Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It is my privilege to rise today to express my support and appreciation for the great work accomplished by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission.
This initiative has been no small task. The commission visited our communities, set up supports, and provided a forum to allow our survivors to share their pain and begin to heal. This is a significant accomplishment.
I would like to acknowledge the fourth anniversary of the apology by Prime Minister Stephen Harper, and the work of his government, especially Minister Leona Aglukkaq, that has led to this day.
I would also like to thank Health Canada, as well as all the members of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission for their dedication and commitment during this process.
Mr. Speaker, many of our residents have suffered the direct impacts of residential school abuse, and many of their family members and loved ones have also been affected.
Over 6,000 common experience payment cheques were issued to residents in the NWT. We know that healing will be a lifelong process.
As Minister of Health and Social Services, I see the effects of the residential school experience reflected in our health and social services system, especially in mental health and addictions. Yet, I am also inspired by the courage, faith and determination of these survivors.
The Department of Health and Social Services provides over $9 million annually to support our
residents with mental health and addictions challenges. We fund addictions counsellors, on-the-land programs and treatment centres for residents. We will continue to develop and deliver programs and services that meet the needs of all residents of the NWT.
In addition, the Department of Health and Social Services is working with communities across the NWT to develop community wellness plans that will support community designed wellness programming, including on-the-land healing and after-care.
The programs and services we offered contribute to our collective efforts to assist survivors and their family.
I applaud the work of Health Canada Northern Region and their Resolution Health Support Program, which provides supports to survivors and their family. I would encourage all survivors to take advantage of this program.
Mr. Speaker, today is another step on the road to truth and reconciliation. As Members of this Legislature, and leaders in our communities, we must continue our efforts to help in the healing process and in restoring dignity to all of our people. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Beaulieu. Before we continue, colleagues, I’d like to recognize a former Commissioner, Speaker, Minister, Member, Sergeant-at-Arms and our Honourary Clerk of the House, Mr. Anthony W.J. Whitford.
---Applause
The honourable Minister of Education, Culture and Employment, Mr. Lafferty.
Mr. Speaker, the Department of Education, Culture and Employment is committed to improving educational outcomes for all students of the Northwest Territories. We have developed new curricula that will be introduced in the fall.
As part of our efforts to develop culturally appropriate and engaging learning opportunities for our students, Northern Studies 10 includes a new focus on the history and legacy of residential schools in Canada. Optional implementation of the new course will begin with the 2012-13 school year and become mandatory in 2013-14.
Consultations are underway for the proposed development of Northern Studies 20 and 30 over the next two years. We plan to add a unit to the Northern Studies 20 course to explore the impacts of residential schools in a northern context. These are being developed in partnership with Nunavut Education.
The new residential schools unit comes with a full collection of teaching resources that help students and teachers explore the policies and historical context of colonialism that supported residential schools. Students will learn about the positive and negative impacts that residential school experiences had on many people; they’ll talk about the opportunities for reconciliation and healing that are needed today.
Mr. Speaker, many generous and courageous Northerners provided powerful testimonies and guidance in the development of the Grade 10 unit. We are convinced that these contributions will make a difference to our young people, their families and communities.
The support of the Legacy of Hope Foundation, Health Canada and especially the Truth and Reconciliation Commission has been critical to the development of this teaching resource. These efforts toward understanding and healing are important, and I have been involved in this process since the beginning, attending all of the meetings and speaking on behalf of the people that attended residential schools in the Northwest Territories. I will be travelling to Saskatoon later in June for the next meeting.
Mr. Speaker, the North is a spectacular place, rich in resources, culture and heritage, and history, and it is vital that our children have the opportunity to explore, understand and build on the lessons history has taught us. Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Lafferty. The honourable Minister of Justice, Mr. Abernethy.
Mr. Speaker, the work the Truth and Reconciliation Commission is doing in the Northwest Territories and across Canada is a critical step in the healing process for people suffering from the abuse and trauma of residential schools. Our government is working with them to support our people and our communities.
Far too often, people who have been through residential school have ended up in front of our community justice committees, our courtrooms or ultimately in our correctional facilities. While many people in communities have shared their experiences during the Inuvik national event or in their own communities, those in correctional facilities may not have had this opportunity.
