Mr. Silver: Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. I rise today on behalf of the Liberal Caucus to pay tribute to November 15 to 22, Bullying Awareness Week. I would like to thank the Member for Mount Lorne-Southern Lakes for my tie today, which is pink.

Mr. Speaker, across the street from the Legislature, there is a banner that’s on the front of the Yukon Teachers’ Association building and it alerts us of bullying and violence and how it’s not okay. Bullying is an issue that touches all people, directly or indirectly, regardless of their age, their gender, their culture, their history or their nationality. Whether that bullying is in the form of physical, verbal, relational or cyberbullying, we all need to work to address it.

Mr. Speaker, Canada ranks an embarrassing 26^th out of 35 countries on measuring bullying victimization according to the World Health Organization. We can and we should do better. We must all work together to prevent bullying through education and awareness, taking responsibility to challenge bullying when it happens. This is true in our communities, in our schools, in our families and in our workplaces.

Speaking about workplaces, Mr. Speaker, here in the Legislature, our own behaviour is not always as exemplary as it should be, but as people who are elected to represent the citizens of the Yukon, we should carry a higher burden to lead by example. Here in the Legislature, we necessarily deal with challenging issues, Mr. Speaker, and it’s absolutely important that we have passionate debates to represent Yukoners as best we can. At the same time, it is also important that we conduct ourselves in such a way that does not diminish colleagues from across the floor.

So, Mr. Speaker, for my part, I will commit to be part of the solution. As the Liberal leader, I commit to improving my own behaviour, to lead by example and to contribute to the Legislature where respect is always present.

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker.