Good afternoon, colleagues. In light of the tragic events that happened in our capital yesterday at the War Memorial at Parliament Hill, I would like to ask that we observe a moment of silence and reflect upon those who experienced loss and injury, particularly to the families and loved ones of Corporal Nathan Cirillo.
---Moment of Silence
Colleagues, I would like to draw your attention to the presence in the gallery of Mr. Jose Antonio Torres-Lacasa, Minister Counsellor in the political and public affairs section of the European Union to Canada. Mr. Torres-Lacasa has travelled here from the embassy in Ottawa. Welcome to the Northwest Territories.
---Applause
Mr. Speaker, later today I will be tabling the Northwest Territories Coroner Service 2013 Annual Report. This report sets out some information on the history of the coroner’s service, the role and structure of the office and some information on their work in 2013. This report reminds us that in the Northwest Territories, we have a number of dedicated volunteers who are deeply committed to assisting those in their communities at times of tragedy. They work with circumstances and situations that most of us are unable or unwilling to face.
Coroners play a vital role in our justice system. They are at the forefront of investigations of deaths. Their jobs are stressful and difficult, as many of their investigations involve people that they knew within their home communities. They are all too often called out in the middle of the night to deal
with scenes that most of us could not face. They must have the strength to deal with the partners, children and parents who are now at the worst moments of their lives. Yet despite these profound challenges, they will tell you that they find their positions extremely rewarding, as they play an important role in helping to bring closure for most families and they help prevent tragedies in the future.
Mr. Speaker, each coroner has within their mandate the ability to conduct investigations into deaths when required and, based on what they learn, to make recommendations that will assist in preventing serious injuries or deaths from occurring in the future. They remind us to be safer and to critically re-examine our own practices. The role they play can never be understated.
Tomorrow we will see NWT coroners from 15 communities come together for the next three days to train. They will become familiar with the latest techniques and technologies in their field and have discussions with peers and professionals who best understand the work they do.
We have coroners who have been performing their duties for many years and are coming to a time when they are ready to pass their knowledge to others. Currently, we have openings in several communities, and we expect that in the near future there will be more. If you are aware of people in your communities who are inquisitive, courageous and community minded, and are looking for truly rewarding work, have them speak with their local coroner, or the chief coroner of the NWT located here in Yellowknife, to be part of a proud tradition.
For the coroners making the trip to learn and share over the next three days, we hope that they are able to be rejuvenated and return with new skills of value to their understanding and delivery of the services they provide. Most importantly, Mr. Speaker, I want to express gratitude on behalf of the people of the Northwest Territories for the thorough and professional jobs coroners do. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Ramsay. The honourable Minister of Municipal and Community Affairs, Mr. McLeod.
Mr. Speaker, we are just over 16 months away from the next Arctic Winter Games being hosted in Nuuk, Greenland. As you know, there are six sports which Greenland is unable to host: dog mushing, gymnastics, curling, speed skating, figure skating and midget hockey. Today I am pleased to announce that Whitehorse, Yukon, has agreed to host an alternative multi-sport event, the Arctic X Games, to coincide with the 2016 Arctic Winter Games in Greenland.
Mr. Speaker, this is great news for our athletes and territorial sport organizations affected by the exclusion of some sports from the 2016 Arctic Winter Games. They now have an event to train for and compete in, which will ultimately contribute to further development within their sport.
For many of our athletes, the Arctic Winter Games is the pinnacle of their competitive career. For others, the Games provide an opportunity to use this as a stepping stone in their development. Many of our athletes continue on to the Canada Winter Games and some have even continued on to the international stage, including the Olympics.
Mr. Speaker, can you imagine Michael Gilday and Brendan Green not having participated in the Arctic Winter Games and how that may have affected their development as the athletes and the people they have become? The opportunities and experiences provided through their participation in the Arctic Winter Games certainly helped them to represent our territory and country at many national and international events, including the 2010 and 2014 Winter Olympics.
Mr. Speaker, the 2016 Arctic Winter Games and the Arctic X Games will assist with the development of our athletes as the Northwest Territories prepares to host the 2018 Arctic Winter Games and send teams to both the 2015 and 2019 Canada Winter Games.
The department is committed to work with the territorial sport organizations and the Sport North Federation to prepare and send athletes to the Arctic Winter Games in Nuuk, Greenland, and the Arctic X Games in Whitehorse, Yukon, in March of 2016.
Finally, Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank the Government of the Yukon and their sport partners for committing to host the Arctic X Games and the permanent members of the Arctic Winter Games International Committee for their commitment to send their teams to these Games in Whitehorse. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Sometimes they hear us on the other side of the House. Mr. Speaker, there was a concerted message from this side of the House that we needed to do something in the Northwest Territories about early childhood development. They heard us. They developed a plan within the Department of Education, Culture and Employment, but in doing so they have missed the mark and I’m going to tell you why.
Mr. Speaker, they have decided to implement Junior Kindergarten in communities where the ramifications and the fallout from it is actually going to have the opposite effect from what is desired. In communities like Hay River, we have long-standing institutions like the Hay River Cooperative Play School, the Head Start program on the Hay River Reserve, we have Treehouse, we have Growing Together and we have the French preschool. We also have some very good licenced day homes and child care services as well.
Early childhood development in the regional centres – and let me just speak for Hay River – was being very effectively addressed, but when the government comes along with their solution to the problem, there is no target. The targeted area, because they wanted to see better educational outcomes than what we have, should have been those communities, small communities mostly, who had nothing in their community for early childhood development. That’s where it should have been, but in their, I don’t know, enthusiasm to address this issue, to address the fallout of early childhood development, the fallout is actually going to be quite substantial.
Mr. Bouchard and I have met with the Hay River DEA. To add another class to our existing education system without any funding is going to erode the entire educational system from K to 12. It’s going to take away from that because we say we are going to have better outcomes by starting those little four-year-olds in Junior Kindergarten. I have a five-year-old granddaughter; Mr. Bouchard has a little guy who’s five years old; and I can tell you that those little gaffers come home from school, all-day kindergarten – we used to only have half-day kindergarten; now we have all-day kindergarten – and those little guys come home from school that they both just started and I tell you they are dead tired on their feet. Now we’re going to put little four-year-olds in all-day kindergarten.
I would like the Department of Education, Culture and Employment, before the rollout in the larger communities in the regional centres, to rethink what they are doing by putting this load onto the DEAs and DECs without additional funding for the education system. I think it will be catastrophic. I think it will be devastating. You are going to gut the services that are already there, and please, please think this through. Thank you.
Thank you, Mrs. Groenewegen. The honourable Member for Range Lake, Mr. Dolynny.
[Translation] …As a result, our children are eating convenient, ready-to-eat, highly salted, sugared and overly processed foods. The Northwest Territories has the second highest obesity rate in Canada. This has a potential to lead to a lifetime of multiple mental and physical health problems and increase our health care costs.
Canadians have less knowledge about choosing and preparing healthy foods for their families. In many cases children are arriving at school hungry and are unable to learn because they have not eaten a nutritious breakfast. Healthy food increases school attendance, improves academic performances and fosters school and community spirit.
Food First NWT is one of the leaders in nutrition education and it has developed a program for upper elementary students called Taste Makers. It teaches students about nutrition, food purchasing, food and kitchen safety and how to cook healthy foods. The goal is to build confidence, knowledge and skills for children to adopt a lifestyle of healthy eating.
Taste Makers was delivered in Northwest Territories schools in December 2013 and received good evaluations from educators and students. It has potential to be of immense value to students across the Northwest Territories.
Food First Foundation received a $50,000 Anti-Poverty Fund grant in 2014 in order to distribute and support Taste Makers in Northwest Territories schools. Over the next year, Food First will investigate logistics and cost to translate the program into French.
Mr. Speaker, this program provides the opportunity to give Taste Makers a wider scope. Food awareness and preparation is an essential skill for all of us. There is also potential for application of mathematics, science and biology from this program as students learn to buy, cook and eat the food.
Our continued multi-year financial and moral support to maintain and improve this program is critical for its success. It may take a decade to see concrete results, but it’s in the interest of our people and our government to make it work.
Thank you, Mr. Dolynny. Member for Hay River North, Mr. Bouchard.
MEMBER'S STATEMENT ON
SUPPORT FOR THE
COMMERCIAL FISHING INDUSTRY
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. This week is Small Business Week, and Hay River being one of the communities that I think is strongest in business, I’d like to make some of the statements about some of the products and services.
One of the industries that is definitely needed in Hay River is the Hay River Fishery. We’ve talked about this in this House before. The Hay River Fishery and the Great Slave Lake Fishery needs assistance. We’ve been working with the Department of ITI to look towards opportunities in the future. We’ve been looking at infrastructure, but we need to continue to work on training for these types of individuals, getting more individuals into this industry. We need to train some of our local people and encourage people to become entrepreneurs.
We see almost weekly from some of the fishermen, they show us pictures of the Great Slave Lake. It’s dangerous work; it’s hard work; but it’s challenging work and it’s beneficial.
We know that some of this industry is changing in other provinces such as Alberta – we know recently Lake Athabasca closed down its fishery – and we’re looking to see what the opportunities are. Does that include fishers coming up here? Does that include being able to market our fish and sell our fish in Alberta?
We need to encourage fishery in this territory. We need to help the fishermen of the Northwest Territories and Great Slave Lake fishermen. Obviously, I encourage that we continue to support Hay River fishermen. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Bouchard. Member for Deh Cho, Mr. Nadli.
Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. The Minister of Industry, Tourism and Investment recently tabled the Economic Opportunities Implementation Plan. Tourism is a key component of the plan to diversify and enhance economic opportunities throughout the NWT. The conference bureau initiative is among the programs ITI is funding through this strategy, and I wanted to highlight some of the opportunities that program creates for small communities in the NWT.
The conference bureau needs to look beyond the regional centres of Yellowknife, Inuvik or Fort Smith to see the amenities smaller places have to offer. The newly built Sandy Creek Lodge in the Deh Cho riding is a good example of a facility that should be promoted through our Tourism Strategy.
Just beyond the Hay River Reserve at Sandy Creek, the K’atlodeeche First Nation has built the wilderness lodge in a place rich with history. The lodge seems remote, yet it is easily accessible by road from the town of Hay River. What better place to take newcomers to the region and residents alike?
The Long Spear People came to the area 7,000 years ago, and records show the Hay River Reserve first appears on a map in 1854. The Hudson’s Bay Company built a trading post there in 1868, followed by the Roman Catholic and Anglican missions and eventually a nursing station and a school by the turn of the century.
The site of the lodge was most recently used as a Pentecostal Mission Camp in the 1950s with a wooden church, cabins and cookhouse. Ken Norn, a member of the K’atlodeeche First Nation, who built the Sandy Creek Lodge, remembers visiting the area with his grandparents.
The Sandy Creek Lodge is a brand new building with modern comforts, designed to be a gathering place for the community, an educational facility, a conference venue for government and industry, and a wilderness retreat. It’s currently open for seasonal use, but it could be used all year round. It would only take short notice to go out there and fire up the generators and heat the building for a winter retreat.
The K’atlodeeche First Nation invested a lot of time, effort and resources into the development of the lodge. There are likely many other facilities like it across the NWT that need to be promoted through the conference bureau initiative. Many people coming to the NWT for the first time are intrigued by what it has to offer. Business travelers come to work but also want a comfortable way to experience something they would never find in cities in the South that can show them more than just a boardroom. What better introduction to the North than a visit to the Sandy Creek Lodge? Mahsi.
Thank you, Mr. Nadli. The Member for Yellowknife Centre, Mr. Hawkins.
[Translation] Mr. Chairman, the environment is important for each of us. We have to make responsible choices for our future. [Translation ends]
Mr. Speaker, I’ve been trying to make a concerted effort to learn a little French, and what I’m trying to tell everyone here today is that the environment is important to all of us. We have to make a responsible choice towards our future.
We all have an important role for promoting and developing and getting behind responsible development, but when our government says to the public it’s open for business, I’m cautious to wonder what type of industry they’re courting. Are they mindful of the future that they are inviting to the dance?
The public impression is that if the territorial regulator is the same Minister promoting the industry, how is that honestly fair? Often I’ve heard, and people have wondered: why isn’t the Minister of Environment not the territorial regulator? Some say the Minister of Industry snuggles up just too closely to industry; obviously, he’ll take their side. People wonder: does it really matter if he’s on the prime rib circuit; does that prejudice the future decision?
At the same time, some would wonder, if the Environment Minister was the regulator, would the Environment Minister be just too cautious to allow projects to proceed? That too would be fair criticism.