To date, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission has not had the opportunity to enter any correctional facility in this country to work with inmates to record their statements in an organized way.
We are planning to change that.
I am pleased to notify Members of the Assembly that we are working with the commission and Health Canada to find a way for this innovative work to happen this fall in our largest facility, the North Slave Correctional Centre.
Staff are planning carefully to ensure the people who are opening themselves to this healing journey will be properly supported, both in the facility and again when they return to their home communities. Our counterparts in Health Canada and the Department of Health and Social Services play essential roles to make sure once released from a correctional facility, inmates have the support they need.
Mr. Speaker, we hope to set a precedent here for other facilities in Canada to follow. This will be a valuable process for all inmates who choose to participate.
Thank you, Mr. Abernethy. The honourable Minister of Health and Social Services, Mr. Beaulieu.
Mr. Speaker, June 15th is World Elder Abuse Awareness Day.
We all need to take a moment and say thank you to those elders who have taught us, supported us and provided the wisdom that has guided our lives.
Many of us in this House owe a debt of gratitude to the elders in our communities that have helped guide us in our careers.
All residents need to stand up and say with one voice that any form of elder abuse is unacceptable. June 15th is a good day to take the time to do this officially, but we must be vigilant every day. Abuse of any kind, taking advantage of elders in any way or neglecting the needs of elders is unacceptable.
Elders shaped and built our communities in their younger years, raising their children and working to make the NWT what it is. Today elders continue to contribute to our communities by providing advice, wisdom, supporting a cause, sharing life experience, volunteering and participating in community activities.
When I travel to communities and meet with people, the elders in the meetings know the issues and offer positive solutions.
Mr. Speaker, we encourage our elders to make healthy choices so they can live independently at home. We should also encourage residents to report elder abuse and neglect. It is hard to imagine that up to 80 percent of elder abuse or neglect goes undetected. We owe it to our elders to protect them.
To show support for our elders and to let residents know elder abuse is unacceptable, I encourage people to wear purple in the House on June 14th to raise awareness for World Elder Abuse Awareness Day. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Over the weekend I was thinking about this day because of a motion that was read in the House last week. I was thinking about the students that we are thinking about. I was thinking about the parents who are not here today with us, parents who put their trust in the hands of the church, the government, either by sending the children to residential schools or if the parents were so scared that when the children were taken from the community, such as my uncle, when they heard the boat coming in and stopping in Tulita, they would run to the bushes and they would hide. The RCMP or the Indian agent or the priest would go up there to the house and take these kids.
Sometimes these kids would be taken away, they would be crying, not sure how long they’d go or how far they would go. I remember my uncle telling me they took him to Fort Providence and they tried to walk back to Tulita after a couple of months and weeks in Fort Providence. They didn’t think they would last there long because of the situation. They weren’t told what was going to happen to them. Anyhow, my uncle said they stayed in Providence for years and years and they came back for awhile and later on the boat came back to pick them up and he said this time he told his dad he’s not going and he took off in the bush.
Those types of impacts I hear from my people. I hear people who are talking, families who were devastated, tormented, families who had a lot of pain. Mr. Speaker, today is the day of healing and reconciliation. It means that people need to learn about forgiveness. I found it very hard. My grandmother was taken away for about nine years and she stayed in Hay River. Yet, she still showed me the power of forgiveness. She even went to church every day. I kept telling her, Grannie, why do you go? She said you have to learn how to forgive.
Thank you, Grannie, for teaching me how to forgive. Mahsi.
Thank you, Mr. Yakeleya. The honourable Member for Weledeh, Mr. Bromley.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The budgetary process just completed has led us to modest new appropriations and realignment of funds and response to Regular Members’ fiscal priorities.
The newly allocated funds amount to $3.728 million, one-quarter of 1 percent of the total $1.411 billion budget. There are $1.25 million in funds re-profiled internally and perhaps $140,000 in foregone revenue. That’s a total change of $5.118 million or 0.36, one-third of a percent of the total.
The government has fiercely defended its position that there should be no additional expenditures, because “we don’t want to jeopardize our Aa1 credit rating.” Meanwhile the government also says it’s “committed to protecting the programs and services our residents rely on.”
