Thank you, Madam Speaker. Madam Speaker, this morning I heard the announcement of Yellowknife as the site for the 1998 Arctic Winter Games. While I'm sure the city of Yellowknife will do a fine job of hosting the games, the selection of Yellowknife over Inuvik disturbed me.
Madam Speaker, no one can deny the tremendous effort put forth by the people of Inuvik in trying to prepare a viable bid for the games. They lobbied long and hard, showing great community enthusiasm. They came up with an innovative approach of a split week format which would allow the community to host, even though it doesn't have as many facilities as a larger centre. I'm sure there were many reasons for the decision, but it seems to demonstrate that only the largest northern communities can hold the games.
As I look down the road to Nunavut, this causes me concern. The people of Nunavut have always been proud participants in the games and we would want to take our turn hosting this event. However, the largest community in Nunavut is similar in size to Inuvik. If Inuvik couldn't host the games, is there any hope that Nunavut will be able to some day?
Madam Speaker, I would urge the government, through the Minister of Municipal and Community Affairs, to pursue this decision with the Arctic Winter Games International Committee. If indeed community size was a major factor in Inuvik not being chosen, I would ask that the international committee review its policies and consider options which would allow smaller communities to host the games.
As Inuvik showed us, these communities are interested and excited about the chance to host the games; let us make sure they have that chance. Thank you.