The point is it’s a challenging responsibility that every single one of us is involved in. We must be part of a responsible process that develops for our future generations. So while we make choices here today, we must be mindful we’re not making them for ourselves, we’re making them for down the road.
I support responsible development. I welcome the choices, but may all the choices be fully informed. We need all the information on the table. So, when my good friends in the Sahtu want to pursue their opportunities, their hopes, their dreams – and sometimes that may include fracking – we must be fully informed of the decisions that they’re making because we are making choices that will have effects in the future. But let us not forget, while this government pursues a fracking policy, that really is telling you they’ve decided fracking is okay, we’re just waiting for what type of fracking is okay. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Hawkins. The Member for Frame Lake, Ms. Bisaro.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As we’ve heard already today and earlier this week, this is Small Business Week across Canada and in the NWT. A small business in Canada is defined as having from five to 100 employees. Today I want to specifically acknowledge Small Business Day this Saturday, October 25th.
Small business owners represent the best of the Canadian spirit. They’re entrepreneurs, innovators, job creators and an integral part of our communities, large and small. From coast to coast to coast, Canadian small businesses help drive local economies and keep our communities strong. Small businesses with less than 50 employees, including businesses with no employees at all, represent almost 98 percent of the total business establishments in Canada. They are the heart of our economy.
Here in the NWT there are hundreds of hardworking small business owners. In my Frame Lake riding alone, there are, at last count, over 50 small businesses. To keep our small northern businesses as strong and going concerns, they need greater consideration from the GNWT and our procurement system.
We should be doing all we can to get GNWT contracts to our local/northern small businesses. But the system seems to work against that premise. Do we design RFPs, contracts and tenders with a view to make them easily filled by a northern small business? It often seems we do not. So if government can’t help our small businesses, we, as individuals, as northern consumers, can help our small businesses.
We can stop searching out products and buying them online. Instead, find a northern supplier. Search out local small businesses. Ask them to special order what you want or what you need. We must frequent and buy from our local small businesses to keep them thriving.
So, two days from now, on Saturday, you can show your support for NWT small businesses. Go shopping and shop small. Your neighbours and constituents will thank you for it. Thanks, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Ms. Bisaro. Member for Inuvik Boot Lake, Mr. Moses.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The NWT Recreation and Parks Association recognizes dedicated recreation professionals and volunteers in northern communities for their continuing efforts and achievements in promoting recreation and active living for all Northerners.
Well, I think it’s about time that this territory and this government recognize the NWT Recreation and Parks Association. We’ve got to recognize this great association for 25 years of excellent service in the Northwest Territories. I was fortunate enough to attend part of the conference that they had a couple of weeks ago, earlier this month, and celebrate with them their 25 year anniversary.
Over the 25 years, they’ve dedicated themselves to training residents and professionals and their development as well. They’ve been strong advocates for health, recreation and wellness not only in the Northwest Territories but they do sit on national boards and bring the northern voice to these national boards.
Some of these trainings include things like the HIGH FIVE training, Elders in Motion, on-the-land programs, the NWT conference and awards aquatics, something that’s been brought up in the House many times to help develop lifesaving techniques in the cold water or when you’re just out in the canoe or out swimming.
I just wanted to highlight a few of their achievements over the past year. The NWTRPA had 40 training events in 16 communities. Of those training events, 473 people participated in the training. In the Walk to Tuk Challenge, over 1,600 people participated. In their Get Active events, over 6,000 people participated. They also developed four new Elders in Motion programs and eight on-the-land programs are also started. All these are for residents who are youth, to adults, to elders.
I just want to highlight one other thing with the NWT Rec and Parks Association. With their Walk to Tuk Challenge, the NWTRPA was selected as one of six Play Exchange finalists chosen from over 400 submissions in Canada to possibly gain up to a million dollars to launch that challenge nationwide. That will be…
Mr. Speaker, I seek unanimous consent to conclude my statement.
---Unanimous consent granted
As I mentioned, the RPA’s Walk to Tuk Challenge was selected as one of six Play Exchange finalists. It will be showcased on a national television show in January of 2015 where they will be eligible for up to $1 million to launch the Walk to Tuk Challenge nationwide. That shows some really great leadership not only in the NWT but in the nation.
