Wendy Bisaro

Committee, we will come back to order. We are starting the Department of Education, Culture and Employment, page 8-2. We will leave the department summary until we have completed the rest of the sections of the department. We will move to page 8-4. Before we do that, Minister Lafferty, do you have witnesses you wish to bring into the Chamber?

I applaud the efforts of the northern sports Ministers and I encourage them to keep up the pressure on the International Committee. Northern governments fund the games. We must influence the International Committee to amend their decisions. The five dropped sports and midget hockey must be accommodated somewhere for the 2016 games. If not in Nuuk, then in the NWT or Yukon as has been offered. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thanks to the Minister for that clarification. Part of the reason for the International Committee’s decision, as I understand it and as the Minister has mentioned, is that there are a lack of facilities. In 2016, Nuuk does not have ice surfaces, for instance. So this apparently is part of the reason. Also part of the reason is that the games are too big. I have long felt that, yes, they are too big. I have stated that a number of times over the years. I don’t agree with the decision. I don’t believe the Minister does as well. From his perspective as a Minister, from our perspective as a...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My questions today are addressed to the Minister of Municipal and Community Affairs, who is also the Minister of sport. I want to follow up on my statement and ask the Minister some questions with regard to the Arctic Winter Games and the Arctic Winter Games International Committee.

I mentioned in my statement that as a government, as the NWT government we have financial obligations for Arctic Winter Games. We certainly fund all of the athletes we send there. It is a fairly healthy amount of money every two years. I would like to know from the Minister if he can explain...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. About a month ago the Arctic Winter Games International Committee released the list of sports for the 2016 Arctic Winter Games. Their announcement caused a great deal of consternation within the northern sport community. Simply put, most ice sports, those sports integral to the first Arctic Winter Games over 40 years ago – 1970 to be exact – have been dropped for the 2016 games.

Curling, figure skating, midget hockey, dog mushing are gone, as are speed skating and gymnastics. Now, it’s not unusual for Arctic Winter Games host communities to reduce the sports during games...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Thanks to the Minister as well. I am intrigued. We talk about not wanting to get politics into games, but there are times when a bad decision has been made and we have to do that. I appreciate the Minister’s view on this issue.

I was going to ask him for an update of the meeting. We have a bit of an update from his last response, so I would like to ask him if he can elaborate on what he has already said. What were the results or can he tell us the results of the meeting that was held with the International Committee and other sports Ministers last week? Thank you.

Thanks to the Minister for the explanation. It is leading me right into my next question in terms of policy. When the announcement was made by the International Committee for listing the sports for the 2016 games, media reports suggested that it was the government, our government in conjunction with several other northern governments, that made that decision, that they had agreed to smaller games to fit smaller communities, of which Nuuk is one. I would like to know from the Minister whether or not our government was partially responsible for the decision to drastically reduce the sports in...

Thank you, Ms. DeLancey. Mr. Dolynny.

Thank you, Madam Chair. I just have a question for the Minister relative to the Prince of Wales Northern Heritage Centre, and I appreciate that this is an asset that is not one that belongs to Public Works. It does belong to Education, Culture and Employment, but it’s my understanding that PWS is undertaking the repairs to the kitchen at the Prince of Wales Northern Heritage Centre, or the cafe there.

I guess I would like to know from the Minister where this project is at. It’s been a very long time since the fire and the kitchen was destroyed. I would have thought that we would have been able...

Thank you, Mr. Dolynny. Mr. Beaulieu.