Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I'd like to take this opportunity to tell the House about a man who has played an important role in the lives of many in the Northwest Territories.
My uncle, Jim Schaefer, was born April 7, 1937 and spent much of his early years on the trap line. He spent the early years of his adult life working for Northern Transportation Company Limited and Northwest Territories Power Corporation, travelling to many communities up and down the valley and east to Gjoa Haven, building generator stations and putting up power lines.
Jim met his wife in Fort Resolution and raised his family in Fort Smith. In 1966 Jim became a journeyman electrician, earning his certificate in Fort Smith, and being only the 11th person in the North to get his certificate. From there, he started his own business in the early 1970s. Jim was not only a hard-working entrepreneur and a dedicated family man, he was involved in the community, particularly in sports like broomball, baseball, and curling. The latter he excelled in, going to the Canadian Brier twice. Jim was also heavily involved in the local fire department and was a two-time winner of the Canadian Firefighters Curling Championship in his four trips to the national competition.
Mr. Speaker, his accolades didn't stop there. He was involved in the Metis Association, Caribou Management Boards, Hunters and Trappers Association, and youth justice. At the age of 41 Jim wanted to reconnect with the land, and went back to trapping for five years while teaching his children to live off the land. When he returned, he started his business up again, a better man.
He then became Chief of the Salt River First Nation and played an integral role in the signing of its Treaty Settlement Agreement in 2002. He was also the first president of what was once the NWT Hunters and Trappers Association and a committed advocate for trappers' rights. Mr. Speaker, Jim was a family man through and through, and in the later years of his life, he spent much of it with family, especially his grandchildren whom he loved dearly. He never recovered from the loss of his wife Edna of 52 years, who passed away in 2014 from cancer. On June 2nd, 22 months after he lost his life partner, he also succumbed to cancer. Jim lived life to its fullest and has left us all with memories that we will cherish. He helped build the Northwest Territories we know today and, for that, we are all grateful. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
