Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, to begin this final sitting of the 19th Assembly, I would like to start by recognizing and thanking all the people who helped with Fort Smith's evacuation and protection in this year's recordbreaking wildfire season. This includes all wildfire personnel in the Department of Environment and Climate Change formerly known as ENR, as well as the personnel from Parks Canada, the Canadian Armed Forces, the Department of MACA, the business community, and regular citizens who stepped up and volunteered to help in any way they could. Thanks to the combined efforts of all these groups, Fort Smith is still standing with no homes lost or human lives lost due to wildfires. Thank you also to those residents who stayed behind to help, to defend, and look after the community while it was evacuated.
As MLA for Thebacha, on behalf of the Fort Smith residents, thank you everyone who helped with these efforts of protecting Fort Smith from disaster. Moreover, Mr. Speaker, while it is certainly positive that Fort Smith itself did not sustain any major physical damage due to wildfires, the landscape has changed.
There are some sad stories that occurred during the period of evacuation that I want to share with you. With the permission of their families, I am sad to report that Fort Smith lost five citizens during the five weeks that we were evacuated from our community. The names of these individuals are Sandy Murphy, a senior from the seniors home. Chris Caron whom I traveled with every Friday through the entire 19th Assembly. I will miss him. Michael Walsh, who I met during my last campaign in 2019 and is a senior whose daughter is Shauna Walsh. Jason Abraham, a Salt River Member. And Philip MacDonald, who is also a Salt River Member, and was the oldest person in Fort Smith. On behalf of all Fort Smith residents, I want to offer my heartfelt condolences to the family, friends, and loved ones of each of these individuals. These are a sad loss for our community. It is always hard to lose someone but I know that it was especially hard to handle during such a mixed up time throughout our town's evacuation. Mr. Speaker, I seek unanimous consent to conclude my statement.
Unanimous consent granted
Mr. Speaker, it is important to note that none of these deceased individuals had died as a result of the wildfires and that each person passed away due to various reasons. There is, however, an additional story that I want to mention which did result in life loss due to wildfire.
During the second evacuation of Hay River, Fort Smith residents Mike Curet and his wife Halina Kate did lose some animals along with their truck and lifestock trailer as they were fleeing Hay River. In all, they lost five alpacas and two guard dogs named Luna and Cassie. Those animals were part of Mike and Halina's family, and it is very unfortunate that they died during the evacuation.
In closing, Mr. Speaker, I also want to acknowledge the fallen NWT firefighter, Mr. Adam Yeadon, who died on the job in July while battling a fire near Fort Liard. Adam was a Member of the Acho Dene Koe First Nation. He was only 25 years old. He had a young daughter and a loving partner whom he left behind. As Thebacha MLA, I want to offer my condolences to his family and his community for this tragic loss.
And, lastly, I want to thank the Cabinet, all Regular Members, all Regular MLA Members, and all the staff of the Legislative Assembly, who helped me navigate through this evacuation.
I also want to thank my husband Peter and my dog Rambo. Both of them stayed behind and looked after people's pets, harvest people's gardens since grocery trucks could not deliver food due to road closures. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Member for Thebacha. Members' statements. Member for Hay River South.