I’d like the Members of this Legislative Assembly to join me in thanking the board of directors, the volunteers, the hardworking staff and members for their dedication to a healthy lifestyle, a healthy wellness for people of the NWT and the residents. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Moses. Member for Weledeh, Mr. Bromley.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. An exciting movement is gaining momentum in Canada, growing from a seed planted right here in the Weledeh riding of Yellowknife. Weledeh and other territorial youth approached former Premier Stephen Kakfwi with a new vision for the relationship between Canada and First Nations, a chance to redefine the partnership between those who settled here and those who welcomed them. This movement is called Canadians for a New Partnership.
Composed of exceptional leaders from across Canada, including former Prime Ministers and Premiers and obviously our own former Premier Kakfwi, national indigenous leaders, youth leaders, a former Supreme Court justice and one of Canada’s most respected auditors general, it is built on the principle that indigenous and other Canadians can together build a strong society and economy that will benefit present and future generations. It is a principle shared by a growing number of other Canadians from all walks of life, including churches, businesses, academia and the public service.
The overriding mission is to build a better and stronger Canada, and many are signing their name to a declaration pledging to do so.
Canadians for a New Partnership profess that the relationship between First Nations and mainstream Canada has reached a critical turning point. Efforts to improve the health, education and welfare of First Nations people are destined for the same failures of the past, unless we build this new partnership in a renewed spirit of trust and optimism. They believe that we must embrace the notion of partnership fully and place it at the very heart of our endeavors and not be deluded about past challenges nor deterred by present circumstances.
The movement is shepherded by the accumulated wisdom of respected leaders and driven by energetic, resourceful youth – intergenerational, cross-cultural and borderless. It bases its work on the nation-building principles recommended by the Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples: mutual recognition, mutual respect, mutual responsibility, and cooperation and sharing. Members, all volunteers, are committed to crafting a new level of trust between indigenous and non-indigenous Canadians.
Mr. Speaker, I appreciate this government’s support of these visionary Canadians and their efforts here and throughout Canada to press the reset button and begin building a new relationship based on trust and cooperation between all Canadians. Please join me in thanking them and wishing them the best of success. Mahsi.
Member for Sahtu, Mr. Yakeleya.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I too want to finish off this week with words of encouragement mostly to our small business people in the Northwest Territories, especially to the ones in the Sahtu region.
We have small business owners in Deline who guide people for world-class fishing. We have people in Tulita work in the business to serve the oil and gas sector of the government. We have business people in Colville Lake, where the best furs in Canada are trapped. These young trappers are business people. We also have business people in Fort Good Hope looking after the community through the housing initiatives. Certainly in Norman Wells we have 38 members who belong to the Norman Wells Chamber of Commerce. Just in the community of Tulita and Norman Wells, through the district structure, we have 39 registered business owners.
One of the biggest business contributors to the Sahtu region has been the oil and gas exploration stages, with $150 million invested into the Sahtu since 2011-12. That type of money had a lot of people thinking about what they can do for themselves.
Business people sometimes take a real hard kick in the face because the perception out there is they are just there for themselves. The business people are mom-and-dad shops, they are your brothers, your sisters, who go to work at six o’clock in the morning, Monday to Monday, weekends, they work hard, they pay the taxes, they contribute to the communities.
Even the oil companies, they have an obligation and they are working their best through our partnership, through the land claim. But even the oil companies, when we really need them, like Husky, when they were looking for that young girl in Tulita, Husky donated $16,000 for fuel for the community. Nobody else stepped up, not even our government.
Business is good if you do it well. I want to say to all the business people, keep your dreams alive. Think for the people, and that’s what our business people are doing. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Yakeleya. Member for Nahendeh, Mr. Menicoche.
Mahsi cho, Mr. Speaker. The Fort Simpson Health Centre provides a range of health services to the residents of Nahendeh and the Deh Cho region. Unfortunately, or perhaps fortunately, the existing facility requires replacement to adequately provide these services. There is an engineering report by Public Works and Services that shows that this infrastructure is aging, has structural deficiencies and is over 30 years old.
Serious consideration for replacement was discussed by the Department of Health and Social Services. It was even unofficially slated to be replaced by a new facility…
---Technical difficulties
…means that it is classified as very important but is nowhere on the capital plan, even in the long term. The health centre staff and the residents of Nahendeh need answers. Where and when will this facility be built?
