Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Hiking the Canol Trail is no walk in the park. Just ask the 142 people who have hiked the trail since 2006. These are world-class hikers. Not only do we have a world-class hiking trail, we have world-class oilfields, world-class fishing spots, a world-class painted church, world-class hunting areas and several world-class national parks.
In the past 10 years, we have had world-class hikers in the Sahtu that have hiked the Canol Trail, a 222-mile trail from the Mackenzie River to the Yukon border.
A snapshot of the Canol: The Canol was once the biggest construction project in the ‘40s in North America. It was bigger than the Panama Canal. Of the 142 hikers who went on the trail since 2006, some continue today to have walked about three to four hundred miles on that trail. Of the 142 hikers, we had 48 youth participate in the past nine years. This year will mark 10 years of hiking the trail.
Those who have walked the Canol know the true meaning of teamwork, cooperation, encouragement and determination. They’ve been tested in every facet of their entire being. Pain and soreness was the common theme of the hikers. The youth have walked through the old remnants of the past and saw and felt what it was like in the olden days. Living on the land is not easy. Without proper monitoring and regulations, the youth experience how government did not care about our land. Read the Canol containment report. Better yet, Mr. Speaker, go and walk the Canol.
I seek unanimous consent to conclude my statement.
---Unanimous consent granted
Mr. Speaker, youth can better appreciate what we have today in our land claim and, more importantly, cleaning up the mess left behind. Without our great sponsorship of the Government of the Northwest Territories, the Aboriginal governments, the private businesses, the oil companies, the volunteers, the community councils and the hikers, this hike would have been but a dream. It takes committed people to make that commitment. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Yakeleya. Member for Weledeh, Mr. Bromley.
