My community is polarized and fragmented, and in decline because of it. I will foster unity and through that make Thebacha/Fort Smith stronger. To start, I will work with other local leaders to establish a leaders' council that will include both First Nations, the Métis and the mayor and we will meet regularly to work on common goals.

Some of the issues, such as the future of Aurora College and the malaise in our health care system, are N.W.T. matters as well and we will seek out leaders from other communities to work with us.

As a journalist I have watched, analyzed and reported on the workings of the N.W.T. government, as well as the needs and challenges of Thebacha for over 30 years. As an editorial writer, I focused on issues and challenges and detailed solutions. I feel as though I have been in training for the role of MLA for decades.

Beyond that, I have run multiple businesses in the N.W.T., including two in Yellowknife and six in Fort Smith. I have a unique perspective of business opportunities and challenges in a small N.W.T. community versus the capital city.

I have hired and trained over five hundred people in my career. I scoured the country and sought out the best and brightest and brought them to the N.W.T. to live. I was able to work with amazing individuals, many of them my friends today.

The best part of that is, many of them stayed and settled in Fort Smith to grow families. Indeed, three of those are currently on town council, two others were recently fire chiefs, while several have important roles at the college. It is a great honour to have played such a pivotal role in their lives.

Global warming and the impacts of climate change together are the single greatest issue facing the N.W.T.

That is our great challenge and needs to define all that we do going forward.

A lack of unity is hobbling Thebacha/Fort Smith making us weak and vulnerable. As a result, our riding is in decline, losing important aspects of what we have now and facing the loss of future economic opportunities and jobs.

Thebacha/Fort Smith needs to become strong — to unite and fight for a better future. Then our community will be unstoppable.

The creation of a leaders' council in Thebacha will be an important first step in unifying the community and that will commence a new process that will make Fort Smith stronger and more resilient. But that is an easy first step. The more challenging next phase will be engaging the community in the fight.

If I accomplish only that it will be a big win.

There are impacts on communities, including melting permafrost and increased number and intensity of wildfires, that have to be addressed immediately. We also need to work harder at saving the great caribou herds from extinction.

But those are only the beginning. Global warming (the climate emergency) is at the top of my priorities.

Our N.W.T. version of consensus government is undemocratic. It takes only nine of the 19 MLAs to vote in a premier (plus their own vote). That is hardly an example of "democracy."

The choice of premier should be by the people of the N.W.T., where they vote for their preferred candidate based on the best platform. That would make our system truly democratic and provide a working plan for governance.

Our consensus government system must be improved — assessed, analyzed and refined — but only in a way that the people of the N.W.T. have a significant say.

We have to change our approach to economy and energy generation with a greater focus on quality of life in the communities. That is different than what we do now: subsidizing corporations to come to the N.W.T. to harvest mineral and petroleum resources and get some measure of spin-off economy.

In addition to wiser resource development, we need to build local community economies, including the ability to produce food. How we generate energy in the communities will be a part of that shift, where they will be largely weaned off fossil fuels to become more self-reliant.

The formation of a leaders' council in Thebacha would be a priority, working with the two local First Nation chiefs as well as the president of the Métis Council and the mayor of Fort Smith in a united effort to build a stronger and better community for all.

Additionally, if invited, I would like to attend Dene Assemblies — to be there to listen and learn.

No, at least not in the first two years.

No, at least not before two years.

I'm a very strong, capable leader, a very capable person. With my business background and my knowledge, and being able to research before I make a decision, and how it's going to impact the everyday person, that's what I'm all about. I'm about accountability, I'm about transparency, I'm about making sure that each and every person who walks through my door is treated equally.

My whole history of leadership is about organization, and building relationships, and bringing people together for the right reasons. I've been able to accomplish many things in my past leadership because of this. That's what I do best.

The people of Fort Smith know me best for strong leadership and compassion. I was born and raised in Fort Smith, I grew up here, I invested in this community.

Several accomplishments! I have the only Tim Hortons out of Yellowknife, which is a big accomplishment. Everybody's astonished every time they come here, both visitors and people in the community. It's a gathering place. We have a full service Petro Canada station, it's the only one in the Northwest Territories, and Fort Smith has that.

And in my own private life too, I'm so happy that I've been in business for almost 45 years plus, and I've given back to this community and the community that supported us.

I think there was a lack of business sense in direction from elected members on the economy. Because I feel that there was some mistakes made, with regards to even the diamond mines. There was nothing in their agreements that said they should have had the agreements when they were doing it, that they should have made sure that the offices of the diamond mines would stay up here, that they would not move to Calgary.

You cannot make those kinds of mistakes in business. You have to cover all avenues, and you have to do it that way, because you're doing it for the people. It's the same thing, you know?

I think we're overregulated. How can an economy flourish if you're overregulated? I also think that there's a lot of potential, there's a lot of innovative ways of doing things. And you have to look at that. You can't look at it from a bureaucratic point of view. You have to look at it from a business point of view. Saving dollars, instead of doing three projects, you could do four projects for the same cost if the decisions were done properly.

I question sometimes how the decisions are being made, because I see things a bit differently. And that's a good thing! Challenging the status quo is not a problem for me.

