Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I know I don't have to tell you this, but coaches play a vital role in our communities. Good coaching isn't only about enhanced sport performance, it's about something much more important.
Eighty percent of people who received coaching report increased self-confidence. They establish and take action towards achieving goals, become more self-reliant, gain more job and life satisfaction, contribute more effectively to their teams on and off the court, take greater responsibility and accountability for their actions and commitments, and work more easily and productively with others by being team players and communicate more effectively. Essentially, Mr. Speaker, good coaches help build good humans.
Last term, through multiple community engagements, the Standing Committee on Social Development heard repetitively the powerful impact sport and recreation has on community wellness, especially youth and families. Sport and recreation was attributed to keeping families healthy and together and our youth feeling valued, fulfilled, and alive because physical health is a key component of mental health. Efforts like this rely on the selfless dedication of coaches who show up, lead by example, and are consistent bright lights in the lives of so many youths.
This past month, two Kam Lake coaches have been recognized for their incredible coaching contributions to youth sport, changing the lives of NWT children and teens through their endless volunteer hours. Shakita Jensen was named Yellowknife minor hockey coach of the year, and Shakita is a Canadian trailblazer changing the face of Canadian hockey. She gives so much of her time to coaching, including teams in Yellowknife minor hockey, and as the coach for Canada Winter Games as well as Arctic Winter Games.
Erin Wells was named Sport North NWT coach of the year and has coached youth basketball for decades, including Arctic Winter Games, Canada Games, and the NWT's high-performance teams. This past March, Erin coached Team NWT's Arctic Winter Games basketball team to a historic gold medal, first for the NWT female basketball team.
Mr. Speaker, neither of these people are coaches because they have children in the game. They have dedicated themselves to coaching through exemplary leadership for the love of the sport and commitment to the future of NWT youth. A huge thank you to Erin and Shakita for your dedication, time, and leadership, and congratulations on your very well-deserved recognition. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Member from Kam Lake; I couldn't agree with you more.
Members' statements. Member from Thebacha.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Today I rise to honour the class of 2024 from the Paul William Kaeser High School in Fort Smith. This year, I am proud to announce there were 24 graduates from the regular school program and the Phoenix program. I would like to thank all of the teachers, the staff at PWK, and the South Slave Divisional Education Council, the parents, guardians, and all of those who have supported their success.
To the students, as you navigate through the existing journey ahead, Mr. Speaker, passion will fuel their pursuits, integrity will guide their decisions, and resilience will help them overcome any obstacles they encounter. Their future is brimming with possibilities, and I wish them all the success, growth, and opportunities this holds. Best wishes on your journey. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Member from Thebacha. Members' statements. Member from Yellowknife South.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Today I would like to take this opportunity to bring attention to a very accomplished athlete from Yellowknife South.
Mr. Speaker, last summer Chelsey Makaro travelled to Berlin, Germany, as part of Team Canada at the Special Olympics World Summer Games and came home with not one, but two gold medals - one for the 25-meter backstroke and the other as part of the 4 by 50 meter freestyle team relay. These medals also made Chelsey the first Northwest Territories female athlete to win gold at the Special Olympics World Games. And with this accomplishment, together with all of her hard work that she puts in to promoting the Special Olympics within the Northwest Territories, Chelsey was awarded the 2024 Mary Beth Miller Memorial Senior Female Athlete of the Year from Sport North on May 25th.
Mr. Speaker, I would like to congratulate Chelsey on this hard earned honour. I look forward to hearing more about her continued dedication to sport, her hard work, and the inspiration that she brings to all of those around her. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Member from Yellowknife South. Members' statements.
Colleagues, I would like to close this session with the opportunity to celebrate some amazing things that recently happened in the Nahendeh riding. Usually, I would have Member statements about each of these exciting moments but as this is our last sitting day until October, I would like to celebrate here today.
Leanne Niziol was born and raised in the community of Wrigley, NWT. Growing up in a remote community, with limited access to health care, pushed her to pursue a career in medicine. However, more importantly, her grandfather was her main inspiration to go into medicine. He was a medicine man, but his life and way of being was something that impacted her significantly. She recently graduated from the University of Manitoba's Doctor of Medicine program, a career she says has been a dream of hers since she was little. A large amount of her family travelled to Winnipeg from Ontario, Alberta, Yukon and NWT to watch her graduate. In speaking with her auntie, the family is looking at hosting a huge celebration on June 22nd in Wrigley to celebrate her accomplishment. Congratulations, Dr. Niziol.
Yesterday, I spoke about graduation and the importance of that moment. I would like to congratulate Ms. Betty Elizabeth Hardisty on graduating from the bible studies program on June 8th, 2024 and obtaining her Bachelor of Theology. I can tell you she is truly a positive role model and an example for others.
