Mr. Speaker, I want to take a moment before we all leave for the summer to reflect on our accomplishments as a Legislative Assembly over the past few weeks.
This has been the first extended working session of the 17th Assembly. It has been a long session, especially at this time of the year, but we have done some important work together.
One of the most important things we have done is passed the budget for the 2012-2013 fiscal year. As an Assembly, we have agreed to a vision of strong individuals, families and communities sharing the benefits and responsibilities of a unified, environmentally sustainable and prosperous Northwest Territories. The budget we have reviewed and approved will give our government the money to start making that vision a reality for all the people of the Northwest Territories.
Our debates have not been without their disagreements, Mr. Speaker. As leaders, we will often be called upon to make difficult decisions, decisions where the path forward is not always clear. There are many priorities and many demands; many things that we want to do for our people.
Unfortunately, our resources as a government are limited and will be for the foreseeable future. That means that we have to choose our priorities carefully. Together, we need to find the right balance of program spending and capital investment that will help us make progress on our social, environmental and economic agenda.
I want to thank Members on both sides of the House for the time and energy they have put into our debates these past three weeks. While we have not always agreed, I know that your questions and your decisions have always been made with the best interests of our people in mind. And in the end, we have succeeded in passing a budget that will put us on a path towards achieving the vision, goals and priorities that we set out when we first met. This is consistent with the spirit of consensus government.
The budget supports our people with funding to implement Building for the Future, for early childhood development, for mental health and addictions and to ease the transition to higher electricity rates. Our budget supports our economy with funding for sustainable mineral development and economic development strategies and for the negotiation and implementation of devolution. It supports our environment with money for renewable energy, for negotiating transboundary water agreements and the development of a sustainable land use framework.
This session has seen the Sahtu rejoin the devolution process by signing the agreement-in-principle. We saw the delivery of a Commissioner’s opening address laying out this government’s agenda. We unanimously passed a motion in support of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. We saw the tabling of the Mental Health and Addictions Action Plan, of the Aboriginal Government Engagement Strategy and of the Department of Justice Strategic Plan. We have committed to returning with an Anti-Poverty Strategy. These are accomplishments we can be proud of and which will help us achieve our vision as an Assembly. We have done good work in our first three sessions as a government, but it is only the beginning. There is more work to come.
Mr. Speaker, I would like to extend my good wishes to all Members and all the people of the Northwest Territories. I hope we all have a relaxing, enjoyable summer and look forward to returning to work when we convene again in the fall. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. McLeod. Colleagues, I’d like to draw your attention to some special guests we have in the gallery today.
Please join me in welcoming Mr. Hermann Sitz, Consul General of Germany, and his wife, Mrs. Ninna Sitz, on their first official visit to the Northwest Territories. Welcome to our Assembly for what I hope will be the first of many visits.
The Consul General and Mrs. Sitz will be joining the Premier and myself for the planting ceremony for the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee shrubs which will take place during our recess this afternoon. I invite all Members and members of the public to join us for this commemorative event.
