Bob McLeod

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’d like to recognize all the nominees to the Education Hall of Fame. In particular I want to recognize Ed Jeske. I’ll have to bow to him every time I see him now with all of his nominations.

Also Ethel Blondin-Andrew, a fellow student at Grandin College for many years, and her husband, Leon Andrew.

Margaret Field, another Fort Providencer from way back.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. With me I have Tom Williams, the deputy minister of Human Resources, on my left; and to my right, Mark Aitken, the director of legislation with the Department of Justice.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I seek unanimous consent to waive Rule 69(2) to have Bill 11, An Act to Amend the Public Service Act, moved into Committee of the Whole today.

---Unanimous consent granted

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I move, seconded by the honourable Member for Deh Cho, that Bill 18, An Act to Amend the Public Utilities Act, be read for the first time.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I wish to table the following document entitled Take a Kid Trapping and Harvesting Report, 2009-2010.

Mr. Speaker, by actively supporting the harvesting and marketing of wild fur through the Genuine Mackenzie Valley Fur Program the Government of the Northwest Territories is taking action to diversify the economy. This will provide all communities and regions with opportunities as identified in the 16th Assembly’s vision of Northerners Working Together.

Over $815,000 worth of genuine Mackenzie Valley furs were sold at a wild fur auction held in Seattle this past March, and over 90 percent of the pelts shipped to auction were sold. This is an increase of 47 percent from last year’s sales, and...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I move, seconded by the honourable Member for Inuvik Boot Lake, that Bill 11, An Act to Amend the Public Service Act, be read for the second time.

This bill amends the Public Service Act to remove the restriction that prevents the appointment of more than three staffing review officers.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I move, seconded by the honourable Member for Inuvik Twin Lakes, that Bill 17, An Act to Amend the Territorial Parks Act, be read for the first time.

To date nearly $1 million has been generated in sales for trappers and their families across the Northwest Territories.

Fur sales last year were negatively affected by the downturn in the economy. Now we are seeing the effects of the global recovery. Throughout dramatic swings in market, the Genuine Mackenzie Valley Fur Program has proven very beneficial to trappers. The program provides stability through guarantees on prices and benefits.

The Genuine Mackenzie Valley Fur Program is about promoting self-sufficiency and self-reliance. It also aims to create economic diversity for residents in...

Mr. Speaker, I give notice that on Monday, May 16, 2011, I will move that Bill 18, An Act to Amend the Public Utilities Act, be read for the first time. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.