The U19 team, a mixture of young ladies ranging from 13 to 19, from Liidii Kue Regional High School, won gold in the tier 2 division at Super Soccer. I can tell you I had the opportunity to witness this team play, and I can say the athletes were respectful, kind, and hardworking. They made their coaches, family, community, and school very proud. Some of the athletes played three days of soccer the previous weekend, then spent three days snowboarding in Banff before playing four more days of soccer. Well done, ladies.
The last shout out goes to the basketball program in Fort Liard. This school year, the community decided to offer a new sport to the youth. They attended two tournaments and had a three-game competition with the first responders from the Community. They won the competition 2 to 1. As well, they attended the tryout with NWT Basketball, and one of the athletes was selected first alternate for the national team.
I would like to congratulate them all and have a good summer. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, we are very grateful for our pages, and I am very pleased to say that Yellowknife South is represented this week by Mya Polpufa Baird.
Thank you, Member from Yellowknife South. Member for the Sahtu.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to also recognize Grand Chief Jackson Lafferty. We had the privilege of serving and working together during the 18th Assembly. And also as we depart for the summer, I'd like to say my sincere thanks and recognition to the support staff that we have in this House here from the cooks, to the pages, to the clerical staff that we have. We wouldn't be as efficient without their support, so they should be recognized also for the many hours. And everybody in this Assembly here on the spirit of collaboration of working together. Have a safe summer. Thank you. Mahsi.
Thank you, Member from the Sahtu. Member from Great Slave.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I would like to recognize two of my constituents, Ms. Zoe Guille and Ms. Gabby LaMarsh, they're up here. They are both student midwives who some of the Members have met in the past few weeks. They've worked hard in these past weeks to advocate for midwifery. They're student midwives. They're committed to continuing the work in the coming years to plant roots in Yellowknife so we can see midwifery care grow throughout the territory. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Member from Great Slave. Recognition of visitors in the gallery. Member from Range Lake.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I'd like to recognize a page from Range Lake, Eva Gordon. Thank you so much for your work during this last week of the sitting. And I'd also like to recognize my friend Grand Chief Lafferty. Thank you.
Thank you, Member from Range Lake. Recognition of visitors in the gallery. Member from Monfwi.
Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, [Translation]
Yes, for recognition, I'd like to recognize my Grand Chief Jackson Lafferty. He's here in the House. I'm thankful for that. And we also have other Tlicho members, Louis Mackenzie, Julie Mackenzie are here in the audience. And also Jonas Lafferty, Mary Rose Sundberg, interpreters, I'd like to thank them. They've been interpreting for us throughout the session.
I'd also like to recognize all these people who work for us in the House. I am so thankful for them. They've done a good job for us throughout the session. It is the spring session. And we'll be going into our region. May everyone have a safe summer. Mahsi.
[Translation Ends]
Recognition of visitors in the gallery. Member from Deh Cho.
Thank you. I too, like my colleagues, would like to welcome Mr. Jackson Lafferty, grand chief, former MLA for Monfwi. And also to my friend Lousia Mackenzie and her family up there, welcome. And I too would also like to say thank you to you, Mr. Speaker, and all the wonderful staff here as well as the translators and everyone here, and I hope everybody has a good summer. Look forward to seeing everybody in the fall. Thank you.
Thank you, Member from the Deh Cho. Recognition of visitors in the gallery. Hay River North.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would also like to recognize my former colleague and current grand chief of the Tlicho, Mr. Jackson Lafferty. It was an honour serving with him as his deputy Speaker, and as the only Lafferty I'm allowed to recognize today. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Member from Hay River North. Recognition of visitors in the gallery. Member from Frame Lake.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I just wanted to join the chorus of MLAs thanking all of our staff here in the Assembly, thanking the interpreters, the clerks, and all the staff supporting us for the long hours that they put in over the past number of weeks. It's definitely been a lot of work, and we really appreciate your contributions. And I wanted to just acknowledge one of our many unsung heros behind the scenes in the ledge, Mr. John Gon, who operates our microphones and is a constituent of mine. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Member from Frame Lake. Recognition of visitors in the gallery. Member from Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I, too, want to recognize the grand chief of the Tlicho region, Mr. Jackson Lafferty. Mahsi for being here. I also want to recognize Louise Mackenzie and June Mackenzie as well. Mahsi for being here.
Thank you, Member from Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh. Recognition of visitors in the gallery.
If we've missed anybody, we would like to thank you for much for being here and thank you very much for allowing us to be your representative in your House. Thank you very much for everybody being here.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I am pleased today to acknowledge the incredible career and upcoming retirement of Theresa Bonnetrouge. After an incredible 42-year career as an educator in Fort Providence, I thank her for her dedication and impact on the community. Theresa Bonnetrouge is a remarkable educator who has taught at Deh Gah Elementary and Secondary School for 41 years,11 months and 19 days. She has had an impact on education in our community, and I'd like to honour her dedication and effort to support our youth. Theresa has been instrumental in teaching Dene Zhatie to our students. Her tireless efforts have contributed to language revitalization, ensuring that the rich cultural heritage of the Dene people is passed down to the next generation. I thank Theresa for her years of hard work and dedication to education in our community, to preserving and promoting our language, and to educating generations of our students. I wish her all the best in her well-deserved retirement. Talk.
