NORTHWEST TERRITORIES
It wasn't an average school day for students in Gameti and Wekweeti on April 18.

Speaker Jackson Lafferty, who is also the MLA for Monfwi, speaks to students at Jean Wetrade Gameti School on the morning of April 18 about his role at the legislative assembly. - Kirsten Fenn/NNSL photo

Rather, they got a bit of the royal treatment.

That morning, the speaker of the legislative assembly and a handful of other staff boarded a small plane headed for the two communities, packing an important territorial symbol with them - the mace.

"I want to reach out to the smallest, most isolated communities because they don't get to see much of what's happening in a big centre like Yellowknife," said Jackson Lafferty, assembly speaker and MLA for Monfwi.

For the last 10 years, the speaker has travelled to different communities as part of an annual mace tour.

The goal is to educate students around the territory about the legislative assembly and connect them to territorial officials.

More than that, it's designed to inspire students to get involved in opportunities such as the assembly's page program or youth parliament, and show them that "in small communities, you can still get involved," Lafferty said.

So far, the mace has travelled to 15 communities, legislative assembly clerk Tim Mercer told students in Gameti last week.

Last year, it went to Fort Providence and Kakisa, Jackson said.

But it was a lucky group of about 50 students from Gameti and less than 30 from Wekweeti who had the rare opportunity to get up close and personal with the mace this time, learning all about its design, history, and the role the speaker plays keeping the legislative assembly in order while it is in session.

They were brimming with questions, but also fired back answers during a game of mace trivia following a presentation from officials.

"We've had a lot of celebrations and things come through but never anything of this magnitude," said Brendan Mulcahy, principal at Jean Wetrade Gameti School.

That's why it came as a pleasant surprise when he found out the speaker wanted to visit his school.

"We don't get a lot of visitors and we try to get the kids out as much as we can," Mulcahy said. "But for a big group to come in and put on the presentation that they did, it was an incredible opportunity for our students."

Students in Wekweeti were just as awestruck.

According to Lafi Schuck, principal at Alexis Arrowmaker School, it's not every day students in Wekweeti see politicians dropping by.

"It's unique and just wonderful to be able to come and show one of the important symbols of the legislative assembly," she told News/North.

While students in older grades learn a bit about the legislative assembly during school, she said, the mace tour would have been the first introduction to politics for some younger children.

"I loved how the kids were eager to answer all the questions," Schuck said. "They were very attentive and they were listening."

That's the key.

Lafferty said the tour is an opportunity to make connections with students, community members and chiefs - all of whom came out to visit him during the two stops on the mace tour.

This is only his second round of the tour but next year he hopes to go farther north.

"I want to visit the communities that don't have much opportunity," Lafferty said. "And try and cover all regions."

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