Quality health care services are being compromised by the lack of appropriate workspace with current health standards to deliver these services.
I urge the Minister of Health and Social Services to ensure that the Fort Simpson Health Centre replacement is funded and in the capital plan. The future health of our residents rests with the decision of this government.
Thank you, Mr. Menicoche. The Member for Mackenzie Delta, Mr. Blake.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Today my statement is on Junior Kindergarten, much like my colleague Mrs. Groenewegen. Many people in the small communities, and in the larger communities, as well, feel that this government has rushed in to implement the Junior Kindergarten initiative without first reviewing the pilot projects that happened last year in the small communities. To make things worse, the student/teacher ratio was also changed just last year from 8 to 1 to now 16 to 1. We also have a number of challenges with lack of resources and funding. This year all that was given to the schools to implement this was $15,000, and if you didn’t implement it this year, next year you won’t get anything. There is also a shortage of staff.
In Fort McPherson, for example, we have 14 junior kindergarten and 14 kindergarten students. Can you imagine taking on 28 small children in one classroom without any assistants?
There are also concerns of training in the field of early childhood development. Kindergarten teachers are not required to have early childhood development training.
I’ll have questions for the Minister later today.
Mahsi Mr. Speaker. I’d like to welcome to our gallery, through you, Mr. Speaker, Meagan Wowk, ECE early childhood and kindergarten coordinator who is here with us today. Also, Dr. Magdalena Janus is also here with us. She is the co-creator of the EDI program from the Offord Centre for Child Studies and is training the junior kindergarten teachers on how to use the Early Development Instrument.
There are also teachers that are here with us from each of the communities offering Junior Kindergarten, except from the South Slave DEC where all their JK teachers are already trained to use the EDI. The teachers who are here with us are as follows: first is Silene Hebert, Nancy Noseworthy, Wanda Quigg, Genive – aka “Genny” – Di Bernardo, Robin Hatfield, Matthew Baetz, Christal Doherty, Elise Decarie-Jean, Angela Young, Theresa Hartley, Jennifer Thompson, Georgina Emaghok, Julie Donahue, Jennifer Russell, Nora Sargent, Alanna Duffy, Sandra Ipana, Lafi Schuck, Teresite Rodnunsky, Clara Redvers, Alicia Camille, Arlene Cliff-Philips, Melanie Switzer, Christianne Bezanson, Emme Landry, Victoria Budgell and Crystal Cockney. Thank you for being here with us. Mahsi.
Thank you, Mr. Lafferty. Mr. McLeod.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’d like to use this opportunity to recognize a couple of hardworking Pages from Inuvik Twin Lakes. I’ve got Ms. Tyra Cockney-Goose, who’s sitting over there by the deputy Sergeant-at-Arms, and I’ve got Julienne Chipesia. She’s just on the other side of the glass there. I’d like to thank them and all the other Pages for all the work they do throughout our time in session.
I’d also like to recognize two residents of Inuvik. They are constituents of Boot Lake, but I got up first, so I get to recognize them. We have Ms. Angela Young and Sandra Ipana. Thank you very much. Welcome to the Assembly.
Thank you, Mr. McLeod. Mr. Ramsay.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’d like to recognize today the chief coroner of the Northwest Territories, Ms. Cathy Menard. Also with Ms. Menard we have other coroners from Yellowknife, Garth Eggenberger, Wendy Eggenberger, Nicole Latour, Ruth McLean and Adelle Guigon. I’d like to say thank you very much for the hard work that you do in performing your duties as coroners here in the Northwest Territories.
I also want to recognize all the educators we have with us today in the gallery. Finally, Mr. Speaker, I want to recognize Mr. Kevin Wallington for all the hard work he put in on developing the egg market here in the Northwest Territories. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Ramsay. Colleagues, before we go on today, I’d also like to recognize Ms. Nicole Latour, who is nominated to fill the office of the Chief Electoral Officer effective November 1st. Welcome to the House, Ms. Latour. Ms. Bisaro.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’d also like to recognize the educators up behind me and the group of coroners who are here and welcome them to the House. I’d like to specifically mention Mr. Garth Eggenberger, a resident of Frame Lake, and if I’ve missed any other residents of Frame Lake, my apologies, and welcome.
