started this I had no grandchildren. I have three now and one on the way. If there’s any consolation for them, when Grandpa comes home from being in Yellowknife or on trips, it’s almost like Christmastime. They don’t mind that too much. But we have to thank them. They’re the ones, especially during the campaigns, there’s a lot of stuff that goes on that we’re just used to. We’ve grown fairly thick skin and they have to put up with it, and sometimes that bothers them. They show a lot of strength and we have to thank them.
I have to thank my wife, Judy, my biggest supporter and probably one of my biggest critics too. Anything helps. With all the feedback we get from everyone, I think it’s much appreciated.
With that, Mr. Speaker, good luck to you and Mr. Krutko and Mr. Roland, and to my colleagues, the best of luck to you all and I look forward to possibly seeing most of you here again.
Thank you, Mr. McLeod. The honourable Member for Monfwi, Mr. Lafferty.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It’s good to see you were saving the best for last.
I considered making a response to the opening address yesterday and I crafted a long list. Then I looked at it and it was all about me. Since I don’t like to brag about myself, I’ll just keep it short.
I did want to say farewell to a number of people who are leaving us today, and best of luck. First of all to yourself, Mr. Speaker. I think we’re the only two left from the people who were elected in the 14th Assembly. I thank you for your time here and working with you. I want to wish you the best of luck.
Of course our Premier, who has decided not to run again. It’s been a real long eight years that we’ve worked together, especially in our time on Cabinet. We didn’t always see eye to eye, but we’ve managed to resolve issues and move forward.
I also wanted to wish David the best of luck. I think David is one of the few people that can still wear his moosehide jacket after all these years. The rest of us no longer fit them.
Most of us will be travelling home to start our campaigns, to start connecting with our constituents, and get our teams together, and start putting our platforms together if we haven’t already done so.
I wanted to say thank you to my staff over the years. I’ve had a number of constituency assistants. Lately Cynthia’s been working with me and she’s done a very good job and I’ve been very happy with her work. I also have to thank Doug Pon, who’s been with me for the whole term that I was a Minister of the last eight years. He’s always been very loyal and helped me steer out of trouble. Also Rachel, who has been with me in the last while and is doing a very good job; I’m very happy with her work.
I also have to say a special thank you to my family, who has stuck with me for these many years. It was interesting to hear my daughter at a federal candidates forum in Fort Providence who was there representing the youth and asked questions to the candidates. She did an interview with CBC later on and they asked her, they made the point of indicating to her that she seemed fairly familiar with territorial issues and wanted to know when she developed an interest in politics. She answered by saying that she was born into it. I think she was a young baby when I got involved in politics, and today she left for college. I’m very proud of her.
Thank you, Mr. McLeod. Your time for your Member’s statement has expired.
Mr. Speaker, I seek unanimous consent to conclude my statement.
---Unanimous consent granted
I want to quickly thank my constituents for the support they’ve shown, to all my friends in the communities of the Deh Cho. I will be seeking support for running another term. I will be back in the community starting Friday and be gearing up for the election.
I want to say in closing, best of luck to all my colleagues who are running again and best of luck to all the candidates who are planning to put their names forward.
Thank you, Mr. McLeod. Item 4, reports of standing and special committees. The honourable Member for Kam Lake, Mr. Ramsay.
