Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I want to use my statement today to acknowledge the loss of a constituent, a long-time resident of our Territory and our city. Mr. Jim Wylie passed away on November 15, 2010, at the age of 84 and he will be very much missed by family and many northern friends.
Jim was born on a farm in Saskatchewan, grew up on the farm and then worked it for a number of years. In December of 1965, Jim and his family -- his wife and four children -- moved to Yellowknife where Jim would start a job as a diamond driller at Giant Mine. They arrived to minus-40 below in early January of 1966. But all the family adjusted well to the North, loved being here and it soon became their only home. Jim continued to work at Giant for many years. He progressed from diamond driller to miner and then to mechanic in the machine shop up until he retired.
Lucky for us, he and his wife remained in Yellowknife on retirement. Jim was a family man and a community man. He was kind and generous and willingly helped out anyone in need; it didn’t matter if they were a friend or a stranger. He fully participated in this community and then gave back to the community through volunteer work with a number of different organizations: The Elks Lodge, the Giant Curling Club, the Yellowknife Yacht Club in its very early years, the Yellowknife Golf Course, Meals on Wheels and the Yellowknife Seniors Society and Baker Centre activities after he retired. He was a boater and loved spending time on the water, especially Great Slave Lake.
Jim was open and loving to everyone he met. Strangers became friends in short order after their initial introduction to Jim. He and his wife Marion were happily married for 60-plus years.
It is said that good people deserve good friends. Well, Mr. Jim Wylie had many, many good friends. We have lost one of the good ones, as it has been said. My condolences and the condolences of this House go out to Marion Wylie and the Wylie children and grandchildren. Jim lived a long and a full life, but with his passing, many will now notice a hole in their lives. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Ms. Bisaro. The honourable Member for Tu Nedhe, Mr. Beaulieu.
