Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, today I would like to recognize a group of greatly spirited northerners who attended the Canada Senior Games in Whitehorse in September as ambassadors of the Northwest Territories. Team NWT was made up of 28 seniors, those aged 55 and older, from Fort Smith, Hay River and Yellowknife. They competed in seven different categories including golf, bowling, darts, contract and duplicate bridge, Scrabble and curling. The team brought home gold, silver and bronze medals in five of those categories for a total count of 10 medals. Those medal winners include Harry Sudom and Roy Bursey from Fort Smith, Robert Sibbeston from Hay River; and, Fred Koe, Dave Wind, Anne Wind, Brad Whitehead, Darryl Green, Helena Haener and Fred Couch, all of Yellowknife.

I would like to especially mention the oldest player from the NWT to attend, Ms. Prakash Chugh of Yellowknife, who is 83 years old.

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Prakash competed in the bowling category. Mr. Speaker, the energy and commitment of these individuals in the NWT Seniors’ Society as a whole is admirable. They have contributed to the growth and prosperity of the Northwest Territories over the years and continue to be valuable resources for us today. I understand that the NWT Seniors’ Society is already starting to work on its team for 2006 in Portage La Prairie, Manitoba. Promoting an active lifestyle in all stages of life is important for one’s health and well-being.

I commend the NWT Seniors’ Society for the dedication and work it devotes to the seniors and elders in the North. I also commend them for the amount of fundraising they do on their own. I think it’s important that the government recognize their efforts by continuing to provide funding for their activities. To their credit, Sport North and MACA provided $10,000 for the seniors’ team to attend the Whitehorse games.

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Thank you, Mr. McLeod. They also provided their uniforms, which were worth $5,000.

Mr. Speaker, we are fortunate to have many of the members of the NWT Seniors’ Society in the House today, many of whom were part of Team NWT. Mr. Speaker, at the appropriate time on today’s order paper, I will recognize those in the crowd. Thank you very much.

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