The guiding principles of consensus government point out that consensus government is defined by the ability and willingness of all Members to work together with their respective roles for the collective good of the people and that the opportunities for all Members to have meaningful input in important decisions is fundamental. Yet over the past three weeks there has been a battle royal to have a significant impact on the direction of one-third of 1 percent of the government’s proposed budget. Since then, the government has brought forward new proposals for both infrastructure and operations dollars that already dwarf the minority budgetary achievements of Regular Members. Undoubtedly, other appropriations or warrants can be expected.
The business planning process is long, arduous, and held up to the guiding principles requirement for meaningful input, unfortunately, does not leave an impression of open dialogue. Input from this side of the House is seen as undermining the budget and described as showing irresponsible disregard for our long-term fiscal security, yet one has to ask, according to the records, whose decisions actually threaten our fiscal security.
All Members gathered at the beginning of our term to set the 17th Assembly priorities. All Members make recommendations on the draft budget, a key feature of our consensus government, and all Members decide whether to approve the budget. As we move into the next business planning cycle, the government needs to pay much more attention to the words we are saying and have said.
Thank you, Mr. Bromley. The honourable Member for Inuvik Boot Lake, Mr. Moses.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. June 10th to the 16th is recognized as Senior Citizens Week in the Northwest Territories. Senior Citizens Week provides an excellent opportunity for people of all ages to celebrate with our seniors their lives, their accomplishments, wisdom and knowledge. It can be an exciting time to get the family and community together to be active with our elders and our older adults, such as taking them out for a tea or just going and doing a regular house visit and appreciating them for who they are.
During this week let’s take the extra time and care in honouring our senior citizens. The prosperity we continue to enjoy today has been made possible by the seniors and elders of our community. It is during this week that we ask communities across the NWT to join us in celebrating, as well, Elders Abuse Awareness Day, which is June 15th. We must honour our elders as they are the teachers of our knowledge, keepers of our culture and traditions. They are also the caregivers that allowed us to be who we are today, sitting in this House with respect and values.
We must respect the hard work and commitment they have made in shaping our communities and this territory. With that said, we must work collaboratively to ensure issues that are of concern to seniors are addressed and we do it as a group. The seniors have a saying of seniors helping seniors, but I will want to take it a little bit further and say communities helping seniors, government helping seniors.
Just before I came into the House today, I had a phone call from a couple of elders in one of the surrounding communities back home and they were pretty upset with what had happened last week with regard to a Minister’s statement made last week ensuring that seniors will be paying rent on September 1st. Hopefully, that does not go through. We are still wanting to create some more discussion on that.
In the small communities there’s a high cost of living, lack of jobs and there are seniors who take care of their families who are adults. Because of that, they’re going to have to pay. They take care of the adults in their families and we’re still trying to squeeze every little bit of dollars out of them. Thirty-five dollars doesn’t seem like a lot, but in a small community it might be enough for a couple of meals for one day. I respect our elders, all the traditions and cultures that they have, and that concern needs to be addressed.
Thank you, Mr. Moses. The honourable Member for Nahendeh, Mr. Menicoche.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It was a dramatic weekend in Nahanni Butte, Fort Liard and Fort Simpson. Melting snow and rain have swollen the Liard River to flood levels. The biggest emergency was in Nahanni Butte. Rising waters were lapping at the door of the power plant when finally it had to be shut down. With the power cut off, it was decided to evacuate the residents of the community to Fort Simpson by air and ground transportation. Fifty-two people were moved to safety.
The community of Fort Simpson has really come through. People have opened their homes, volunteered to help and worked hard to welcome the people of Nahanni Butte. I want to thank them for their kindness and hospitality. They are really making the best of it. It was a big job done on very short notice and I’m happy that it went so well. It looks like the emergency response exercise that Fort Simpson and region had about a month ago really paid off.
I also want to thank the mayor and staff of the Village of Fort Simpson, the staff at Municipal and Community Affairs, Health and Social Services and the Emergency Measures Coordinating Committee. I also understand the Department of Transportation played a big role, as well, and will help schedule flights when the evacuees can return to Nahanni Butte.
All of this happened when the ferry was out of service. High water on the Liard has brought a lot of logs and debris down the river. The N’dulee ferry crossing towards Wrigley is closed. This was a big concern to residents and visitors of Fort Simpson throughout all these evacuation procedures. At last report, water levels were stabilizing. This is good news, especially since 15 residents of Nahanni Butte stayed behind in the community. With any luck, everyone else will be able to return home early or later this week.
