Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I have a return to an oral question asked by Mr. Zoe on March 17, 1993, concerning North American aboriginal summer games.
Mr. Speaker, I have some additional information to provide on this summer's North American indigenous games.
The second North American indigenous games will be held July 18 to 25, 1993, in Prince Albert, Saskatchewan. The first games were held in Edmonton in July, 1990.
Several teams from the Northwest Territories did participate in these first games in 1990, including men's and ladies' fastball teams from Fort Smith. The department provided grants to these teams to assist their travel costs. There were no formal trials to select an overall official Northwest Territories team, as such.
Mr. Speaker, the department has only received, to date, a couple of inquiries about the 1993 aboriginal games and we are not aware of any definite plans being made by any teams to participate.
The department does not have a program or any plans to select and send an official team to represent the NWT at these games, as it does to the Arctic winter games or Canada games. The department is prepared, however, to consider support similar to that given to teams that participated in 1990.
Mr. Speaker, sport in the Northwest Territories is the envy of many jurisdictions. Our individual sport organizations, our Sport North Federation and the various competitions and major athletic games we support place heavy emphasis on providing participation opportunities for our aboriginal people. Perhaps that is why there is less need to establish or support separate competitions. However, we have supported and will continue to support these groups that have been organized to promote aboriginal games, such as the various regional Inuit and Dene games associations and the NWT Arctic sports association.
The department will speak to these regional Inuit and Dene games associations and to the NWT Arctic sports association to see if they have plans to support or organize participation in these 1993 indigenous games. We are certainly prepared to work with these groups and to also consider any direct requests, as we did in 1990.
Mr. Speaker, I understand that most of our regional Inuit and Dene games groups have made plans for their own traditional games celebrations, held each summer. Our Sport North Federation is also in the final stages of preparing for the NWT's preparation in August at the 1993 Canada summer games. however, within this schedule, the department is ready to assist where there is interest in participation in the 1993 indigenous games. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.