Jane Weyallon Armstrong will continue as MLA for the electoral district of Monfwi without opposition, but she says she’s not taking the opportunity for granted.
“I’m very thankful to my constituents for having faith in my ability to work for them,” Weyallon Armstrong said on Oct. 23, several days after her acclamation as Monfwi’s representative become official. “I’m very grateful.”
“I’m approachable, and whenever people talk to me, I listen,” she said. “A lot of them do feel comfortable talking to me, and so I’m just going continue with that. I’m here for them.”
Weyallon Armstrong was first elected as the MLA for the district, which consists of the Tlicho communities of Behchoko, Gameti, Wekweeti and Whati, in a July 2021 byelection.
She is excited for her first full term in the role, which she hopes will give her adequate time to tackle the issues she considers important, including housing, mental health, education and infrastructure.
“Two years was not enough,” she said. “Now I have a good four years.”
“There’s lots of need in the Tlicho region,” she added, noting that she hopes to give a voice to communities outside Yellowknife, which she believes sometimes feel neglected.
While Weyallon Armstrong has yet to serve a full term in the legislative assembly, she contends that she learned a lot during her first two years in the role.
The biggest lesson, she said, is the importance of persistence – though she admits that is something she has been advised of by the Elders in her community.
“You’ve got to be vocal, and you’ve got be persistent,” she said. “Saying something one time doesn’t mean it’s going to happen. You have to keep at it. You have to be consistent and persistent.
“That’s what the Elders have always said,” she added. “That, and you have to work together. You have to work with people, the government and everybody.”