Thankfully, flooding like this is not a common event in Nahanni Butte. I hope the floodwaters have not done too much damage, but I trust our government will keep up the good job when the cleanup starts.
Once again, I offer my commendations to all involved for the safety and care of the people of Nahanni Butte and Fort Liard. Mahsi cho.
Thank you, Mr. Menicoche. The Member for Yellowknife Centre, Mr. Hawkins.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. A number of organizations representing health professionals in the Northwest Territories continue to ask for regulation of their sector. They continue, primarily, to come knock on the government’s door as opposed to the government telling them that they should be regulated, and that certainly needs to be noted.
Who am I talking about? The chiropractic and massage therapy groups are certainly leading and becoming champions on this particular issue, because they feel it’s very important to have clear regulations that protect themselves and our public.
It’s becoming very popular, as we all know, how people continue to use those services of chiropractic and massage therapy. Of course, we all probably know somebody who wants to enter these types of professions with full accreditation. Many of these young students and even some of them a little bit on the more mature side who enter these careers go seek training and spent a lot of money on full accreditation, but when they come to the Northwest Territories they’re not regulated.
Regulations would help everybody, not just the health professionals but also the public. Licensing the practices in the Northwest Territories would help define the scope, certainly the standards and code of ethics, which are very important. It will enhance the primary care through increased collaboration among all health professionals. Of course, when there are problems, it certainly gives an avenue and a direction on how to handle complaints.
This topic is not new to this House. It was brought up many times during the 16th Assembly, and there was talk even about creating an umbrella legislation to cover a health professional’s act in some form. We’re now into six or more months of the 17th Assembly and we’ve yet to hear anything on this particular subject.
I’ve spoken on this particular topic a number of times and perhaps even we should be looking at the issue of omnibus legislation and we could even reach out to the naturopathic profession, as well, that would like regulation included.
In short, new legislation needs to come forward soon, not just for us but for public confidence. It builds assurance with the public that we are watching out for the good and health… This is a particular subject that I think the public has finally come to say we expect our government to be watching out for us, and regulation and legislation is the mechanism that needs to be done on this particular topic.
That said, I’ll have questions for the Health Minister later today. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Hawkins. The Member for the Deh Cho, Mr. Nadli.
Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Today I would like to highlight a small but very enterprising community in my riding. The hamlet of Enterprise, with about 100 people, is known as the gateway to the Northwest Territories. The community is located about 90 kilometres into the Northwest Territories from the Alberta border along the Mackenzie Highway at the turnoff to Hay River.
Enterprise is the first community highway travellers see when they enter the Northwest Territories. Many stop to picnic beside the scenic Hay River or pay a visit to Winnie’s Restaurant, a friendly place offering delicious home cooked meals and a wonderful selection of Dene arts and crafts. Other local businesses include service stations and the Twin Falls Motel to accommodate travellers.
Enterprise was established when the highway was built in 1967. It was incorporated as a hamlet in 2007. The community probably advertises itself as environmentally friendly, clean, safe and a sustainable community with manageable growth.
The only real cloud on the horizon for this hardworking little town is the economy. Enterprise likes visitors and needs some for its business to survive. Better infrastructure is one way to encourage travellers to stay for a meal, tank of gas or a night’s rest in the community. The hamlet is working hard to improve local services.
A water well will be drilled in August to supply their fire department and community garden. The well will also test flow rates and water quality. If those tests are positive, the hamlet could potentially develop a water treatment plant and operate its own water supply system. Currently the hamlet buys all its water from the Town of Hay River.
Later today I will have questions for the Minister of Municipal and Community Affairs for the government’s support for these efforts. Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Nadli. The honourable Member for Frame Lake, Ms. Bisaro.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Over the last few years, there has been a lot of controversy and concern over NWT sport administration. With the Arctic Winter Games held in Whitehorse a few months ago, and the many competitions leading up to those opening ceremonies, and with all the publicity around our Arctic Winter Games athletes, the media and the public have recently expressed views and opinions on our sport governance system.