The future of Aurora College. This is probably the most important election in Fort Smith in decades. We have a cornerstone decision that could go either way.

I still remain very committed to this being the education centre of the North. The headquarters of Aurora College has to remain in Fort Smith. And if I get elected MLA, that's where it's going to be. There will be no "nos," there will be no "maybes."

Everything can't get centralized to one location. If we're going to practice decentralized government, then we have to practice what we preach.

Beyond the college, maximizing the Taltson hydro expansion to benefit Fort Smith is extremely important. We should be calling the shots.

In my time as leader, from 2007, I have accomplished many things. I will be accomplishing more than one thing. I will be ensuring that we build relationships to accomplish many things.

But the one thing that is on top of the list is to make sure that the headquarters of the education centre stays in Fort Smith. I'm very firm on that.

Climate change is an issue. I think that as an Indigenous person, climate change and all these things are part of our culture. We're automatically into that mode of making sure that we mitigate the impacts of clean water, and good air, and all those things that affect people on the land. I have no problem with that.

But on the other hand, I believe in balanced development, balanced economic opportunities. Because everyone has to put food on the table.

First of all, I would make sure leadership gives direction. I think we have too many high paid deputy ministers that are making decisions for the little guy in all these small communities, all the communities out of Yellowknife. And it's detrimental to the middle class, and the ordinary people of the Northwest Territories. And it's not a big territory! Everybody knows everybody. It's got to be more personal. The decisions are affecting a lot of people.

Take for example, this airport runway. I have it in my platform, resurfacing of the runway. That's extremely important! In Yellowknife, they put the lights outside the runway. In Fort Smith, we're the guinea pigs. They cut the runway, take 50 feet off each side, and put the lights there. Why would they do that, damage a whole runway to put in LED lights. Does that make sense? That's unbelievable!

The economy is a very big issue for the Northwest Territories. Too many rules, too much of everything. We're a small population up here. You have people in offices that make more rules and more rules, and you turn people off that way.

You've got to be able to open the door, and assess what's there, and make a decision. That's what we do in business. You don't need to have 100 bureaucrats telling you it's a good decision before you do something. Everything is about logic, about making sure that you make a proper, reasonable decision based on what's put in front of you.

My relationship with the GNWT, when I was at Salt River, at times could have been strained, but they weren't. I'm a person who gets to mediate problems, and the Indigenous relationship with government was an incredible relationship.

The intergovernmental affairs, and also the Indigenous department and some of the mediation that I've been in with different levels of government was positive.

I've got to get elected first. Everything else comes after.

I've got to wait until I get elected first. The people of Fort Smith will decide that.

I have served as an MLA and Cabinet Minister since 2015 and believe that I can further contribute.

I have served as a MLA for the past 4 years. Prior to 2015, I served on municipal council for a period of 14 years. I was a practising lawyer in Fort Smith for almost 32 years and taught at the college part-time for 30 years.

The passage of a modernized Corrections Act in the 18th Assembly.

Financial issues, both governmental and private.

The biggest issue in this riding is the future of the college.

The transition of Aurora College to a polytechnic university, headquartered and centred in Fort Smith.

Continue to examine alternate fuel sources such as solar and wind.

Attempt to make the government more responsive to the needs of its citizens.

Continue to promote tourism and other non-traditional economies.

The settlement of outstanding land claims.

Yes.

No.

I am ready! I have been an advocate for some time. I am very concerned with where the government is going. These are challenging times and we cannot advance as a town or a territory with divisive goals or centralization.

I have been in business for 28 years. I held a position as a CA for 15 years, that job showed me all sides of this community and the struggles people face and the challenges in the system.

I have volunteered most of my life, I can bring people together to accomplish goals that most thought would never happen.

I am most proud of the work ethic that was instilled in me by my mother. It has helped me accomplish many life goals, including being a strong business owner for 28 years, raising a wonderful family including three beautiful grandchildren, as well as accomplishing goals to help the community such as the track and dialysis fundraising.

Centralization and the undermining of consensus government.

The proposed move to hive off Aurora College headquarters under the guise of creating a polytechnic university in Yellowknife. If it becomes a reality in this financial climate, it should be in Fort Smith.

Let's build on and use current infrastructure. Our previous agreements and successes with other education institutions should not be ignored.

I want to see the legislature take back control from the bureaucracy so all regions and communities are strong and not fighting each other for scraps. It makes us all vulnerable for pillaging.

We need to unite this entire territory and all levels of government to address the challenges and realities of climate change. Everyone needs to be at the table so we are moving forward together. We could invest in other forms of energy to reduce the reliance on fuel. There is a economy that can be directly tied to this.

See question 6.

They need to better utilize what is already available,such as our fibre optic link, and support and create an energy industry to help get us off fuels.

Address land claims so industry has certainty and do business with land owners.

Honour agreements with Indigenous people. They have a rightful place at the table, and their governments should be recognized. The government has been dragging their feet to the point that they want to deal with the feds rather than our own government.

It is my intention to be elected MLA for Thebacha.

It is my intention to be elected MLA.