Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Today I want to talk about the public service. I worked in the public service for many, many years and one gets a little bit tired of hearing all this criticism of people who have dedicated their lives to being of use to the public.
Today, Mr. Speaker, I would like to point out that much of the voluntary work done throughout the Territories, worth millions and millions of dollars out of peoples' pockets and their time, is done by people who really believe they want to serve their community. However, it is very rare that I get up and try to retain a serious note all the way through, because people get a little bit down and become critical of those people who are always critical of those individuals who believe that in their lives they can do something useful with their time.
I would like to point out, Mr. Speaker, that there are many people in this community and throughout the communities in the Northwest Territories who do give up their time without payment so that they can be useful citizens. At 6:00 p.m. tonight there will be a turkey bingo at the Elks for the NWT Council for Disabled Persons. There are many people who are out of town, and the Council for Disabled Persons, in fact, serves a territorial function as an advocacy group for those people throughout the Territories who throughout their lives live with some degree of misfortune.
It is because of the work of many volunteers that do this work that those people get the support and assistance that they have come to expect over the many years. Many Yellowknife people give up their time so that this kind of service can be provided, not only for the people in Yellowknife, but for people throughout the Northwest Territories. However, in the flyer that went throughout the city over the last few days there was a mistake. The bingo is not a $35,000 bingo; it is a $3500 bingo. It begins at 6:00 p.m., with the doors opening at this time, and the bingo starts at 7:00 p.m.