Michael McLeod

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to recognize today a hard-working staff member from MACA, Beverly Chamberlin. I believe she is accompanied by her father. Welcome.

---Applause

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I'd like to recognize a former constituent, Samantha Paulette. Thank you.

Mr. Speaker, I'd like to request consent to conclude my statement.

Mr. Speaker, my family couldn’t join us today, so I am especially pleased to see some members from my hometown: Mr. Wayne Vandell, Pascilina Therbert, Hilda Saborin, Theresa Bonnetrouge, Diane Gargan and a former constituent, Albert Canadien is with us today. Welcome to all of you.

---Applause

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I'd like to welcome all our visitors and all the constituents that are here from the Deh Cho and the community leaders that have joined us.

I wanted to take the opportunity to thank the people in the Deh Cho for giving me the strong showing of support during this past election, this campaign period. I think all Members that have been acclaimed at one time or another will agree that being acclaimed is a lot easier than campaigning, and I certainly appreciate all the people that supported me.

I also wanted to thank all the people from the Hay River Reserve, Enterprise...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to provide my colleagues with an update on the status of the joint work being undertaken by the Department of Municipal and Community Affairs and the Department of Health and Social Services on ground ambulance and highway rescue services.

Over the past several years, community governments and other stakeholders have raised concerns about the lack of a comprehensive, coordinated system of ground ambulance and highway rescue services in the Northwest Territories, and about the need for clarity with regard to service levels, responsibility for service...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I am honoured to recognize my wife, Judy, who has come down to help us celebrate the last day of the 15th Assembly. Thank you.

---Applause

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and thank you, colleagues. Mr. Speaker, I don’t know if everybody recognizes, but Mr. Bell really has a very wild sense of humour. In the last while we’ve been sitting together and we’re just like the two old men from the Muppet Show.

---Laughter

We’ve watched as people stood up to ask questions and tried to predict what they’re going to say and Brendan usually wins and he won more money off me today.

---Laughter

We talk about people’s clothes, we talk…

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I’m going to use my last Member’s statement of this 15th Assembly to reflect on my just over two and a half years here. It has been a privilege, and I mean that sincerely, to serve the people of Inuvik Twin Lakes. I look forward to the opportunity to reaffirm their confidence in me and come back and do some more battle in the 16th.

I thoroughly enjoyed working with my colleagues on this side of the House, especially those in Social Programs. We had many discussions; we had differences of opinion; but you always acted in the best interests of your...

So it’s really been interesting sitting next to him and I wish him all the best.

Mr. Dent is also leaving us and he’s been really a great person to ask for advice on rules and some of the history and I’m sure we’re all going to miss his expert little opinions on a lot of things. Although, I’ve been finding out over the years that some of the rules that he’s been telling me I had to follow were not always correct and were sometimes in his favour. So I wish him all the best.

Mr. Speaker, our Premier is also moving on and I really want to thank him for setting a work ethic that I’ve tried to...