Mr. Speaker, I'm pleased to rise today to talk about the relationships I formed during my time in this Assembly. I will begin with Indigenous governments and organizations. I'm proud of many things we've accomplished during this term but if I was to pick one, I would say it's forming the Council of Leaders as a place where all leaders are invited and have a place to discuss programs and services aside from those restricted to the Intergovernmental Council. As a Minister, the lack of this opportunity was one of the biggest complaints I heard from the Indigenous leaders, and it seem so easy to address. It actually was a lot of work organizing, but we did it. Great work, team.
Relationships, though, go both ways. And I've learned a lot from the many Indigenous leaders I've met over my term. One wise leader told me when I first started that I had to hear not only listen. So I worked hard at hearing past the angry words thrown at me, to hear the pain that it came from, and to do my best to find solutions that we could agree to. I was honoured when later this same leader said to his Members, this Premier not only listens, she hears. To this leader, thank you.
Other leaders gently guided me, helped me build my own skills as a leader. One of my most treasured was when I was told, Premier, the elders don't like when our leaders get angry. And I was given a precious key chain that helps me control my emotions when I'm criticized in this Legislative Assembly. I'm still working on this but each day I get better. To this leader, thank you. Thank you. Thank you.
Many Indigenous leaders greeted me with kindness and gifted me by reenforcing my belief that to truly be happy in myself, in ourselves, we must try to help people whenever possible. And it's never okay. It's never okay to purposefully harm others physically, mentally, or verbally. It's not okay. I thank the many Indigenous leaders I have met and remember you all for the knowledge and strengths you brought to the table.
The next relationship I want to talk about is those with Cabinet Ministers. Some of my strongest relationships over this term are formed with my Cabinet colleagues. I am grateful for each of your individual gifts that together make us strong as a team. I am proud of the work of Ministers during my term as Premier, and I'm proud of the relationships we formed during this government. Three of our Ministers were Regular Members in the last Assembly, and three came in new to this Assembly. No Minister, other than myself, had any Cabinet experience, and as said to me at the start of my first term, when you're elected as Minister you hit the ground running. Not only did this Cabinet have a sharp learning curve normal for every newly formed Cabinet, we were all, all new to our Cabinet roles, and we were hit with life threatening crisis after crisis over the entire term. Members of Cabinet, though, stepped up, and our first priority became to ensure the residents were safe. We all know that COVID, floods, and fires took any money we had for new initiatives of this Assembly. But I'm amazed at each Minister's ability to still accomplish incredible work within their individual departments.
It's hard being on Cabinet and constantly being told you need to do better. But I saw how much each of you worked, how much each of you cared, and all of you should be proud of your work that you did over this term to make the lives of residents better.
I'll now talk about relationships with Regular Members.
This Assembly was harder than others in that we were never afforded the benefit of being able to meet in person for the first two years. That was unfortunate. But nevertheless, I saw the genuine care that each of you have for your constituents, for Indigenous people, and for all residents of the NWT. Even though we didn't always agree, I saw in each of you the special gifts that you brought to this Assembly.
Mr. Speaker, it's through each of us having different gifts, different skills, and strengths that we truly represent the people of the Northwest Territories. Most of you will run again, and hopefully many of you will be reelected. I look forward to seeing what you all accomplish in the next governments and watching your progress as some of you elected will get elected into the next Cabinet.
Mr. Speaker, one of the most treasured relationships I have gained is that with employees of the Government of the Northwest Territories. I'll start with the deputy ministers. The huge workload we had as elected officials was compounded for you. Not only did you have your normal roles of guiding and overseeing the departments, you also had an exceptionally difficult term. All of you had to work many, many additional hours to implement Cabinet direction, to keep residents safe, and step up programs and services at an incredible pace to accomplish this goal. You went above and beyond in carrying out your duties, and the Government of the Northwest Territories and residents are lucky to have had you in your positions. Thank you for the work you provided and for your commitment to the Northwest Territories. To the staff within all departments, all of you were faced with having to still perform your duties during the first pandemic most of us have ever seen. Not knowing what the future would bring, you continued to keep the operations of government going throughout. Many of you also experienced the devastation of floods and/or fires personally and yet you continued to put the needs of residents before your own, and that is true public service. Each of you deserves to be recognized and to be provided of your commitments.
To the staff within the Legislative Assembly, your work to keep the Assembly functioning has been outstanding. It's hard trying to give support to 19 Members, many of whom were new to their positions four years ago. You have amazed me with your dedication to the Assembly. And even though I know you've had your own trials and tribulations, I have seen your commitments and appreciate all the support you provided to me and others as MLAs.
To the staff within EIA, executive and Indigenous affairs, I've been a Minister of many departments over my time in office, but I am exceptionally proud and impressed by the staff within executive and Indigenous affairs. Your level of professionalism, compassion, and commitment as your carry out your job duties has been outstanding. From our communications team, the regional government service officers, our ministerial and Cabinet support teams, negotiations and intergovernmental affairs team, and our gender equity unit, each of you has been vital in ensuring Cabinet functions as best as possible, the needs of residents are considered at all times, and that we continue to build relationships no matter what hurdles are thrown at us. You are incredible, and I was honoured to lead you through the last four years.
To the staff within my office, some of you have been here since the beginning of my term, and some have joined throughout the term. A few have left, but their commitment to myself and this office remains, and I can't say enough about how much your support means to me. No individual can do the work in this office alone and having a strong team is critical, and I have that in my team. There are two individuals that I want to highlight, Mr. Speaker. My principal secretary, Shaleen Woodward, and our Cabinet secretary Martin Goldney. Every position in government is critical to ensure the efficient functioning of government. However, these two positions are the most important to a Premier as their roles are to give honest, critical advice, and support. When beginning politics eight years ago, I didn't know either of these individuals but I watched their performance over the years and knew that they would be the best choices for me personally. Neither have let me down. These two individuals have been expectational in both their support to me personally and in carrying out their duties to oversee the operations of Cabinet and the bureaucracy. I am forever grateful to have been able to work with you over the years. I've met many people throughout my working career, and many I respect to this day; however, I'm very careful in calling people my friends as this title is based on loyalty, trust and love. For years, I could name my true friends on one hand and now I have to add the other hand as I consider both Martin and Shaleen my friends. And I will be there for you wherever you are, whatever you do. I hope you feel the same.
I also want to acknowledge my constituents, campaign team, and supporters. You don't know how critical you are to keeping politicians going. It's tough in the limelight all the time and knowing that no matter what you do, you'll not be able to please everyone. In an atmosphere where it's easy to target, your positive support is crucial, critical, and important in keeping each of us going strong.
My family, thank you for being you, for standing beside me throughout my term, for putting up with my neglecting you to take care of all of the residents. You've been my strength throughout, and I can't express how much I love each of you. Thank you for being you and for being there for me.
Mr. Speaker, relationships go two ways, and all of us have a duty in our roles within the public service as elected officials and our staff. Every one of us has a role in ensuring we continue to build relationships and thereby trust in our work. I've learned so much from all of you, and I thank you all for your teachings and support to make me a better leader and a better person in general. Thank you, everyone. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
