Henry Zoe

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker. I move, seconded by the honourable Member for Thebacha, that Bill 5, Tlicho Community Government Act, be read for the first time.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, as the Honourable Member for Great Slave realizes, this new council is going to use their existing budget that they have under Sport North. By getting all of these people together, it is to streamline the decision-making of that whole group. Therefore, when I met with the Sport North Federation, there was no concern raised pertaining to this new council. I indicated to the Member when he asked the question of me, if the president of Sport North has discussed any concern pertaining to this new initiative. When I met with him, he didn’t raise any...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the Honourable Member for Great Slave knows the history of this new NWT council of sports and recreation partners; it is going to be established next month. We have interim people who are helping us to establish this new sports partners. They are going to be in full operation maybe in the fall time. As I indicated during my opening comments, I was in a hot seat all day. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Obviously, time is going to determine how effective this group is. Once we have them into operation, our department will be working very closely with this new council so that we will monitor them. They will be making recommendations specifically to different programs and services that our department provides. They will be initiating other types of programs for the benefit of all the residents of the Northwest Territories. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Many communities, recreation associations and individuals identify the need for improved government structure for the management of the NWT sport and recreation programs and services. So we initiated the full process of gathering all the partners together and had a discussion paper. That particular group made recommendations to the previous Minister of Municipal and Community Affairs.

Through their recommendations, they created this new Northwest Territories sports and recreation partners. These partners, Mr. Speaker, are the Aboriginal Sports Circle of Western...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to recognize my constituency assistant from Rae-Edzo, Ms. Sherry Knapaton-Pain in the gallery.

---Applause

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I would like to update Members on the successes of our Northwest Territories Team at the 2004 Arctic Winter Games, recently hosted by the Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo, Alberta.

The Arctic Winter Games were created in 1970 to promote athletic competition, cultural exhibition and social interchange. I believe that the nearly 1,600 athletes and cultural performers representing 10 contingents from seven different countries at this year’s games would agree that these values are as evident today as they were in the past.

The opportunity for young people...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, on April 1, 2004, comprehensive changes to the Cities, Towns and Villages Act, Hamlets Act and Charter Communities Act will come into force. After years of development and consultation with community governments, the previous Legislative Assembly approved this legislation which provides municipal governments with a broad legislative framework that recognizes the important and diverse role they play in governing our communities.

Mr. Speaker, these new acts will dramatically change the rules under which municipal governments operate in the Northwest...

Mr. Speaker, as Members may be aware, municipal governance legislation is coming into force on April 1, 2004. The new Cities, Towns and Villages Act, the Hamlet Act, and the Charter Communities Act have been modernized into more useful, relevant tools for our community governments to use as they work to address the many opportunities and challenges that they face. In partnership with the NWT Association of Communities, my department has worked over the past nine years to bring these positive changes about.

Mr. Speaker, the partnership has continued as we work together to assist community...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I’m making a commitment to the honourable Member for Hay River North that I am going to pursue this further. As soon as I receive the formal response, as I’ve said, I’ll share it with the people from south of the lake to see what avenues we can take to continue to try to convince the Arctic Winter Games International Committee to change their policy. Thank you.