Mr. Speaker, on Tuesday night while in Ottawa for the First Ministers’ meeting, I had the opportunity to attend the Energy Council of Canada’s annual dinner. I was pleased to attend this event as the highlight of the dinner was the presentation of the Canadian Energy Person of the Year for 2004, which I am thrilled to say is Ms. Nellie Cournoyea.

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The recognition of Ms. Cournoyea is a very deserving one. For most northerners, Nellie Cournoyea is no stranger. She is a former Premier of the Northwest Territories and current chair/CEO of the Inuvialuit Regional Corporation.

Born in Aklavik, Ms. Cournoyea was educated through the federal Aklavik Day School by Alberta correspondence courses. She worked at CBC Inuvik for nine years as an announcer and station manager, was a land claim fieldworker for the Inuit Tapirisat of Canada and a founding member and later administrator and land rights worker of the Committee of Original Peoples’ Entitlement. She was the first managing director of the Inuvialuit Development Corporation after being part of the land rights negotiating team. She also held the position of implementation coordinator for the Inuvialuit Final Agreement for several years and served on the board of directors of the Inuvialuit Petroleum Arbitration Board. Having decided not to run in the 1995 NWT election, Ms.

Cournoyea returned to the Beaufort-Delta in January 1998. She was re-elected chair/CEO of IRC, a position she holds today.

She has received many other awards including:

Woman of the Year Award from the NWT Native Women’s Association, 1982;

Wallace Goose Award from the Inuvialuit Regional Corporation, 1986;

National Aboriginal Achievement Award, 1994;

Honourary Doctorates in Law, Lakehead University, 1995, Carleton University, 1996 and the University of Toronto, 1996.

The Energy Council of Canada is the Canadian Member Committee of the World Energy Council. It is made up of over 100 members from Canada’s energy sector, dedicated to enhancing the effectiveness of Canada’s national energy policy. The council seeks “to forge a better understanding of energy issues among the public and private sectors and the country at large, through discussion and exchange of information on all forms and aspects of energy.” The primary goal, as Canada’s pan-energy association, is to work with the sectoral energy associations to create a vigorous and effective energy strategy dialogue in Canada, engaging a broad range of players in industry and in governments.

Mr. Speaker, Members of the Legislative Assembly, please join with me in congratulating Ms. Nellie Cournoyea for being the much deserving recipient of this national award. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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