Thank you, Mr. Speaker. To explain why we should support the motion -- and I believe the motion contains most of the reasons, Mr. Speaker -- I should give you a little bit more background. During A Y Jackson's life, he led a group of Canadian painters called the Group of Seven, Mr. Speaker, which broke away from the tradition that it was only by copying European methods that painting could really be developed.

Although he spent time in Paris before the First World War, learning technique and colour, it wasn't until he began to paint the Canadian wilderness that a Canadian style of painting evolved. He was drawn to the most remote parts of Canada. He first visited the Arctic in 1927 and revisited the north in each of the following decades until his death in 1974.

In 1967, the northern paintings by A Y Jackson were transported from Ottawa to the territorial government in Yellowknife. I talked to John Parker two weeks ago and he recalls looking after the paintings on the plane ride carrying the first group of Northwest Territories employees north; the ones who had been in Ottawa. There was no place in Yellowknife to keep or display these paintings at that time, so he made himself the unofficial keeper of the paintings and has looked after them well ever since.

While he was Commissioner, he also acquired more northern paintings by Jackson and added them to the collection. In 1988, as has already been pointed out, Eldorado Mining donated nine northern paintings to the northern heritage centre in Yellowknife. Thus, the Government of the Northwest Territories now owns the best collection of A Y Jackson northern paintings in all of Canada.

It was always the plan to give these paintings a permanent home in Yellowknife. Now that we have a Legislative Assembly building visited by some 2,000 people every year, there's good reason to keep the collection together so they can be enjoyed by both residents and visitors alike. Our present Commissioner, Helen Maksagak, was gracious enough to lend A Y Jackson paintings from her office to the Legislative Assembly building during our recent Speakers' conference. The reaction from these leaders across the country was very positive, indeed; they were very impressed. And I know that many other Members of the Assembly have also become interested in the Group of Seven because of the explosion to this painter.

I urge Members to support the motion to place the entire collection on permanent loan to this Legislative Assembly building. This building is a fine place to house the work of a man who has been well described in the quotation by Governor General Vincent Massey in 1953. I urge Members to support the motion to honour the work of a great Canadian painter by hanging his work in this place of the people. This would make this building an even greater tourist attraction than it already is. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

---Applause