Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Today I would like to express my sincere sympathy, with my home community of Baker Lake, over the tragic loss of a young but capable hunter, Moses Anautalik.

Moses set forth on a short hunting trip, but when storm conditions unexpectedly arose, he became the centre of a large search coordinated by the Baker Lake Search and Rescue Committee. As is often the case in crises, this crisis brought out the best in the residents of the Keewatin. The entire community of Baker Lake participated in the search for Moses by either physically searching, preparing food and support for those searching, soliciting cash donations to cover the cost of the search, and/or by praying for Moses' safe return.

When the community was exhausted yet unwilling to give up, people began arriving from Rankin Inlet and Arviat to assist with the search. The participation of searchers from these other communities boosted the morale of all those involved. And on behalf of all Baker Lake residents, I want to say thank you to these individuals.

Also to be commended are Robert Jaynes and the staff of the Department of Municipal and Community Affairs emergency measures organization at the regional and headquarters level, the RCMP, Canadian Forces Northern Area, the GNWT's Department of Renewable Resources, the Rescue Coordination Centre of the Canadian Forces that sent a twin otter and a crew from Trenton, Ontario to assist in the search, and all those individuals who contributed financially to keep this search operational.

I would like to thank the Northern stores and the Sanavik Co-op for supplying food. I especially want to thank Nunasi Corporation which donated $30,000 to ensure that the search planes would be able to continue searching for up to an extra week after the RCMP had called off their air search.

Above all, however, it is the residents of Baker Lake who should be commended for their dedication and their willingness to search for days in the hopes of rescuing Moses.

Mr. Speaker, although this search ended tragically, it was a fine example of the kindness of people and the willingness of individuals, businesses and various levels of government to pull together in a time of crisis. This incident also highlights the need for emergency shelters on the tundra and for an official policy on funding once the RCMP have fulfilled their initial mandate. I spoke with Eric Anautalik, who is the brother of Moses, this morning and he once again expresses his appreciation to all those who were involved. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.