Good afternoon, Mr. Speaker. Today I am pleased to provide Members with an update on my recent trip with Minister McLeod to the Canada Winter Games and the federal/provincial/territorial Ministers of Sport meeting in Prince George, British Columbia.
It was great to see Team NWT athletes march into the opening ceremonies. They were so proud and excited to be representing their communities and the Northwest Territories at this important national sporting event. I also want to acknowledge my constituents Ms. Val Gendron, mission staff, and her daughter Madison Pilling, who are both there with the speed skating team. I should say it was a fantastic event to watch the speed skaters as they represented not only our territory but their own territories and provinces.
Also, a City of Yellowknife delegation was in Prince George to gather information on a possible bid for the 2023 Canada Winter Games, as Ms. Bisaro alluded to earlier. If the city chooses to host the games, the benefits that come to the entire NWT will be significant. As the Minister from the Yukon said in one of his statements about the Canada Games, the Yukon is still receiving the benefits from hosting the Games in 2007. This is because there’s usually significant legacy sport infrastructure left behind. The economic and tourism benefits are incredible. There was $90 million alone in Prince George this year.
The community and volunteer development opportunities are even more significant. I also had an opportunity to see the presentations on the National Play Exchange that Mr. Bouchard referenced, the Walk to Tuk Challenge that our own NWT Recreation and Parks Association was a finalist in. It was also great to see our colleague Mr. Moses and four-time Olympic champion Sharon Firth featured on the national stage as part of this program.
Finally, I was able to be part of a larger discussion on what governments in Canada are doing to encourage Canadians to become more physically active. There are some promising programs being developed, but there are still some huge challenges to overcome if we want our residents and youth to be healthier.
While I haven’t registered for the Walk to Tuk, I have chosen to walk more every day. It’s fun when the Yellowknife weather has been 40 below.
Just in closing, I seek unanimous consent to conclude my statement.
---Unanimous consent granted
I just wanted to thank Minister McLeod and the coaches, mission staff and the sports volunteers who make the athletes’ experience at the Canada Games a success, and good luck to Team NWT for the next 10 days as they proudly represent us. Mahsi cho.
Thank you, Mr. Menicoche. The Member for Mackenzie Delta, Mr. Blake.
