Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My next line of questions are for the Minister of MACA concerning a CBC news report on 2016 Arctic Winter Games, which indicated that there’s going to be limited sports on the ice surfaces. What involvement has MACA had with this Arctic Winter Games planning?
Thank you, Mr. Bouchard. The Minister responsible for Municipal and Community Affairs, Mr. McLeod.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. This is a cause for some concerns; however, it’s a decision that’s made by the Arctic Winter Games International Committee. They make the decision and I think they take into account the location of the games and the fact that they don’t have some of the facilities. Obviously, we’ve relayed our concerns, because a lot of the ice sport activities and games are a core part of the Arctic Winter Games. It’s a decision that’s made by the Arctic Winter Games International Committee and we have relayed our concerns on to them. However, I’m expecting that we’ll be hearing a lot more about this particular issue in the future because it does affect a lot of folks out there across the Northwest Territories.
Obviously, it’s a concern to me. I know Hay River and Fort Smith put a proposal back a couple years ago to combine the two communities together to host the Arctic Winter Games and they were declined because they didn’t want to put the two communities together to host all the events, yet they’re allowing this one community to do it with limited sports. What is the next step for MACA involved with the Arctic Winter Games planners to ensure that these games are included for the youth of the North?
We can have discussion with our representative on the International Games Committee and see if there might be a way that something could be worked out, because a lot of kids look forward to the opportunity to compete in the Arctic Winter Games, compete in the sport of their choice, and having to respect the next host, which is actually Greenland and their lack of a lot of ice facilities, I think some kind of alternate arrangements might have to be worked out. We’ll have to have those discussions to see where we go from here, because it is going to be a concern for a lot of people in the next year or so. Thank you.
Has the department looked at any, as he indicated, alternates for some of these youth that would be deprived of their opportunity to be in the Arctic Winter Games at this time?
Mr. Speaker, we have had some initial discussions as to some of the alternatives that might be available. We have to further those discussions and see, because we have a lot of athletes that take part in the ice portion, which I said before is a core part of the Arctic Winter Games. We have to try and ensure that they have an opportunity during the Arctic Winter Games season to gather and compete. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. McLeod. Final, short supplementary, Mr. Bouchard.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I have no further questions, but I am concerned with this issue. Thank you.
Mr. Speaker, I have no further answers. I am also concerned with this situation. Thank you.
---Laughter