There is no question that some regions and some communities of the NWT feel hard done by when compared to Yellowknife, but just what they need to fix the problem is still hotly debated. A recent editorial from the Northern Journal, a Fort Smith-based newspaper said, “The SRC, Sport and Recreation Council, has grown with substantial staff and a budget today of about $8 million annually. There is still little improvement to the delivery of sport and recreation in the communities.”
The NWT Sport and Rec Council was established in 2005 to address that very problem: concerns from communities and volunteers around equitable access to sport resources, both financial and human. Now some seven years later, the problem still exists. In fact, not only are the communities unhappy, but so is Yellowknife. Instead of efficiencies and streamlined operations, we have simply added another administrative layer to our sport administration system. The five member organizations of the SRC compete for dollars to deliver similar programs to our youth and our territorial sport organizations.
Volunteers are more burdened than ever with administrative work. In many cases, they now have to apply to two organizations for funding instead of one. About two years ago the SRC embarked on an ambitious strategic planning exercise which cost about $200,000. There was hope that streamlining would occur, that the SRC member organizations would identify their areas of expertise, target their efforts and avoid duplication in programming. But that was not to be. Parties could not agree and the process was terminated. To date, there has been neither a report nor any recommendations from that exercise, at least none that have been made available to the public.
The SRC continues to grow. There is now a staff of eight and an $8 million budget. How much of that $8 million is going to the administration of sport instead of to our NWT youth programs? To quote the Northern Journal once again, “There are two problems with all of this. The first is the lack of leadership from the Legislature; the second is the misguided approach of government where the solution is to keep creating more government.”
It is time the GNWT got serious about the effectiveness of our sport delivery system. We will lose our volunteers, our organizers, coaches and managers if we don’t. As usual, when that happens, NWT youth will be the losers. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Ms. Bisaro. The honourable Member for Range Lake, Mr. Dolynny.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. There is no denying that I am a huge fan of CBC Arctic Air. In fact, the other day I was watching a rerun and on this rerun we saw a patient being hauled on the back of a quad on a stretcher. Very exciting, exposed to the elements, made for great TV.
It made me start to think. I did question a lot of emergency workers and care workers throughout the Territories. The reality is this is happening. This is not TV. We have many patients that are being hauled on the back of pickup trucks, sometimes on the back of vehicles and some of them in quads. They are being transported from health centres to the airstrips. We also see this happening at accident scenes. We are lacking ambulance services in a grand fashion.
Recently, we have been spending lots of time on health talking about a sunset clause of $200,000 for Municipal and Community Affairs. That was designed to assist communities for delivering ground ambulance and highway rescue services, but this is just the tip of the iceberg and I’ll tell you why. I’m going to take Members down a little snapshot, a little Polaroid, if you will, in terms of what the history of this topic is.
Back in 2007, the Cabinet of the day directed its Ministers of Municipal and Community Affairs and Health and Social Services to develop legislation, policies and funding framework to address the delivery of ground ambulance and highway services in the Northwest Territories. In 2008 an advisory committee was struck and co-chaired by the same two ministries and developed some funding and legislative framework. In fact, Mr. Speaker, in 2009 some of the projected costs coming from some of these findings indicated this could save the day with a $6 million insertion to protect our public. Six million dollars. We throw $10 million on a bridge every couple of months and we don’t even have a second glance at that, and we’re talking about $6 million. This is a small price to pay.
Since then, there has only been a number of communities that have actually accessed some funding, and in fact only three thus far: Yellowknife, Hay River and Fort Simpson. It’s clear that community governments have come forward and asked them to bring more to the table. The recent NWT Association of Communities has asked for a comprehensive and coordinated system of ground ambulance. Communities need more clarity, more responsibility and government commitment. We need solutions.
It’s been five years. Why do residents have to wait any longer? What is the price of mitigating risks on our highways? What is the price of patient safety? But more importantly, what is the price of human life?
You know, it makes for great TV, but I can’t wait to see another CBC Arctic Air episode when we join the rest of the 21st Century with proper ambulance service in the Northwest Territories. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Dolynny. The Member for Hay River South, Mrs. Groenewegen.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Today, in view of the anniversary of the public apology of our federal government with respect to the immeasurable harm of residential school survivors and to them and to their families, I’d like to just say today that for sure I’m not an expert or a counselor or anyone who has any credentials in family relations, but I was a child and I am a parent. One thing I do know, it goes against all the laws of nature to take a child away from their parents. The authority of a parent is tempered with love and security in the bond between them. That authority is misplaced when it is given to someone else who does not have that relationship with a child.