Thank you, Member from the Deh Cho. Acknowledgements. Member from Monfwi.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I would like to take this time to congratulate all of the students who are graduating from kindergarten to grade 12 in the Tlicho region. Graduation is a milestone achievement and a stepping-stone to new opportunities. I am proud of all the students for staying in school and putting in the hard work. Thank you to all the parents for supporting their children through school. And thank you to all the teachers and educators for their guidance. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, in my Member's statement, I spoke about the challenges the tourism industry is facing in the Northwest Territories. How is the Minister of Industry, Tourism and Investment going to partner with tourism operators who are struggling to provide access to remote lodges and campsites that are only accessible by boat or float plane now that water levels are historically low and rendering docks and piers useless? Thank you.
Thank you, Member from Range Lake. Minister of ITI.
Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I want to start off by thanking the Member for raising this. We have a very beautiful tourism industry to match our very beautiful landscape here in the Northwest Territories. We're certainly very aware of the challenges that the low water levels pose on our remote lodges across the territory, and ITI continues to work closely with NWT Chamber of Commerce and NWT Tourism as well to make sure that we're understanding the specific needs of lodges and who is in that situation, and until we know more information about what that looks like for everybody independently, we won't really be able to identify kind of what is needed. But I'm certainly committed to finding creative ways to address this with businesses and seeing how we can support one another. But at this time, I don't have a concrete solution or response for the Member until we know more. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the Minister missed a chance to say Spectacular Northwest Territories, so I will do it for her. We have a spectacular industry, a spectacular, pristine environment, but climate change is definitely impacting it. So what are we doing to ensure that the industry is part of the conversation when it comes to wildfires and making sure that tourists are well-informed of the dangers wildfires present and that operators aren't liable for issues that happen due to evacuations and things like that? Thank you.
Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, yes, the North is definitely spectacular, so thank you to the Member for that.
Ensuring the safety of tourists and residents during forest fire emergencies is certainly a top priority for the Government of the Northwest Territories. It's important, though, for tourism operators to have robust business continuity plans and also appropriate insurance coverage in place to manage such situations. As far as communication, we do have our public safety page on the GNWT website, we have things like Cabin Radio who has always been very active in making sure they're informing residents. And so it's bit of a partnership that needs to happen there, Mr. Speaker, where we do what we can to get the message out, and we also rely on people to know where to go as well. And so I can definitely loop back in with NWT Tourism to see if we are communicating this information to our tourism operators as well so that they can pass the message on to their guests too. Thank you.
Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And thank you to the Minister for that. Will the Minister -- another issue is hotel capacity. We're often over -- sorry, often overcapacity -- we're nearly always overcapacity with our hotel command, and it's increasing year after year. So what is the Minister doing working with her Cabinet colleagues to ensure there are incentives for hospitality -- for the hospitality industry to grow? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, from within the ITI umbrella, we do have a support for product development enhancement through the well established tourism product diversification and marketing program. This is specifically funding to reinvent, improve, and expand tourism products across the Northwest Territories. And we also have funding for business planning for product packages for marketing efforts. Within ECE, we have wage subsidies. And then if you head over to some of our other departments, there are opportunities to build business in the Northwest Territories for sure. I can say as far as the Member's question in regards specifically to tourism offerings, I've recently met with a number of our Indigenous development corporations in the territory here and had the opportunity to also speak about tourism with each of them. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Minister of ITI. Final supplementary. Member from Range Lake.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And, Mr. Speaker, this is important to my riding. I've got many fine tourism operators, and I'm glad to hear the Minister is talking with them.
Finally, one of the things that's come to my attention is the need for more RV turnaround stations and campsites in the Northwest Territories. Does the Minister have a plan to address that need? Thank you.
Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, ITI does maintain a number of territorial parks across the Northwest Territories which do have turnarounds for RVs. That being said, we also did just increase our fees within ITI in order to create space for privately-owned campgrounds as well. Historically our rates were quite low, and we needed to raise those to make sure that they were both competitive and doing a better job of keeping up what it actually cost us to operate our parks, which I will say are still subsidized within the territory.
For turnaround stations that are outside of our territorial parks, that would need to be done in collaboration with the Department of Infrastructure as it would be a highway asset. And if this is deemed to be a priority of the Assembly, I would certainly be more than happy to follow up with the Minister of Infrastructure. Thank you.
Thank you, Minister of ITI. Oral questions. Member from the Sahtu.
