The honourable Member is seeking unanimous consent to continue. Are there any nays? There are no nays. Please proceed, Mr. Koe.

Mahsi, my honourable colleagues and Madam Speaker. I have to admit that the town of Inuvik did a bang-up

job and I want to congratulate all the people on the bid committee, all the volunteers, all the residents of Inuvik, all the leaders and residents of the Delta and Beaufort communities, all the businesses and the Government of the Northwest Territories for their support.

Madam Speaker, if the intentions of the Arctic Winter Games International Committee were known before hand, then the Delta and Beaufort communities would probably have not put out the effort which they did. They probably would have done the same amount of work that the city of Yellowknife did to secure this bid. From the information which I have, approximately $70,000 cash and in-kind contributions were expended in preparing Inuvik's bid.

I would like to say that the direction and support which prompted the town of Inuvik to submit a bid came from all the communities in the region. It was several years ago that a motion was passed by the leaders of the Beaufort and Delta communities to prepare to host the 1998 Arctic Winter Games.

Madam Speaker, one had to experience the enthusiasm and support shown by the people of the Beaufort and Delta communities when they hosted the Arctic Winter Games International Committee during the bid days: the young children who sang and danced and paraded; all the school children and teachers; the elders who sang and danced; the Arctic sports athletes who demonstrated their skills; the cooks who prepared the feast; the residents of the long-term care ward of the Inuvik General Hospital; and, just about everyone in Inuvik showed their support. They all made us proud.

Madam Speaker, this government must take a very serious look at what happened during this whole process and, more importantly, must take a long, hard look at the future of the Arctic Winter Games. Not awarding these games to Inuvik means that no small or medium-sized community can ever hope to host future games.

Incidentally, if Inuvik was chosen as a site for the 1998 Arctic Winter Games, this would have been the first time that the games would have been held north of 60.

By the way, I wish to congratulate Yellowknife. Mahsi.

---Applause

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.

Thank you. Item 3, Members' statements. The honourable Member for Nahendeh, Mr. Antoine.