We know about the benefits of secure attachment between a child and a parent, and we know about the immeasurable harm when a child is deprived of that formative bond. To add more injury to the situation in the case of residential schools, there was abuse we know that occurred on a large scale. We also know that another thing that added injury to the situation of the removal of these children was undertaken by people who claimed to be the representatives of Almighty God. That creates further confusion as people go forward in their life when they look for a faith in which to call upon any kind of supernatural intervention or support in their life.
I’d like to applaud the work of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission throughout our country. I had the privilege of attending the hearings on the Hay River Reserve and hear people go forward, witness after witness, and tell their story of what they had experienced. They were friends of mine that appeared there, that I have known for years and years, but I didn’t know their story until they mustered the courage to go before that panel that day and tell that story.
It’s very, very difficult to hear of injustice, of discrimination, of intimidation that occurred in such recent history in our country and in our North, but the healing does have to begin somewhere and I believe this is a step towards that. We as a government have an obligation now to support the survivors in every way we possibly can to go on with their lives and to recover from this misplaced policy of this generation and previous generations. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mrs. Groenewegen. The Member for Kam Lake, Mr. Ramsay.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. This past spring the staff and students at N.J. Macpherson School challenged themselves to raise $15,000 to help Stanton Territorial Hospital. For a kindergarten to Grade 5 school with just over 250 students, that was an ambitious goal.
Mr. Speaker, I’m pleased to say not only did the students reach their goal, they surpassed it. They raised just over $17,000 and I’m extremely proud to say that the school is in my riding of Kam Lake.
After hearing that the Stanton Territorial Hospital Foundation is currently raising money for a dedicated area in our territorial hospital for chemotherapy and IV treatments, Tina Drew, a parent at N.J. and one of my constituents, approached the school. She asked if they would consider raising funds for a local organization instead of a national one this year. The school jumped at the opportunity to keep the money here in the Northwest Territories. Just like business is an investment, when people donate to one of our local charities, they are creating a stronger, healthier community and I applaud N.J. Macpherson School for making that decision.
I’d also like to applaud the Stanton Territorial Hospital Foundation for spearheading many projects over the years to purchase medical equipment, to support programs and to assist in the development of new initiatives at our territorial hospital. The foundation is dedicated to raising funds to ensure that staff at the hospital have the best tools available to do their jobs and save lives. The Stanton Territorial Hospital Foundation is still raising funds for chemotherapy and IV treatment, and I encourage everyone to consider making a donation.
I’d like to thank the staff and parents for helping N.J. reach and surpass its goal, and of course I’d like to thank the students for working so hard on this project. School isn’t all about math and reading, it’s also about learning to be a supportive community member and with this event N.J. certainly accomplished that.
This is one of many great community events that N.J. Macpherson held this past year. These students are the future. It’s clear they care about the community and are going to help us create a sustainable and vibrant territory well into the future.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’m very pleased to recognize the following very important visitors from the Truth and Reconciliation Commission: Commissioner Marie Wilson; Frank Hope, northern regional liaison; Jeannie Maniapik; and Lucy Yakeleya.
Thank you, Mr. McLeod. The honourable Member for Monfwi, Mr. Lafferty.
Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. I, too, would like to recognize Marie Wilson, commissioner of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. I would just like to say thank you for doing such great work on behalf of all the survivors in the Northwest Territories. Mahsi and welcome. Also the team as well. I would also like to recognize Mr. Anthony Whitford, whose birthday is today. Welcome.
Thank you, Mr. Lafferty. The honourable Member for Weledeh, Mr. Bromley.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I, too, rise with great respect and honour to recognize a couple of outstanding Weledeh constituents. First, of course, is Marie Wilson, who is here representing the Truth and Reconciliation Commission and all the wonderful work they do. Kudos to them. I’d also like to recognize, of course, Anthony Whitford, who you yourself have outlined his many credentials. Both Weledeh constituents outstanding in their public contributions.
Thank you, Mr. Bromley. The honourable Member for Sahtu, Mr. Yakeleya.
